An Afghan engineer working for a German aid organization was kidnapped in the east Afghanistan province of Khost on Sunday, officials said. The man was seized near a technical school in the town of Khost that was being rebuilt with assistance from the German state-run technical assistance agency GTZ. Sources told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that three Afghans who were with the engineer managed to flee, including one man who was injured. The governor of Khost, Arsala Jamal, said the group had been deliberately targetted by the kidnappers, whom he described as criminals. Initial reports said the abductors had target German aid workers. Jamal said a group of armed men stormed the school and stole money and mobile phones from the Afghans, who were working as subcontractors for the GTZ. "It was 85 per cent a criminal act and 15 per cent a political case," the governor said.
