Kabul- Officials stated that gunmen from Afghanistan’s Taliban detained on Tuesday dozens of people after attacking their vehicles in Helmand, south Afghanistan.

According to Mohammad Ismail, a district police chief in Helmand, the attack happened in Gareshk district as they stopped a bus and three other vehicles in the region.

He explained saying: “At the beginning they abducted 48 passengers, released 30, and they are still detaining 18.”

The Taliban forced the buses and cars to stop at gunpoint, he said, adding that it’s not known where the Taliban took the abducted passengers.

For his part, Provincial Governor’s Spokesperson Omar Zwak provided different information, stating that they still have 25 detained.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yusouf Ahmadi confirmed the group was responsibile for taking 27 passengers hostage in the south of the country Tuesday in a latest incident of mass kidnapping.

“We freed all but for 27 there will be an investigation and we will find out if they are government employees and if so, they will be hand over to the Taliban judicial officials to decide on their fate,” said Ahmadi.

Earlier this month, the Taliban killed 12 people they had captured, including policemen and soldiers, in eastern Ghazni province. Last month, Taliban-linked insurgents killed at least nine people after seizing passengers off buses in northern Kunduz province.