Former BBC Journalist Among Those Detained In Kabul: What you need to know

Former BBC Journalist Among Those Detained In Kabul/picture courtesy NDTV

Two journalists working with the UN have been detained along with several Afghan workers, the organisation's refugee agency said on Friday.

"Two journalists on assignment with UNHCR and Afghan nationals working with them have been detained in Kabul. We are doing our utmost to resolve the situation, in coordination with others," the UNHCR tweeted.

One of the journalists is Andrew North, a British former BBC correspondent who has covered Afghanistan for about two decades and has regularly travelled to the war-ravaged country to report on its deteriorating humanitarian crisis.

Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the authorities were looking into the matter.

Security has vastly improved since the Taliban defeated NATO-backed Afghan forces, but the hardline Islamist group has forcefully cracked down on journalists, with local reporters paying the heaviest price.

Afghanistan has long been one of the world's most dangerous countries for the news media.