Kabul, Nov 4 (IANS): Afghan security personnel have rescued two abducted children from kidnappers in southern Afghanistan's Kandahar province, provincial police spokesman Mullah Asadullah Jamshidi said on Monday.

The children, aged 9 and 12, were on their way home from school before being kidnapped in Police District 6, Kandahar city, the capital of the province, a fortnight ago, reports Xinhua news agency, quoting Jamshidi.

Without giving details on whether anyone was arrested on the charge of the case, the official added that the kidnappers initially demanded $100,000, then again 30,000 dollars in ransom for the children's release.

Similarly, Afghan security forces have released a child from the grab of kidnappers in western Herat province and arrested two suspects in the case on Friday.

In poverty-stricken Afghanistan, criminal gangs, including kidnappers, often attempt to abduct members of wealthy families and demand huge amounts of cash for their release.