Members of the Taliban Islamist militant group have abducted at least 20 civilians in the southeastern province of Ghazni, officials said Monday.

The civilians were abducted on Sunday and taken to an unknown location, provincial council members told the German Agency.

The area where the abduction took place is completely controlled by the Taliban, they added.

Asked by the dpa, a spokesman for the Islamist rebels said the organization’s leadership was trying to work on the issue. He did not go into further details.

Ghazni is one of the most volatile sectors in Afghanistan. The guerrillas control about half of the province and are fighting with government forces for the remaining part of it.

Two civil servants were killed by unknown gunmen in the provincial capital of the province early yesterday morning, Ghazni police said.

Despite months of negotiations between the government and the Taliban to end the decades-long war in Afghanistan, the violence continues to escalate in many parts of the country.

Negotiations have not progressed much. They are currently suspended for three weeks. The government announced on Sunday that they would resume on January 5 in Doha (Qatar), although President Ashraf Ghani had repeatedly said he wanted them to continue in the country itself.

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