Germans missing in Afghanistan were kidnapped: officials

KABUL: Afghan officials believe that two German men who vanished after going mountain climbing north of the capital Kabul were kidnapped by insurgents, they said Monday.

The two men went missing near the Salang Pass earlier this month after setting out to go climbing in the famous Hindu Kush range.

Confirming they had disappeared, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said last week that there were "indications that they may have been the victims of a kidnapping".

But Sher Ahmad Maladani, police chief of Parwan province which lies in the area from which the pair went missing, said local officials now had a clearer picture of what had happened after days of intensive searches for the pair. "We know that they were abducted by insurgents," Maladani told AFP. "I can't give you details but very soon I might be able to provide more information," he added.