Bodies of 10 foreigners found in Afghanistan
The bodies of 10 people, including eight foreigners, were recovered today in a remote area of Badakhshan province in northern Afghanistan, police said.
The victims, who had been shot, were found next to three bullet-riddled four-wheeled drive vehicles in Kuran Wa Munjan district.
Provincial police chief General Agha Noor Kemtuz said two Afghan men were found dead along with eight others – three women and five men – whose nationalities were not known.
It was unclear what the group was doing in the forested area away from main routes through the province.
Kemtuz speculated that robbery could have been a motive in the killings.
“We couldn’t find any passports or anything,” he said. “Nothing was left behind.”
Villagers reported seeing foreigners travelling in four-wheeled drive vehicles in the area about 15 days ago, Kemtuz said. About two days ago, villagers told police that they saw the vehicles abandoned and search crews were sent to the area to investigate, he said.
In eastern Afghanistan, a candidate in next month’s parliamentary elections, who was kidnapped by insurgents, was also found dead today along a road in Ghazni province.
Also in the east, 12 Afghan civilians and a Nato service member were killed by roadside bombs.
The Taliban abducted the candidate, Najib Gulstani, 10 days ago in the Qarabagh district of Ghazni province, Kazim Allayar, the deputy provincial governor, said.
Relatives, assisted by Afghan soldiers, recovered his body this afternoon from the side of road that runs between Qarabagh and Ab Band districts, Allayar said.
