At least 12 people were abducted by armed militants from the village of Sheen Pokh in Shalman near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Khyber Agency on Friday.
Tribesmen and officials said over a dozen militants had entered the village from the adjoining Mohmand Agency. They raided a hujra and abducted five people, including a tribal elder named Malik Sultan.
Later they abducted another seven people, most of them passers-by and labourers.
So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping but officials and tribesmen believe Taliban or Taliban-linked militants are responsible for the incident.
The Shalman area of Khyber Agency is adjacent to Palosa in the border areas of Mohmand Agency, where the militants have hideouts and compounds.
