JPP20050816000085 Hong Kong AFP in English 0855 GMT 16 Aug 05

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Aug 16 (AFP) - Taliban militants threatened Tuesday to kill a kidnapped Lebanese engineer if his Turkish construction company fails to leave Afghanistan within 24 hours.

The engineer, Ahmed Reza, was abducted on Monday near Qalat, the capital of the restive southeastern Zabul province, local officials said.

"If the Turkish company he works for will not leave or prepare for leaving we will kill this engineer" by 12:00 pm (0730 GMT) on Wednesday, Abdul Latif Hakimi, the ousted regime's purported spokesman told AFP.

Some of Hakimi's claims have proved unreliable or exaggerated in the past.

A number of engineers working on construction projects in Afghanistan's restive south and east have been kidnapped by militants.

Hostage-takers killed a Turkish road worker in December last year in the eastern province of Kunar during an abortive rescue attempt by Afghan forces.

Italian aid worker Clementina Cantoni was kidnapped and then released by a criminal gang in the Afghan capital Kabul this May, although her abduction was not thought to have any link with Islamic militants.

Three United Nations workers were abducted from the centre of the capital, Kabul, and held for nearly a month before being released unharmed in late 2004.

As Afghanistan approaches landmark September parliamentary elections, Taliban loyalists and their Al-Qaeda allies have stepped up attacks on US and Afghan troops and softer targets such as aid and reconstruction workers.