UPDATED: Taliban Kills 10 Kidnapped Passengers In Kunduz -

MEP: Kunduz officials say the Taliban insurgents have killed ten out of 40 kidnapped passengers in the province.

Masoum Hashemi, head of the Kunduz provincial governor told the Middle East News Agency Taliban insurgents at 2:00 am on Tuesday stopped three bus type (303) and three van that were heading towards Kunduz from capital Kabul in Angor Bagh area of Ali-Abad and were taken the passengers of the vehicles with them.

Mr Hashemi says the rebels have killed 10 of the passengers and transferred 18 others in remote areas of Char Dara district.

According to Hashemi, all of the deceased passengers were civilians.

Operations to rescue the captives began and the security forces are trying to release the passengers as soon as possible, Hashemi stressed.

The circumstances behind the kidnapping have not been determined yet.

Kunduz province in the NorthEast of the country, has been fully captured by the Taliban insurgents in 1394 the solar year, the security forces then managed to retake the city and beat the insurgents. However, the militants still operate in some areas of the city and organizing plot to defeat the government and its people.