HERAT, Afghanistan - Unknown armed men abducted 12 Iranian engineers of a construction company in Farah province on Monday, spokesman for provincial administration Naqebullah Farahi said.

"Unknown armed men abducted 12 Iranian engineers of a construction company in Ship Koh district this morning," Naqebullah Farahi told Xinhua.

According to Farahi, the kidnapped people were involved in construction of roads in western Farah province bordering Iran.

However, he said an investigation was underway and police launched a search operation to locate and find the abducted people.

No group or individuals have claimed responsibility for abduction so far.

Taliban militants had in the past been blamed for kidnapping of aid workers and government service members in the insurgency-hit country.  

Officials of the Iranian embassy in Kabul said that no information on the reported abduction is available