Sunday, November 20 2005 12:51 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kandahar (Afghanistan): Suspected Taliban rebels kidnapped an Indian and three Afghans working on a road construction project in the country's volatile south, officials said today (Nov 20, 2005).

The four were working for an Indian company refurbishing the main road from the southern city of Kandahar to Herat in the west.

Nimroz provincial Gov. Ghulam Dasthaqir said the Indian and one of the Afghans worked as engineers, while the other two were policemen providing security. The four were kidnapped after being ambushed as they drove in Nimroz late last nigh, he said.

"We've had no contact with the kidnappers but we're investigating," Dasthaqir said.

The abduction was the latest in a string of kidnappings in southern Afghanistan. A British engineer working on a road project and two Japanese tourists were kidnapped in August and killed.

The violence comes amid the deadliest year of rebel fighting since the ouster of the Taliban in 2001. About 1,500 people have been killed and many southern and eastern areas are considered too dangerous for foreigners to enter without security.