Taliban 'hold 30 abducted boys'

The Pakistani Taliban say they are holding around 30 Pakistani boys who were abducted in Afghanistan three days ago.

The group’s spokesman, Ahsanullah Ahsan, says the boys were kidnapped because they belong to a tribe opposed to the militants. He says the Taliban will decide the boys’ fate.

Pakistani officials have said the boys, who are between 12 and 15 years old, were seized on Thursday in Afghanistan’s Kunar province after crossing over from their villages in the Bajur border region. They were allegedly lured by a man who invited them to play in a river.

Ahsan did not say where the boys were seized but he claims they are over 20 years of age.

Militants often target people from tribes who oppose or do not support them.