Lebanon seeks to free Afghanistan hostage

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Aug. 16 (UPI) -- The Lebanese Foreign Ministry said it is asking local and U.S. authorities for help regarding a Lebanese engineer kidnapped in Afghanistan by Taliban gunmen.

Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh told reporters in Beirut Tuesday that the ministry commissioned the embassy in Pakistan to conduct urgent contacts with Afghani authorities and the U.S. forces to clarify the fate of Ahmed Reda and secure his release.

Reda who worked with a Turkish construction company was kidnapped in southern Afghanistan by the Taliban movement who threatened on Monday to kill him within 24 hours if the company did not pull out from the area.

Lebanon has no embassy in Afghanistan and Pakistan-based diplomats will be following up the issue, Salloukh said.