Afghan army accused of beheading Taliban

A senior Afghan militia commander alleged today that troops from Afghanistan’s US-trained national army beheaded four Taliban fighters to avenge the similar slaying of an Afghan soldier and a military interpreter.

The killings were carried out in the Arghandab district of southeastern Zabul province, said Naimatullah Khan, the commander of government militias in the province.

US troops were not present at the time, he said.

Afghan National Army troops sent to look for an interpreter and soldier who became separated from a combined Afghan-US force found their corpses and severed heads on a mountainside, Khan said.

Four Taliban fighters were later caught in a search of the area, he said.

“The ANA soldiers did the same thing. They cut off their heads,” Khan said. He said the corpses of the suspected Taliban were left where they lay, but had no further details.

If verified, the decapitations would mark an escalation in violence plaguing much of the south and east, especially Zabul, in recent weeks.

The US military says it has killed more than 80 rebels since May 25.

American soldiers typically accompany Afghan army units during operations, but Lieut Colonel Tucker Mansager, a spokesman for the US military, said today it had “no independent confirmation” that the beheadings occurred.

Afghan Defence Ministry spokesman Mohammed Zahir Azimi said he had not heard of the reported incident, and maintained “it’s not possible” that ANA troops would carry out beheadings.

He said ANA troops were trained in the international law of warfare and would not even mistreat prisoners.

Also today, five Afghan soldiers were killed and two others were seriously wounded when their vehicle hit a mine in a desert area near the border town of Spin Boldak, a local commander said.