Japanese aid worker seized in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Gunmen Tuesday seized a Japanese aid worker and his driver in eastern Afghanistan, officials said.

The pair, working for an organization building schools in the area, were pulled from their car in Nangarhar province, said Hazarat Ali, a lawmaker who represents the area.

Security forces have been deployed to the area to track down the gunmen, but locals have already surrounded a mountain where they think the abductors are holed up, provincial police chief Ghafour Khan said.

Kazuya Ito, 31, works for the Japan-based aid group, Peshawar-Kai. The group runs hospitals and clinics in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan, according to its Web site.

In the past, militants in the area have seized vehicles belonging to the aid group, said Peshawar-Kai's secretary general, Mitsuji Fukimoto.

Earlier this month, gunmen opened fire on an aid group's vehicle in eastern Afghanistan, killing four aid workers.

Taliban Islamic militants claimed responsibility for the August 13 attack on the workers of the New York-based aid group, International Rescue Committee.

Also in August, aid groups in Afghanistan issued a report that said attacks on workers have forced them to scale back on relief work.

Journalist Farhad Peikar contributed to this report.