Indian among three foreigners abducted and killed in Afghanistan

Kabul: An Indian working for an international food services company in Afghanistan was among three foreign nationals killed by unidentified gunmen after being abducted from Kabul, the latest incident targeting foreigners in the war-torn country.

The three men – one Indian, a Malaysian and a Macedonian – who were working as chefs for the French food services and facilities management giant Sodexo, were shot in the head, the TOLOnews reported.

The Indian national was 39, the Macedonian was 37 and the Malaysian national was 64.

The victims were abducted early on Thursday morning by four gunmen from the industrial park area of 9th Police District in Kabul city while they were on way to work in their official car. Their bodies were later found in Mussahi, a volatile remote and mountainous area of the Afghan capital, the report said.

According to Afghan media reports, the armed men took off the foreigners from their vehicle at around 8:30 am (local time) and abducted them in a Toyota Corolla sedan.

The driver of the foreign nationals later reached the office and informed the staff about the abduction, the report said.

Police launched a search operation and cordoned off the area. After around two hours, police spotted the vehicle and went to investigate. The gunmen were still at the scene but immediately fled the area in another car when they saw the police approaching.

The bodies of the victims were found in the car. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the killings.

The driver of the victims’ vehicle is currently being held by the National Directorate of Security (NDS) for questioning.

India on Thursday strongly condemned the killing of the Indian national along with two other foreign nationals. External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the Indian Embassy in Kabul is in touch with the Afghan authorities over the incident.

Sodexo, in a statement, said it was “deeply saddened and shocked” by the death of three of its staff in Afghanistan.

“We are deeply saddened and shocked to learn of the tragic loss of three of our team members in Kabul, Afghanistan today,” it said.

“Sodexo is working closely with the authorities in Kabul and will share further information when available. We can confirm that the employees were of Malaysian, Indian and Macedonian nationalities. We are putting in place a psychological support line for our local employeesm,” said Chief Executive Denis Machuel.

The food services company manages canteens and facilities for offices, military, schools, hospitals and prisons.

The Taliban group often claims responsibility for abductions although some of the kidnappings are done for ransom by criminal gangs.

It is the latest incident targeting foreigners in the war-torn country.

The incident took place nearly three months after seven Indian engineers of an RPG group company working in Afghanistan’s northern Baghlan province were abducted by Taliban gunmen.