Hostage rescued, 5 kidnappers arrested in Afghan capital: official

KABUL: JAN. 30 – A hostage has been rescued and five suspects arrested after intelligence personnel of Afghanistan’s caretaker government busted a kidnapping gang in Kabul, the Afghan General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) said on Sunday.

“Personnel of Kabul province’s GDI directorate launched an operation against a hideout of a kidnapping gang in Bagrami district, east of Kabul on Friday, releasing a hostage and arresting five suspected kidnappers,” the agency tweeted.

The arrestees have pleaded guilty, according to the source.

The Taliban-run administration has vowed to crack down on the outlaws to ensure law and order in war-torn Afghanistan.

On Jan. 15, the agency freed a kidnapped teenager, son of a known local goldsmith, from a gang’s clutch in western Herat province, 640 km in the west of Kabul.

-Xinhua