Kabul, May 1 (IANS): Afghan police have rescued a child from kidnappers' clutch in Afghanistan's capital city Kabul and arrested three kidnappers, Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran said.

Without providing more details, the officer said on Sunday that the child was rescued in Police District 10 very recently and an investigation had been initiated into the case.

In a crackdown on criminal elements, Afghan police have arrested 17 alleged criminals on charge of involvement in criminal activities such as kidnapping, robbery, mobile snatching and creating law and order problems in Kabul and the northern Mazar-i-Sharif city over the past three days.

In economically-impoverished Afghanistan, criminal gangs, including kidnappers, often attempt to target wealthy families by kidnapping their members, demanding huge amounts of cash as ransom for the kidnapped individuals' release, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Afghan caretaker government has vowed to crack down on outlaws and criminal elements as part of efforts to ensure law and order in the country.