Kandhar Swap deja vu: 11 terrorists released to free 3 Indian techies

Islamabad:The Taliban militant group has freed three Indian hostages in Afghanistan in exchange for securing the release of 11 of its members.The engineers were held hostage in Afghanistan for over a year, reports quoted Taliban officials saying on  condition of anonymity.

The prisoner swap was done on Sunday at an undisclosed location, said a report in the Express Tribune.

The officials said the freed Taliban leaders include Sheikh Abdur Rahim and Mawlawi Abdur Rashid, who had served as the insurgent group's governors of Kunar and Nimroz provinces respectively during the Taliban administration before it was deposed by the US-led forces in 2001.

The Taliban officials provided a photo and footage of what they said was the freed militants being greeted after their release. There was no immediate comment from Afghan or Indian authorities.

Seven Indian engineers working for a power plant in Afghanistan's northern Baghlan Province were kidnapped in May 2018.No group has claimed responsibility for their abduction.(UNI)