Taliban fighters have freed 118 of the 153 labourers kidnapped last weekend in western Afghanistan, Mullah Bilal, a Taliban commander, has said.

The workers were helping to construct an army base when pro-Taliban fighters seized them in Bala Boluk district in Farah province last Sunday, while they were travelling in a convoy of buses.

"Due to the hard work of the elders who were negotiating with the Taliban, 118 of the workers have been released," Rohul Amin, the governor of Farah province, told reporters on Friday.

Three workers were released on Thursday.

After the labourers were captured, Zemeri Bashary, an Afghan interior ministry spokesman, said: "What demand might they have from the government? They are poor and innocent labourers who are travelling far distances for work."

Official abducted

The abductions of the labourers came after the Afghan consulate said that Afghanistan's consul-general in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar was abducted almost two weeks ago.

Abdul Khaliq Farahi was seized after his car was attacked and his driver killed.

Farahi's car was attacked by armed men as it travelled from the consulate in central Peshawar to his home in the suburbs, Banaras Khan, a police officer, said.

Farahi was due to take over in coming days as the Afghan ambassador to Islamabad, officials said.

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