Six Afghans employed by a local construction business contracted by the US who were kidnapped last week were found shot dead Saturday, a local official said. The six were among a group taken hostage on Tuesday in Logar province in the south of the war-torn country. The fate of three others kidnapped at the same time remains unknown, Abdul Khalil Kamal, governor of Charkh district told AFP.
The nine Afghans were kidnapped on September 6 by the Taliban while they were on their way to work for a local construction company subcontracted by the US army, Kamal said, without giving the name of the company. “Six Afghan civilian workers were found dead this morning in Charkh district of Logar province,” he said, adding that they were killed overnight and their bodies were left along the roadside in two separate areas.
Logar provincial police chief Ghulam Sakhi Rogh Lewani confirmed that the six bodies were recovered in two different places in the district, adding that they were suffering from gunshot wounds, to the chest, head or back of the neck. The Taliban, who have said they had nothing to do with the kidnapping, were not immediately reachable for comment.