Kabul, March 31 (IANS): A provincial council polls contender and nine of his supporters have been kidnapped in Afghanistan, sources said Monday.
"Candidate Hussain Nazari was travelling along a road in Doghabi area of Balkhab district late Sunday. The gunmen stopped their vehicles and took them to an unknown area," a provincial security source told Xinhua.
A search operation was launched by security forces shortly after the incident to locate and rescue the kidnapped people in the province 350 km north of Afghan capital Kabul, the source who declined to be named noted.
Afghan Independent Election Commission (IEC) official Ahmad Farid confirmed the incident.
Afghanistan's third presidential and provincial councils general elections are slated for April 5.
A provincial council candidate was among those killed during a Taliban attack on an election sub-office in Kabul March 25.