A senior Afghan official was kidnapped with his driver on his way to work in Kabul on Tuesday, an interior ministry official said.

Ahmad Shah Waheed, deputy minister for public works, was taken by gunmen at about 7 am from the Khairkhana neighborhood of the capital, said the official who declined to be named.

He did not elaborate, saying more information could harm efforts to recover the men.

The motive for the incident is not clear, but kidnapping of wealthy individuals for ransom is common in Afghanistan.

A spokesman for Taliban militants told AFP they had no knowledge of the kidnapping.

AFP