Islamic State group not behind the kidnapping of 19 Hazaras released in Afghanistan

19 Hazara hostages kidnapped in February were released in exchange for 22 Uzbeks in the country.

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Members of Afghanistan’s Solidarity Party hold posters during a protest against the government’s lack of action to try to find a group of men from the minority Afghan Shiite Hazara community who were abducted in February, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, April 16, 2015. (AP Photo)

A provincial official in Afghanistan says kidnappers have released 19 Hazara hostages kidnapped in February in exchange for 22 Uzbeks in the country.

Asadullah Kakar, a provincial council member in southern Zabul province, says that the exchange took place in Jaghori district of Ghazni province today.

Kakar says that the exchanged 22 people, including women and children, probably are family members of the kidnappers.

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He says the kidnappers asked for another six more people in exchange for the remaining 11 Hazara hostages they hold.

It wasn’t immediately clear how the Uzbeks came into government custody.

The Hazara are a Shiite ethnic group in Afghanistan.

Authorities initially blamed an affiliate of the Islamic State group for their kidnapping in February.

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