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Woman beheaded; six perish in Afghan bomb blast
(KUNA) -- A woman and her grandson were beheaded by Taliban militants on charges of spying for the foreign troops while six civilians were killed and six more sustained injuries as a bomb ripped through a passenger vehicle on Thursday. Both the incidents happened in the volatile south of the war-battered country.
The part next to Pakistain, they mean.
Separately, the Afghan government claimed killing scores of Taliban in nearly a week fighting with them to capture control of a district in the restive south from the insurgents. Addressing a news conference in Kabul on Thursday, the Defence Ministry spokesman General Zahir Azimi said a large number of militants, including their senior commanders and some foreigners were killed in the joint swoop by the Afghan and foreign troops in Musa Qala district of the southern Helmand. The operation was launched on Friday to get back control of the district from Taliban, who captured the town from Afghan troops in February last. Azimi said the Taliban had fled the area and the Afghan troops and their foreign supporters were in control of the situation.

Meanwhile, a 60-year-old woman and her grandson were beheaded by Taliban on charges of spying for the foreign troops in the southern zone, a police officer said on Thursday. The incident happened in Deh Rahod district of Uruzgan province. Police chief of the province Juma Gul Himmat confirmed the beheading of the woman and her grandson but would not disclose their identities. Taliban so far did not issue any comment.

In the same province, six civilians were killed and as many wounded as a passenger vehicle stepped on a roadside landmine in Tirikot, the provincial capital. Himmat accused Taliban for planting the landmine to target the NATO and Afghan troops. However, the militants so far did not claim responsibility. Civilians often fell prey to roadside bombs and exchange of fire between the security forces and the militants or bombing of Taliban positions by the foreign troops. In recent months, human right organizations and the United Nations' bodies in Kabul have expressed concern over civilian casualties in the war and urged upon all parties to the fighting to observe restraints to avoid civilian casualties.
Posted by: Fred 2007-12-14
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=213110