Taleban militants say they have kidnapped two French aid workers and their three Afghan colleagues in the southwest of the country.
The governor of Nimroz province, Ghulam Dastagir said Thursday there are 200 security personnel searching for the captives.
Reuters news agency reports that Taleban militants identified the French nationals in a statement posted on the Internet.
The French and Afghan aid workers were kidnapped Tuesday as the group traveled in a car in Nimroz toward neighboring Farah province.
The French aid workers are employed by Terre d'Enfance (A World for Our Children), a French-based aid group that works on educational projects for children.
In another development, Afghan officials say Taleban insurgents killed a policeman and wounded seven others in a roadside bomb attack Wednesday in the southern province of Kandahar.
Some information for this report was provided by Reuters.
