Mine sweepers found dead
Four were among 28 kidnap victims
KABUL, Afghanistan – At least four of the 28 mine sweepers who were abducted by unknown gunmen in western Afghanistan have been found dead, local officials said Sunday.
Elsewhere, three NATO soldiers were killed in a wave of attacks.
The workers belonged to the United Nations-supported Demining Agency for Afghanistan, a local nongovernmental organization based in Kabul that operates all over the country.
They were kidnapped in Bala Blok, in Farah province, four days earlier and taken to unknown locations.
“We have received the body of one person so far who was beheaded, who was buried today by his family,” said Rohull Ameen, Farah’s governor.
No one has claimed responsibility for the kidnappings. Taliban insurgents often target workers affiliated with government or international organizations.
“Our reports say that four other bodies whose faces are not recognizable also have been seen in the district, but our security departments are working to find out if these are the bodies of the mine sweepers,” Ameen said.
Ameen blamed Taliban insurgents.
Taliban spokesmen were not available for comment.
Also on Sunday, three NATO soldiers were killed in the east and south of the country in attacks by insurgents, according to a statement issued from NATO headquarters in Kabul.
But the statement did not give details about the exact whereabouts or the nationalities of the dead soldiers.
Meanwhile, an explosion Sunday in Kandahar killed three people, including two police officers, and wounded six others, according to an Interior Ministry statement.