Taliban fighters in Afghanistan have taken 11 civilians who were on board a helicopter hostage.  The helicopter was a Turkish transport helicopter that got caught in bad weather. It was forced to make an emergency landing in a Taliban- controlled area in eastern Afghanistan, officials reported on on Monday, April 22, 2013. The Taliban has confirmed that they are holding the group hostage.

Heavy rain and strong winds forced the helicopter to make an emergency landing on Sunday in a village Southeast of Kabul. All of the people on board the civilian helicopter were taken captive by insurgent Taliban. There were about eight Turks, one Russian, and at least two other people whose nationalities have not yet been specified by officials. There are some conflicting numbers at the present time--the BBC has reported seven Turkish construction workers, one Russian pilot, and an Afghan; Agence France-Presse reported only eight Turks and one Afghan.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, said in an emailed statement that the crew included American military officers, but such claims are common for Taliban insurgents to make and are currently insubstantiated. 

District Governor Hamidullah Hamid told The Associated Press that the helicopter went down in a gorge in a heavily forested area known for its steep, rugged mountains and gorges. Difficult emergency landings are common in the area. The helicopter landed in a village named Dahra Mangal, in the Azra district of Logar provience, about 20 miles from the Pakistani border. It came down next to a former medical clinic that is now being used as an insurgent base by the Taliban.

Hamid said that after the helicopter landed in Dahra Mangal, the Taliban fighters took everyone on board away with them. Arsala Jamal, Logar's provincial governor, said the hostages were eight Turks, one Afghan who was there as a translator, and two pilots whose nationality is not yet known. They were likely taken up into the mountains away from the village.

Dr. Abdul Wali Wakil, Logar Provincial Council member, told the press that he and other provincial representatives were negotiating for the hostages' release. He said that military action should not yet take place and might exacerbate the situation. 

A spokesman from Turkey's Foreign Ministry in Ankara confirmed that some of the captured civilians were Turkish but had no other information on the condition of the hostages or where they were taken.