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GARDEZ, Afghanistan, July 6 (Reuters) - Sixteen Afghans working for a United Nations-sponsored demining agency who were kidnapped at the weekend have been freed unharmed, an agency official said on Monday.

The Mine Detection and Dog Centre (MDC) personnel were seized by gunmen on a highway in eastern Paktia province on Saturday. The MDC is part of the overall U.N. mine clearing agency in Afghanistan known as UNMACA.

Sherin Agha Ahmad Shah, head of the MDC in Paktia, said tribal chiefs in the province made contact with the kidnappers and were able to secure the release of the men late on Sunday.

"The kidnappers were thieves and the tribal chiefs negotiated the release of the workers without any ransom or any deal," he told reporters, without giving further details.

The Interior Ministry said in a statement police were also involved in securing their release.

Kidnapping of Afghans and foreigners has become a lucrative business both for Taliban insurgents and criminal gangs in recent years. Some captives have been killed while others have been released after ransoms were apparently paid.

Separately, no further information has emerged about two Afghan employees working for Dutch aid agency HealthNet TPO (HNI) who the Afghan Health Ministry said were abducted in neighbouring Khost province on Saturday.

HNI is a Netherlands-based aid agency specializing in rehabilitating healthcare systems in war zones and disaster areas. No one has claimed responsibility for their abductions.

In Paktia last year, 13 deminers working for another agency were kidnapped by a criminal gang but were freed a month later after mediation by tribal chiefs.

With insurgent violence at its worst since the Taliban were ousted from power in late 2001, thousands of U.S. Marines launched a major new offensive last week in southern Helmand province, long a Taliban stronghold and opium growing hub. [ID:nSP401743]

(Reporting by Kamal Sadat; Writing by Sayed Salahuddin; Editing Paul Tait)

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