Trapped al-Qaida fighter blows himself up

A suspected al-Qaida fighter blew himself up in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar today rather than be captured by anti-Taliban tribal soldiers.

The man was one of seven alleged al-Qaida members who have been under siege in the Mir Wais Hospital since the Taliban surrendered Kandahar to tribal commanders last year.

The man, whose name and nationality are unknown, jumped from a second-storey window shortly before dawn today in an attempt to escape. However, he was quickly surrounded by Afghan fighters and decided to commit suicide rather than be captured.

"He stopped, looked around, saw that he was surrounded and took a grenade and blew himself up," according to Mohammed Shafiq, a local commander.

His six injured comrades are still inside the hospital. Armed with grenades and guns, they control around five rooms in the internal medicine ward, where they are receiving treatment and will only allow medical staff to enter.

The men have threatened to blow themselves up if any attempt is made to arrest them.