Afghan official, corpses of 4 kidnapped men found

Afghan authorities recovered the corpses of four men kidnapped in eastern Afghanistan last week, officials said Wednesday, while at least eight others have been newly abducted, ABC News reported.

The four corpses, found in Nawur district near the Pakistan border, all had been shot dead, said Asadullah Ensafi, the deputy chief police of Ghazni province. He said three of the men were Hazara, while the other was a Sunni Pashtun.

The Hazara are a largely Shiite ethnic minority in predominantly Sunni Afghanistan. The group has been targeted by the Taliban and other Sunni extremists in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan.

Ensafi said that insurgents kidnapped another at least eight Hazaras on Tuesday. He said authorities were investigating.

In February, 30 Hazara men were abducted in Zabul province, south of Ghazni. Last month, 11 Hazaras were kidnapped in northern Baghlan province, which also has been plagued by militants since the Taliban stepped up their war against Kabul in April.

Meanwhile, fighting in Baghlan between Afghan forces and the Taliban has killed two police officers, said Jaweed Basharat, the provincial police chief's spokesman. He said the fighting in the province's Dahana-I-Ghori district began Tuesday, and at least 11 insurgents had been wounded.

The Taliban issued a statement about the fighting giving a much higher figure for police casualties. The insurgents regularly exaggerate their gains.