Afghan bandits take villager hostage in Khorasan province

Taibad, Dec 13 (IRNA) -- Afghan armed bandits on Tuesday took a villager hostage from the village of Kariz, near the northeastern city of Taibad, Qadir Davoudian, an official with the governor's office said on Tuesday.

The official added that the armed bandits who had crossed the border into Iran, took their hostage to Afghanistan.

The border guards based in Taibad are following up the case and efforts are under way to release the hostage, Davoudian stressed. Basijis (volunteer forces) in different parts of the city of Taibad in the province of Khorasan, including the village of Kariz, have been allowed to carry arms to protect civilians from attacks by Afghan bandits and drug traffickers.

The village of Kariz lies 5 km away from the city of Taibad. Meanwhile, Iranian security forces managed to free seven villagers taken hostage by armed Afghan bandits around the northeastern city of Torbat-e Heydarieh in this province a few days ago.

On Saturday, Commander of Law Enforcement Forces (LEF) Brigadier General Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said that police have cleaned up four regions in Khorasan province from the scourge of armed Afghan bandits.

He said that the Majlis (parliament) and the government have earmarked 200 billion rials for sealing off eastern borders which, he added, is not sufficient for a 200-kilometer-long border. There have been a number of kidnapping by drug traffickers in the eastern regions.

Iranian officials have called for more aid from Europe to help Iran curb drug trade. Narcotics destined for markets in Europe and the Persian Gulf often pass through the country from neighboring Afghanistan and Pakistan.

In another operation on Friday, 35 armed Afghan bandits were killed and 27 hostages in their captivity were freed in Khorasan.