Taliban insurgents have released 10 deminers in southern Kandahar province on Saturday, after having held them hostage for a week, local officials said.
The deminers were taken hostage in Maiwand district of the province, while the deminers from Mine Clearance Cultivator (MCC) were busy clearing roadside mines in the district, provincial spokesman Jawid Faisal said.
"The deminiers have been beaten badly by the group [Taliban] and they were released today," Jawid Faisal said.
Last week, the 27 deminers were busy clearing mines in the district when they were surrounded by the Taliban. Seventeen other miners escaped from the area using one of their cars.
But 10 others were taken hostage by the Taliban.
The local officials had said that the deminers didn't inform the security forces while they were busy in the area.
Maiwand district is considered one of the insecure areas in the province where insurgents use improvised explosive devices to target the local security forces.
