Gunmen kidnap Afghan deputy minister in Kabul

 

Kabul: Afghan officials say the country's deputy public works minister has been kidnapped in the capital, Kabul.

 

At least five gunmen pulled Ahmad Shah Wahid from his car in northern Kabul as he was on his way to work on Tuesday morning.

 

Public works ministry spokesman Soheil Kakar says Wahid's driver was shot and wounded when he tried to drive away to safety.

 

Kabul police investigation chief Gul Agha Hashimi said the attackers ran Wahid's car off the road and hustled him into their 4-wheel-drive vehicle in the city's Khir Khana district.

 

It was not immediately clear who was behind the abduction.

 

Kidnappings for ransom and abductions by Taliban insurgents are relatively common in Afghanistan, but Wahid is the highest-ranking government official abducted in years.