Pro-election Afghans 'executed by Taliban rebels'

Suspected Taliban rebels executed two pro-election tribal elders and laid a deadly ambush for an Afghan military commander, officials said today.

The executions came as the US military apologised for the death of a young Afghan civilian during its operations to protect the landmark October elections.

Meanwhile, three men arrested for firing a rocket at an American helicopter carrying President Hamid Karzai on a campaign trip are reported to have confessed to being members of the ousted Islamic militia.

The bodies of the kidnapped elders from the Maruf district of southern Kandahar were found by Afghan security forces yesterday, said district mayor Sayed Ali.

Two were dead while a third was rushed to the US military base in Kandahar city for treatment to throat and stomach injuries, he added.

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.”

Members of the former ruling Taliban have vowed to disrupt the country’s first-ever direct presidential election on October 9.

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, because they were encouraging Afghans to vote. The violence has also left scores of Afghan security forces dead.

Four gunmen riding two motorcycles ambushed the car of a militia commander in Helmand province today, 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, but provided no evidence.

The US military has vowed to use its 18,000-strong force to bolster security during the vote.

US-led forces have killed more than 100 militants since May in operations across the south and east of the country.

But they have had to apologise for the death of one male juvenile and the wounding of another in an incident involving US-led troops and militants in Uruzgan province. No further details were available.

Last month, the military apologised for the deaths of three unarmed Afghans shot dead after their pickup truck failed to stop at a checkpoint in Ghazni province.

It is still investigating whether civilians died when US warplanes bombarded suspected militants on August 30 in eastern Kunar province.