Most taken in Taliban ambush are rescued

Insurbents flee Battle SCENE with 21 hostabes

KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghan forces rescued nearly 150 people Monday, including women and children, hours after the Taliban ambushed a convoy of buses and abducted them. The quick response marked a rare if limited battlefield success for the troops after weeks of unrelenting insurgent attacks.

The militants escaped with 21 captives following the battle in Kunduz province, and officials said tribal elders were trying to negotiate their release. Esmatullah Muradi, a spokesman for the governor in the northern province, said the Taliban have demanded the national identifications of the captives to determine their fate.

The identities of the captives have not been made public, but Mohammad Yusouf Ayubi, the head of the provincial council, said the insurgents likely targeted the three buses to try to abduct civil servants or members of the security forces.

The Taliban have been at war with the U.s.-backed Afghan government for nearly 17 years, and have stepped up attacks in recent years, seizing rural districts and carrying out major assaults against security forces and government compounds on an almost daily basis.

In the latest attack, the Taliban stopped the buses in the Khan Abad district and ordered the passengers to come with them, according to Nasrat Rahimi, deputy spokesman for the Interior Ministry. Afghan forces responded quickly and were able to free 149 people and kill at least seven Taliban fighters, he said.

The passengers were all from Takhar and Badakhshan provinces in the north and were on their way to Kabul for this week’s Eid al-adha holiday, according to Abdul Rahman Aqtash, police chief in Takhar province.

The ambush came a day after President Ashraf Ghani proposed a holiday cease-fire, saying it would be conditional on the Taliban halting attacks. He suggested extending the truce all the way to Nov. 20, when Muslims will celebrate the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad.

The Taliban have yet to respond formally to the latest truce offer. Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the insurgent group, said it was still discussing it and would announce its decision soon.

In a message released Saturday in honor of the upcoming holiday, Taliban leader Maulvi Haibatullah Akhunzadah said there would be no peace in Afghanistan as long as the “foreign occupation” continues and reiterated that the group will only negotiate directly with the United States, which it blames for the 17-year war.

The families of those captured Monday said they had little information about their fate.