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| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| 2004-09-18 |
| Suspected Taliban rebels killed two tribal elders who were encouraging participation in elections and shot to death an Afghan military commander in an ambush, officials said Saturday. Afghan security forces searching for three elders kidnapped from Maruf district of southern Kandahar province found their bodies lying in a stream bed late Friday, district mayor Sayed Ali said. All had multiple gunshot wounds and two were dead. A third was still alive despite injuries to the throat and stomach and had been taken to the U.S. military base in Kandahar city for treatment, Ali said. Ali said the men, who were abducted a week ago, were targeted because "they had been telling people to get registered for the election and to go and vote for whoever they choose." Ten election workers have already died this year in a series of bombings and shootings, and two elders were reported killed last week in Zabul province, next to Kandahar, also because they were encouraging Afghans to vote. The violence has also left scores of Afghan security forces dead. On Saturday, four gunmen riding two motorcycles ambushed the car of a militia commander in Helmand province, killing him and wounding two of his guards, said Haji Mohammed Wali, a spokesman for the governor. He blamed the Taliban for the deadly attack on the commander, Samad Khan. |
| Posted by:Fred |