Taliban kill at least 16 passengers on bus, kidnap dozens

Insurgents scrutinize ID documents and interrogate for any links with government

The Taliban killed at least 16 people on Tuesday and kidnapped dozens of others after pulling them off buses in northern Afghanistan, officials said, the latest assault since the insurgents named a new leader last week.

The Taliban have so far not commented on the incident in Kunduz province, where the insurgents briefly overran the provincial capital in a stunning military victory last year.

Up to 200 passengers were traveling in four buses toward Kabul on Tuesday morning when they were stopped by the Taliban gunmen, with some killed on the side of the road at point-blank range, officials said.

"The Taliban shot dead 16 passengers and they are still holding more than 30 others," said Sayed Mahmood Danish, spokesman for the governor of Kunduz.

Police commander Shir Aziz Kamawal said identities of the passengers have not been confirmed.

"They (Taliban) have released some passengers but are holding many others. None of the passengers were wearing military uniform but some may have been former police," he said.

Residents of insurgency-prone Aliabad said the Taliban were holding an informal court in a local mosque, scrutinizing the ID documents of the passengers and interrogating them for any government links.

Highways around Afghanistan passing through insurgency-prone areas have become exceedingly dangerous, with the Taliban frequently kidnapping or killing travelers.

Civilians are increasingly caught in the crosshairs of Afghanistan's worsening conflict as the Taliban step up their annual spring offensive, launched in April against the government.

Tuesday's incident comes a day after the Taliban overran multiple police checkpoints in Helmand, the first major assault in the opium-rich southern province since the leadership transition.

The Taliban announced Haibatullah Akhundzada as their new leader last week after officially confirming the death of Mullah Mansour in a US drone strike.