Balkh child rescued from kidnappers, says Taliban

BALK (Khaama Press): The 10-year-old child, who was kidnapped last week in Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital city of the northern Afghan province of Balkh, has been released, said local Taliban authorities.
According to the Taliban Director of Information and Culture in Balkh province, Zabihullah Noorani, the kidnapped child was rescued from kidnappers after a Taliban security forces’ operation.
The rescued child was returned to his family in the presence of the Taliban governor of Balkh and security authorities from Balkh province, according to a tweet from Noorani on Monday morning.
Yousuf, a young boy who is the son of a doctor in Mazar-e-Sharif city, was kidnapped earlier on Sunday, September 18, on his way to school.
Yousuf’s father, Doctor Qayyum Hakimi, expressed gratitude and appreciation for the security forces of the Taliban in a Facebook post after his son had returned home.
Previously, the relatives of Yousuf were reported to have identified the kidnappers as three armed men with a Toyota Corolla-type car.
Afghanistan has seen a rise in kidnapping, especially in the northern province of Balkh, where the crippling ransom demands have become debilitating.