Afghan opposition figure reportedly killed near Kabul

Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers have reportedly killed a leading figure from the country’s opposition in the Logar province, south of the capital, Kabul.

Abdul Haq, a veteran of the war against Soviet occupation in the 1980s, was killed along with a number of companions in a shoot-out last night, according to the Bakhtar news agency.

Earlier reports suggested Haq had been captured and accused of crossing into Afghanistan to rally opposition to the Taliban. His family and allies have denied these allegations, saying Haq was on a peace mission to help bring an end to the US attacks on his country.

Haq’s arrest came amid heavy overnight bombing in the area surrounding Kabul and the Taliban have accused him of using a satellite telephone to call in attacks by US jets in a vain attempt to escape capture.

However, in Rome, advisers to the exiled former King, Zahir Shah, said Haq was in Afghanistan on behalf of the King to seek peace with all factions in the country.

Haq’s brother, Hajid bin Mohammed, told reporters in Pakistan that the former guerrilla was working for the future of Afghanistan.

"The mission was not against the Taliban. The mission was for Afghanistan," he said.

Haq was a hero of the Afghan resistance against Soviet invasion and only returned to the country on Sunday after years in exile.

He was reportedly trying to win the support of tribal chiefs and Taliban leaders within Afghanistan for a new, southern-based anti-Taliban front.

The opposition Northern Alliance is currently based in the north and north-east of the country and is made up mainly of ethnic Uzbeks, Tajiks and Hazaras.

The Taliban and the majority of Afghanistan’s population are ethnic Pashtuns, as is Haq.