Taliban detain Turks in eastern Afghanistan

Nine people captured after helicopter makes emergency landing in Logar province, according to local officials.

Taliban fighters have seized nine people from a civilian helicopter which made an emergency landing in eastern Afghanistan, officials said Monday.

The Turkish helicopter made an emergency landing on Sunday evening, said Rais Khan Sadeq, the deputy police chief of Logar province, south of Kabul.

"Security forces found the helicopter but the nine people were not in it. They are taken by the Taliban," Sadeq told the AFP news agency.

"They are Turkish nationals and are nine people including the crew."

Hamidullah Hamid, governor of Azr district where the helicopter came down, also confirmed nine Turks on board had been seized by the Taliban. Local tribal elders are reportedly working to secure their release.

Hamid said the aircraft, which had came from the eastern city of Khost and was heading for Kabul, belonged to a Turkish company which has a big project in Khost but gave no further details.

The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Kabul said the force assisted a search by Afghan authorities for a helicopter but gave no details.

A spokesman said it was a civilian aircraft and not part of ISAF.

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