In Sarobi, on the road between Jalalabad and Kabul, a checkpoint notorious in pre-Taliban days for extorting money from travellers has reportedly been re-established.

ECONOMIST: Special report

Tribal leader Malik Samad and district chief Muhammad Haqbeen told CNN that Joseph and an Afghan doctor were abducted near the village of Jegdalek in the Sarobi district, just outside Kabul.

CNN: American doctor rescued in Afghanistan: Thank you