Officials say Taliban kill 30 after stopping bus

Afghan officials say Taliban militants have killed about 30 Afghans after stopping a bus on a highway and taking the passengers hostage.

Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi says 31 people were killed in the attack in the Maiwand district of Kandahar province, a dangerous region just west of Kandahar city.
Azimi says six of the dead were beheaded.

Provincial police Chief Matiullah Khan says the militants captured about 50 people during the attack Thursday. He says several of those captured were released.

A Taliban spokesman says the militants killed 27 Afghan soldiers on the bus and released everyone else.

Azimi says there were no soldiers on the bus because they travel by air.