KABUL: Afghan police in Kabul yesterday recovered the bodies of three foreign nationals who were abducted and killed, in the latest incident targeting foreigners in the war-torn capital, reports AFP. “At this stage we think it is a terrorist incident,” a police spokesman Hashmat Stanikzai told AFP.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the killings. Kabul is plagued by criminal gangs who stage abductions, often targeting foreigners and wealthy locals, and sometimes hand them over to insurgent groups. Kidnapping of Afghans and foreigners for ransom is also common across Afghanistan where swathes of the country are infested with militant groups or criminal gangs.

Afghan civilians have borne the brunt of the grinding conflict that began after the 2001 US-led invasion toppled the Taliban regime.

Militant attacks and suicide bombs were the leading causes of civilian deaths in the first half of 2018, a recent UN report showed.

While the Taliban is Afghanistan’s largest militant group and holds or contests more territory than any other insurgent outfit, the Islamic State has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to carry out devastating attacks in urban areas.