November 8, 2003	Saturday	Ramazan 12, 1424

WASHINGTON, Nov 7: Remnants of the Taliban militia are planning to abduct American journalists in Afghanistan in a bid to win the release of their compatriots currently held by the United States, the State Department said on Friday.

The department, through the US embassy in Kabul, said American journalists in Afghanistan should “take immediate steps” to increase their personal security.

“The United States Embassy in Kabul has received credible information that Taliban forces are actively searching for American journalists to take hostage for use as leverage for the release of Taliban currently under United States control,” it said.

“American journalists in Afghanistan are urged to take immediate steps to increase their security posture in light of these threats,” the embassy said in a notice to US citizens in the country.

The notice by the State Department did not elaborate on the threat.

The alert followed a new spate of security alerts and threats in the Afghan capital, which is under the protection of a Nato-led force.

In one of the latest incidents, a bomb exploded on Wednesday near the Kabul offices of two aid agencies, Oxfam and Save the Children. Some aid agencies have been forced to curtail operations in the some parts of the country due to security worries.

The State Department warned all Americans in its latest travel advisory for Afghanistan issued in July, to avoid travelling to the country.

It warned the security environment in the country was “volatile and unpredictable, and listed a string of attacks on foreign nations”.

US forces are battling what commanders say are reconstituted elements of the Taliban militia as well as remnants of the Al Qaeda in various areas of the country — alongside Afghan government troops. —AFP