HERAT, Sept 26: Suspected Taliban on Friday freed 118 of about 150 Afghan carpenters, masons and other workers abducted in western Afghanistan, one of the men and a governor said.

The labourers, working for a US construction firm, were captured in the southwestern province of Farah on Sunday while travelling in three buses to the city of Herat. Three, who were ill, were released the following day.

“We are freed,” one of the newly released workers, Mohammad Naeem, said. “We are very happy to be heading towards our homes and to be able to see our families.”

Farah province governor Roh-ul Amin said the group was freed after talks between the abductors and elders – and with no conditions. The rest were expected to be released shortly, he said.

“Today, after long talks by the elders, influentials and tribal leaders with Taliban, 118 labourers from the total of those abducted were freed,” Amin said.

“The Taliban have said that another small group of the abductees are being held by Taliban in a distant mountainous area and they will be freed tomorrow.” The Taliban, who were in power between 1996 and 2001, have carried out several abductions as part of an insurgency against the Afghan government and its international allies, which have tens of thousands of troops here.

Criminal gangs and other groups are also involved in abductions of Afghans and foreigners, most often seeking ransom.

The released men were in the small centre of Farahrod and authorities from the area had seen them, Amin said. The area has experienced several incidents carried out by Taliban fighters.

Most of the workers came from the capital Kabul and were expected to resume their journey home on Saturday, the governor said.

The workers were building facilities for the Afghan army. They were snatched as they headed home for the Eid holidays, which are due in about a week.—AFP