Aid worker kidnapped in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- A Japanese aid worker was kidnapped Tuesday in eastern Afghanistan.

Kazuya Ito, 31, and his driver were taken hostage in Nangarhar Province, CNN reported.

Ito works for Peshawar-Kai, a Japanese group that operates hospitals and builds schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Security forces were searching an area around a mountain where witnesses said they believed the kidnappers had taken Ito and his driver, CNN reported.