Dhaka - Two Bangladeshi development workers based in war- torn Afghanistan were kidnapped by unidentified gunmen on Thursday, an official from the non-governmental Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) said on Saturday.

Akhter Ali and Mohammad Shahjahan Ali, BRAC area managers in Afghanistan's central Ghazni province, were taken from their office in Moi Mobarok in the provincial capital, the Dhaka-based organization said in a statement.

The gunmen attacked another Afghan national working for the organization, according to BRAC.

BRAC said it sought assistance from Afghan Minister of Interior, Hanif Atmar, and the government assured them of all-out support in trying to rescue the two, Zia Hashan, BRAC's communications manager in Dhaka said.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and the Afghan Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, were also informed, he added.

"A high-level team has been sent to Ghazni from the BRAC Afghanistan head office in Kabul to gather information and to liaise with the Afghan authorities," the BRAC statement said.

Last September, unidentified gunmen killed BRAC official Abdul Alim. Three days later, another Brac executive, Nurul Islam, was kidnapped but released after 83 days.

BRAC has been operating in Afghanistan for three years in the fields of education, health and providing livelihood support through micro-credit programmes. (dpa)