KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Two French humanitarian workers were kidnapped at gunpoint Friday in Afghanistan and spirited out of the house they were sleeping in, the aid group Action Against Hunger and the French Foreign Ministry said. The two are believed to be alive, the Paris-based group said in a statement.The two French aid workers were abducted when kidnappers burst into their house in Nili, in the central Afghan province of Day Kundi, and bundled them into waiting vehicles, Action Against Hunger said. The kidnappers, who struck at about 1 a.m., had tied up guards posted outside the house. Action Against Hunger said it was working to win the workers' release as soon as possible.
The aid group said it had suspended its activities in Afghanistan in response to the kidnapping. The group has been working in Afghanistan since 1979 and has 10 foreign staffers and about 150 locals working in the country, according to its Web site.
France's Foreign Ministry confirmed the kidnappings and said a crisis unit would be set up to help win the hostages' liberation.