KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, 10 June 2006 — Afghan troops killed 13 suspected Taleban rebels including two Pakistani nationals yesterday, while militants killed an Afghan aid worker and three policemen, officials said. The rebels were killed in an army sweep of an area around Tirin Kot city, the capital of restive Uruzgan province, which has seen several counter-insurgency operations in the past weeks.
“Among the 13 bodies on the site, two are Pakistani nationals. They have Pakistani ID cards,” Gen. Rahmatullah Raufi, the Afghan army commander for southern Afghanistan, told AFP. Uruzgan, where 1,400 Dutch troops are deploying to be part of a NATO-led force that is moving into southern Afghanistan, has seen some intense battles in recent weeks.
In the northern province of Balkh, meanwhile, gunmen opened fire on an Afghan aid group’s vehicle late Thursday killing an aid worker and wounding two others, police said. They were believed to be from the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance organization that works in the health, agriculture and education sectors. “We can’t say who did this but it is the people who are against peace in Afghanistan,” provincial police spokesman Shir Jan Durani said.
In western Herat province bordering Iran, three border policemen were shot dead late Thursday while on patrol in their vehicle, provincial police chief Mohammad Ayob Salangi said. “The armed group of terrorists escaped the area,” he said.
Police said, meanwhile, they had arrested yesterday the Taleban commander of several districts of southwestern Nimroz province who was responsible for “terrorist activities” including the killing of four policemen. The commander, Mullah Manaan, was arrested with arms and a vehicle and had been a district governor during the 1996-2001 Taleban regime.
“In the past he was involved in the attacks on police posts, he was leading the attacks,” Interior Ministry spokesman Yousuf Stanizai said. “Some days ago when there was an attack on police in which four police were killed and a police vehicle was set ablaze, he was involved and was leading it.”
