Taliban 'kill 35 highway workers'

19 May 2011 Last updated at 14:18 GMT At least 35 construction workers have been shot dead and 20 injured by Taliban insurgents in eastern Afghanistan, an official says.

Eight insurgents were also killed as guards returned fire during Wednesday night's ambush, a Paktia provincial spokesman told the BBC.

The attack took place in a mountainous district on the highway linking Paktia and Khost provinces.

The Taliban recently declared the start of a "spring offensive" of attacks.

"A large group of Taliban attacked a road construction company in Paktia province," Paktia provincial spokesman Rohullah Samoon is quoted by the AFP news agency as saying.

"The fighting between the company guards and Taliban attackers continued for two hours."

Bribes

The attack took place at around 0200 local time (2130 GMT) at a roadside camp next to the highway they were working on.

The head of the construction company, Galaxy Star, said they were attacked by more than 100 fighters.

"They [the Taliban] destroyed a lot of our equipment including vehicles and equipment used for road construction," Noorullah Bidar said.

"We don't know why they attacked us... they are doing this to prevent reconstruction in Afghanistan."

The Taliban confirmed it had carried out the attack.

Road workers are frequently targeted by Taliban militants. Last December gunmen kidnapped four Turkish road workers and their local driver in Paktia.

In remote areas of Afghanistan, the Taliban and other insurgents often tax construction companies.

In some areas it is said to be impossible to carry out work without paying bribes to local commanders.

The BBC's Quentin Sommerville says the United States has been trying to stop development money falling into the hands of militant groups, particularly the Pakistan-based Haqqani militant network.

It has close ties to al-Qaeda, as well as the Taliban, and is known to operate in the area of Paktia.

This is the deadliest single attack by the Taliban in Afghanistan since February when militants killed 42 people in an attack on a bank in Jalalabad.

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Duo are 'burnt alive' by Taliban

27 May 2011 Last updated at 17:16 GMT By Bilal Sarwary BBC News, Kabul A senior Afghan general has ordered the capture of a Taliban deputy governor alleged to have authorised the burning alive of two people.

General Daud Daud told the BBC that the incident happened last Friday in the northern province of Sar-e Pol.

He said that the gruesome killings were ordered by Maulvi Nasrullah, a deputy governor of the Taliban in neighbouring Balkh province.

Afghanistan's human rights commission condemned the incident.

In a statement, it said that all those responsible must be arrested for what it called "the gravest human rights violation".

The Taliban say that they are unaware of the incident.

Officials say that one of those killed was a driver of a local Taliban commander.

They say that the burning happened when the Taliban commander, Mastu Khan, abducted an influential tribal elder from Gosfandi district.

Mr Khan's bodyguard, known only as Daoud, opposed the abduction and was beaten by Mr Khan for not obeying orders.

Daoud allegedly killed Mr Khan in retaliation for his beating and escaped. He is now receiving hospital treatment in Kabul.

It was a rare case of a Taliban subordinate turning against a superior.

Officials say that on the morning after the escape, the kidnapped trader and the driver were beaten by the Taliban who suspected them of having a role in Mastu Khan's killing.

Maulvi Nasrullah is alleged to have ordered that the pair be doused with fuel and burnt alive.

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