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Official: US Citizen Believed Kidnapped in Afghanistan

Associated Press

   An American citizen has been kidnapped in Afghanistan by a
   Taliban-affiliated group, a U.S. official said Thursday, and
   authorities are working to rescue him.

   U.S. officials believe Mark Frerichs of Lombard, Illinois, was
   kidnapped by the Haqqani network, according to an official who was not
   authorized to discuss the case by name and spoke on condition of
   anonymity.

   It was not immediately clear why Frerichs was in Afghanistan or where
   precisely he was picked up, though Newsweek,which first reported the
   kidnapping,said he was taken into custody last week in Khost province,
   in the eastern part of the country, and that he has worked as a
   contractor in conflict zones.

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