Alleged Taliban statement vows more attacks

Gunmen ambushed a car carrying Afghan civilians working on a remote US military base in eastern Afghanistan and killed eight of them execution-style, police said today.

The killings came as a statement, purportedly from fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Omar, urged militants to step up attacks on Afghan and foreign troops and told Nato to quit Afghanistan.

The ambush victims, who worked for the US military as labourers in the mountainous Korangal area of Kunar province, were killed yesterday while driving home from work, said Abdul Saboor, Kunar’s deputy police chief.

Gunmen stopped the workers’ car, searched them and took about £3,000 (€4,470) before gunning them down, said Salehzai Didar, Kunar’s governor.

Two workers escaped, he said.

The statement from Omar, forwarded by Muhammad Hanif who claims to speak for the hard-line militia, warned the Taliban would increase their attacks against foreign and Afghan troops.

“I would again ask mujahideen (holy warriors) to intensify their attacks but they should avoid any harm to innocent people and children,” said the statement, issued on the eve of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.