Ex-BBC journalist Andrew North is among a number of foreigners kidnapped by the Taliban in recent months, according to sources.
Afghanistan's former Vice President Amrullah Saleh says nine people from western countries, including the former BBC journalist and current UN worker Andrew North, are among those taken by the group in the last few months.
He tweeted: "Due to no media, no reporting by citizens and a suffocating atmosphere corruption, crime and atrocities aren't well exposed.