KHOST, Afghanistan: The body of an Afghan interpreter working with foreign forces was found beheaded in eastern Afghanistan, police said yesterday, reporting separately that eight militants were killed in clashes.
The headless body of Mir Zaman, who had been working as a translator for Nato-led troops in the eastern province of Paktia, was found late Thursday in the neighbouring province of Logar, police officer Ghulam Dastgir said.
The interpreter had been kidnapped several days ago, Dastgir said. He blamed the crime on Taliban guerrillas who have been waging an insurgency since their ouster in late 2001 in a US-led offensive.
The Taliban have threatened to kill Afghans working with foreign troops as well for aid organisations run by Western countries.
In a separate incident, Afghan and foreign troops killed four men in anti-Taliban raids in the eastern province of Nangarhar yesterday, police said, as a local insisted the dead were villagers with no links to the rebels.
The US-led coalition said Taliban forces had opened fire on troops during the early-morning operations and the soldiers had returned fire, killing some of them. It did not say how many.
Sixteen “militants” were also arrested in the raids, the coalition said in a statement. Nangarhar police spokesman Samonwal Abdul Ghafoor said four men were killed.
A villager named Ketab Jan said the dead were a father, two sons and a nephew from the same family.
“The people who are killed and arrested by the coalition forces are innocent people,” he claimed.
“They were shopkeepers and farmers and labourers. They don’t have any relationship with the Taliban and Al Qaeda people. They (the soldiers) were operating without strong information.”
There have been several cases in Nangarhar province, on the border with Pakistan, in which coalition forces have said they had killed militants whom locals said were innocent civilians.
The coalition led the drive that toppled the Taliban regime in late 2001 and is today focused on hunting down Taliban and other militants, including from Al Qaeda, involved in an insurgency against the Western-backed government.
Police reported separately that four Taliban were killed and two policemen were injured in two clashes–one in Zabul and one in Paktia.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon made a fleeting visit to Afghanistan yesterday for talks with President Hamid Karzai and leaders of the Nato-led force helping to fight a Taliban insurgency.
Ban shook hands with Karzai for photographers before going into talks in the presidential palace soon after his arrival.
“He is really talking to the president about how to ensure UN co-ordination with the government of Afghanistan,” UN spokesman Adrian Edwards said.
The men are also due to meet in Rome on Tuesday at an international conference on rule of law and human rights in Afghanistan. “This is part of touching base ahead of that,” Edwards said.
“The conference is about rule of law also but also ensuring international commitment remains solid.”
Ban also met the commander of Nato’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), US General Dan McNeill, and senior UN representatives.
He was due to leave Afghanistan later yesterday.
The UN established a mission in Afghanistan in 2002. Its role is to help the country rebuild from decades of war and promote human rights and democracy.
The previous secretary general, Kofi Annan, visited Afghanistan the same year. An insurgency launched by the Taliban in the months after their ouster has grown steadily despite an international effort that includes about 35,500 ISAF soldiers and about 15,000 from a US-led coalition.
The violence and other problems like corruption and poor co-ordination have hampered progress, disillusioning many Afghans. – Agencies
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