In Afghanistan, unknown armed men on Monday abducted 12 Iranian engineers of a construction company in the Farah province, some 695 kilometres west of Kabul. A spokesman for the provincial administration, Naqebullah Farahi said the engineers were abducted in the Ship Koh district of the province.According to Farahi, the kidnapped people were involved in construction of roads in the province bordering Iran.However, he said an investigation was underway and police launched a search operation to locate and find the abducted people. No group or individuals have claimed responsibility for abduction so far. Officials of the Iranian embassy in Kabul said no information on the reported abduction is available. Taliban militants had in the past been blamed for kidnapping of aid workers and government service members in the insurgency-hit country.