Kidnapping Suspected German Man Goes Missing in Afghanistan
A German citizen has been missing in Afghanistan since Thursday and has been kidnapped. According to information obtained by DER SPIEGEL, the man was working as an engineer for an American construction firm in an area between the southern provinces of Nimroz and Farah. His kidnapping is the first of any German since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.
Afghan security forces have confirmed receiving reports about the kidnapping, and in Berlin, the German Foreign Ministry has also confirmed the incident.
"We are assuming there has been a kidnapping," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Jäger. The Foreign Ministry set up a crisis task force on Saturday, and the German Embassy in Kabul and other government representatives have also been alerted.
"We're working intensively on a solution," said Jäger, who said he could not provide any further details.
According to information obtained by DER SPIEGEL, the kidnappers are considered part of the criminal underground and not the Taliban. It is believed that the kidnapping may have occured in connection with the company's work. The kidnapping appears to have been planned at short notice after kidnappers had learned of the man's travel plans. The German had been on his way to Herat in northwestern Afghanistan and had to spend the night en route. The site of the kidnapping is believed to have been along the so-called Ring Road which connects all of Afghanistan's major cities.
It is feared that the man could be sold to the Taliban if a deal is not reached with his kidnappers.
In compliance with standard Foreign Ministry policy, the spokesman refused to reveal the missing man's identity. He said only that the kidnapping victim had not been in Afghanistan on behalf of the government or any German aid organization and that he was not working as a journalist.
dsl/spiegel
