AFGHANISTAN-MAZAR-I-SHARIF-ADBUCTED CHILD-RELEASE

AFGHANISTAN-MAZAR-I-SHARIF-ADBUCTED CHILD-RELEASE

(220425) -- KABUL, April 25, 2022 (Xinhua) -- Photo taken on April 24, 2022 shows a child (2nd L, front) rescued from kidnappers and his family members in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan. Afghan security forces have set free an 11-year-old child, Abdul Raof Jan, from kidnappers' clutch and facilitated him to reunite with his family in the northern Mazar-i-Sharif on Saturday. (Photo by Kawa Bashart/Xinhua)

AFGHANISTAN-MAZAR-I-SHARIF-ADBUCTED CHILD-RELEASE

AFGHANISTAN-MAZAR-I-SHARIF-ADBUCTED CHILD-RELEASE

(220425) -- KABUL, April 25, 2022 (Xinhua) -- Photo taken on April 24, 2022 shows a child rescued from kidnappers in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan. Afghan security forces have set free an 11-year-old child, Abdul Raof Jan, from kidnappers' clutch and facilitated him to reunite with his family in the northern Mazar-i-Sharif on Saturday. (Photo by Kawa Bashart/Xinhua)

AFGHANISTAN-MAZAR-I-SHARIF-ADBUCTED CHILD-RELEASE

AFGHANISTAN-MAZAR-I-SHARIF-ADBUCTED CHILD-RELEASE

(220425) -- KABUL, April 25, 2022 (Xinhua) -- Photo taken on April 24, 2022 shows a child (C) rescued from kidnappers and his family members in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan. Afghan security forces have set free an 11-year-old child, Abdul Raof Jan, from kidnappers' clutch and facilitated him to reunite with his family in the northern Mazar-i-Sharif on Saturday. (Photo by Kawa Bashart/Xinhua)

Afghan forces set free child from kidnappers after 2 years in captivity

STORY: Afghan forces set free child from kidnappers after 2 years in captivity DATELINE: April 25, 2022 LENGTH: 00:00:41 LOCATION: Kabul CATEGORY: POLITICS/SOCIETY SHOTLIST: 1. various of the abducted boy's home and the boy STORYLINE: Afghan security forces have set free an 11-year-old child, Abdul Raof Jan, from kidnappers' clutch and facilitated him to reunite with his family in the northern Mazar-i-Sharif on Saturday. Announcing the child's release, Deputy Prime Minister Mawlawi Abdul Salam Hanafi told an audience that "criminal elements were behind the child's abduction" before the Taliban took power in Afghanistan last August. The ill-fated child was abducted by unknown armed men from outside his school in Mazar-i-Sharif city about two years ago. However, the official didn't say if anyone had been arrested. According to local media reports, Raof Jan's kidnappers had demanded 1.5 million U.S. dollars in ransom for his release, but the boy's father was unable to meet the requirement.