The following information is an excerpt of an alert compiled by red24's Central Asian Risk Analyst, Ryan Cummings. Editorial amendments included.
Afghan security forces freed two Turk nationals on Tuesday in the Jowzan province from their Taleban captors. The pair, along with another Turkish national and two Afghan locals were seized by a group of unidentified militants on 28 June 2011. However, due to poor health, one of the Turkish engineers was released soon after his capture, while the Afghan nationals were similarly freed after their families paid a ransom estimated to be around USD 17,000 each. An alleged ransom of USD530, 000 was demanded for the release of the two Turkish nationals.
While major battles and suicide car bombings make world headlines the criminal under current in Afghanistan continues to flourish. Buoyed by massive ransom hauls criminal and insurgent gangs have made millions of dollars in recent years. Foreigners remain the most sort after captive as kidnappers can usually receive 10 to 15 times or more compared to ransoms for local nationals. Indeed as many as 30 foreigners have been reported kidnapped in the past five years while the real figure is probably five times that. With kidnapping being such big business in Afghanistan it appears that private security business will also remain a major foreign income earner in the country for some time to come.
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