Gunmen have abducted a 49-year-old US woman who was working for an aid group in Afghanistan's southern province of Kandahar.
The woman was wearing a traditional burqa when she was seized from her car while on the way to her office. Her driver was also kidnapped.
The woman has lived for years in Kandahar, part of the main bastion of Taliban insurgents, and was working in an aid group linked to the agricultural sector.
A search for her is under way.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility. In the past, criminal gangs and Taliban have kidnapped a number of foreigners and Afghans.
Only a handful of foreigners have been killed. The rest have been freed after ransom was paid or a deal agreed with the Taliban.
