KABUL, Afghanistan, April 5 (UPI) -- A missing Japanese journalist has turned up in an Afghan jail, another reporter says.
An unidentified local Afghan reporter said Sunday residents of Baghlan province provided information that Kosuke Tsuneoka, 40, was jailed in the province, Japan's Kyodo news service reported. Further details of his incarceration were not provided.
Tsuneoka, 40, was headed to Kunduz in northern Afghanistan where there is a strong Taliban presence and hadn't been heard from since Thursday. Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Zamary Bashry said authorities didn't know Tsuneoka was in Afghanistan until told of his disappearance, indicating he didn't have a journalist visa.
A Taliban spokesman said the insurgents' commanders in the region denied being involved.
"We assigned our commanders to find out who had kidnapped the Japanese journalist," Zabihullah Mujahid said. "They have reported back that they are not involved in the kidnapping. They do not know who is holding him."
However, Kyodo said a reputed Taliban commander in Kunduz reportedly claimed Saturday his men had seized Tsuneoka without telling Taliban leadership.
