The kidnappings took place on Friday along the main highway in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province.

"The Taliban abducted 70 people from their houses in a village along the Kandahar-Tarinkot highway, Friday. They killed seven of them today," Abdul Raziq, the head of Kandahar provincial police, told AFP news agency on Saturday.

"Their bodies were found by villagers this [Saturday] morning," Raziq added. "They released 30 and are still keeping around 30 others."

The motive of kidnappings is unclear. Islamist militants usually abduct government officials and security personnel for ransom or to bargain for the release of detained jihadis.

Local media claims the Taliban accused villagers of cooperating with the authorities.

On Sunday, Afghan police launched a search and rescue operation to recover the missing villagers.

Read: US airstrike in Helmand kills Afghan police in friendly-fire incident

Civilians in the crosshairs

Civilians are increasingly becoming a target in the 16-year-long conflict.

According to a mid-year report released Monday that includes figures from the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), 1,662 civilians were killed in the first sixth months of 2017, and 3,581 were injured.

Though the total for civilian casualties - including both injuries and deaths - was slightly lower than over the same period in 2016, the 2 percent increase in the death toll brings it to its highest level since 2014.

The United Nations Special Representative for Afghanistan and UNAMA head, Tadamichi Yamamoto, described the Afghan conflict's human toll as "far too high."

"The continued use of indiscriminate, disproportionate and illegal improvised explosive devices is particularly appalling and must immediately stop," Yamamoto said in a statement.

The report said that 40 percent of the civilian lives lost were due to violence from anti-government forces, such as the Taliban and the so-called "Islamic State" (IS), using improvised explosive devices (IEDs) or carrying out suicide attacks.

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Endless battle for power in Afghanistan Fragile security Repeated attacks in Afghanistan in 2018 and 2019 have killed and wounded hundreds of innocent Afghans, and shown the world the fragile and worsening state of security in the conflict-stricken country. The incidents have plunged war-weary Afghan citizens into a state of despair and highlighted the limitations faced by the government in Kabul in ensuring public security.

Endless battle for power in Afghanistan A long series of attacks The violent incidents have made Afghanistan once again a staple of international headlines. Outfits like the Taliban and the "Islamic State" (IS) have claimed responsibility for the attacks. The Afghan government is under heavy pressure to restore security and take back territory controlled by a number of insurgent groups, including the Taliban and IS.

Endless battle for power in Afghanistan Spring offensive In 2018, the Taliban announced the start of their annual spring offensive, dismissing an offer of peace talks by President Ashraf Ghani. The militants, fighting to restore their version of strict Islamic law to Afghanistan, said their campaign was a response to a more aggressive US military strategy adopted in 2017, which aims to force the militants into peace talks.

Endless battle for power in Afghanistan Trump's Afghanistan policy US President Donald Trump unveiled a new strategy for Afghanistan in 2017, vowing to deploy more troops to train and advise Afghan security forces. Trump also pledged to support Afghan troops in their war against the Taliban and maintain US presence in the country for as long as there was a need for it. In 2019, he reversed course and promised a troop pullout.

Endless battle for power in Afghanistan Afghan peace process Despite President Ghani's offer in February 2018 for peace talks "without preconditions," the Taliban had until 2019 shown no interest, dismissing the peace overtures as a "conspiracy."

Endless battle for power in Afghanistan Pakistani support Pakistan has been under pressure from Kabul and Washington to stop offering safe havens to militants blamed for attacks in Afghanistan, a charge Islamabad denies and insists that its influence over the insurgents has been exaggerated. Kabul and Islamabad regularly trade accusations of harboring the other country's militants and the harsh language has underscored the strains between them.

Endless battle for power in Afghanistan Role of the warlords Apart from the Taliban, Afghan warlords exercise massive influence in the country. Last year, Hizb-i-Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar returned to Kabul after a 20-year exile to play an active role in Afghan politics. In September 2016, the Afghan government signed a deal with Hekmatyar in the hope that other warlords and militant groups would seek better ties with Kabul.

Endless battle for power in Afghanistan An inefficient government In the midst of an endless battle for power, President Ghani's approval ratings continue to plummet. Rampant corruption in the Afghan government and a long tug-of-war within the US-brokered national unity government has had a negative impact on the government's efforts to eradicate terrorism. Author: Shamil Shams



Support for Taliban

Friday's incident was confirmed by officials at the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission in Kandahar and Kabul.

"Unfortunately, the security situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating. One of the reasons in my view is the premature withdrawal of international security forces due to a lack of a long-term comprehensive strategy for the country. A united approach by the different countries involved in military activities and reconstruction efforts was lacking right from the start," Sima Samar, the chairperson of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, told DW.

Kandahar, where the Friday incident took place, borders Pakistan and is known as the "birthplace of the Taliban movement."

The Afghan government mainly blames Islamabad for training and supporting the Taliban.

"We need to find the root causes for their [Taliban] behavior. Who are the countries supporting them and why? I believe that the world knows who supports the Taliban. But no strong and united action has been taken against those countries that are the factories for the production of terrorists in the region and in the world," Samar underlined.

On Friday, the US Defense Department withheld $50 million (42.8 million euros) in Pakistan military payments after Pentagon chief Jim Mattis accused Islamabad of not countering the Taliban-affiliated Haqqani network based in Pakistan's northwestern tribal areas.