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A Japanese journalist kidnapped in Afghanistan in April has been freed KUNDUZ, Afghanistan, Sept 5 (Reuters) - A Japanese journalist kidnapped in Afghanistan in April has been freed, according to an Afghan provincial official who said on Sunday the journalist had been abducted by the Taliban.

Kosuke Tsuneoka, a 41-year-old freelance journalist, was at Japan's embassy in the Afghan capital, Kabul, Kyodo news agency reported earlier on Sunday, quoting Japanese government sources.

Tsuneoka, who has been in Afghanistan since mid-March, went missing in the northern city of Kunduz near the border with Tajikistan.

Mohammad Omar, the governor of Kunduz province, said Tsuneoka was freed on Saturday in the Dasht-e Archi district of Kunduz.

"Based on security forces reports, he was freed yesterday. He was released most probably in return for payment of money," Omar told Reuters. He gave no further details.

The Taliban, fighting an increasingly bloody insurgency against the Afghan government and foreign forces, said at the time Tsuneoka went missing that they had abducted him.

The Islamist group could not be reached for comment on Sunday.

The Taliban use Kunduz as a base for launching attacks in some parts of the north, once one of the more peaceful areas of Afghanistan. The Taliban have spread the insurgency out of their traditional strongholds in the south and east in recent years.

The kidnapping of Afghans and foreigners has become lucrative in recent years, for criminal gangs and the Taliban.

Violence is at its worst across Afghanistan since the Taliban were ousted by U.S.-backed Afghan forces in late 2001.