At least 13 teachers at a religious school have been abducted in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar.
Afghan officials say Islamic State (IS) militants took the lecturers hostage at a madrasah in the Haska Mina district on January 15.
"The teachers were busy with exams at the madrasah when [the Islamic State] militants kidnapped 13 of them and took them to an unknown place," Ataullah Khugyani, a spokesman for the Nangarhar governor, told RFE/RL.
"We have already taken comprehensive efforts to free the teachers of religion and assure their safe return to their families," he said.
Khugyani said that for security reasons and the safety of the abducted teachers he could not provide details about how the government was working to free the hostages.
