Taliban Militants Kill 4, Abduct 33 People After Ceasefire Ends - Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Taliban militants attacked a road construction company's employees in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar, killing four and abducting 20 security guards as well as 13 engineers after the group's temporary ceasefire for the Eid al-Fitr holiday expired, the 1TV broadcaster reported on Friday.

The attack took place late on Thursday, the 1TV reported, citing a provincial governor's spokesperson. The Taliban also destroyed 125 company-owned vehicles.

On June 7, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani declared a unilateral ceasefire with the Taliban from June 11 to June 19 to mark the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. On June 17, Ghani prolonged the ceasefire by 10 days.

The radical movement observed the three-day Eid truce but rejected the government's request to prolong the ceasefire, announcing that they would return to the mountains to continue fighting government forces.

Previously, at least 26 people were killed the day before the end of truce on June 16 in a blast in Nangarhar province, injuring both Taliban militants and civilians. The Daesh* terrorist group claimed responsibility for the incident.

*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist group banned in Russia