Afghanistan kidnap: Gunmen seize 30 Hazara men in Zabul

MASKED gunmen in southern Afghanistan have abducted 30 men from the Hazara ethnic minority, officials say.

The men were travelling by bus from Iran when they were seized in Zabul province, on the road to Kabul.

No group has said it carried out the abductions. Kidnappings for ransom are common in Afghanistan.

Unlike in Pakistan, Afghan Hazaras, who are mostly Shia Muslims, have been largely spared attacks by Sunni militants operating in both countries.

Eye-witnesses say gunmen wearing masks and black clothes forced a convoy of two buses to stop in Zabul province, on the road between Kandahar and the capital.

They took the men away but left behind women and children travelling with them.

The passengers had travelled from Iran, via the western Afghan city of Herat.