Afghan police say gunmen have abducted 28 mine-clearance workers in the western part of the country.

The police chief of Farah province, Sayed Mohammad Roshandel, says armed men kidnapped the workers in Bala Buluk district early Wednesday and set fire to at least one of their vehicles.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the abduction, but kidnapping in exchange for ransom is a common strategy for local criminal groups and Taliban militants since the U.S.-led invasion in 2001 toppled the Taliban government.