Insurgents kidnap, execute two district council members in Khas Uruzgan

URUZGAN PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN

07.22.2010

Courtesy Story

NATO Special Operations Component Command-Afghanistan

By Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Afghanistan Public Affairs

Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan – Afghan officials said two district council members were kidnapped by Taliban militants in the late evening hours of July 22 and were found dead the following morning in western Uruzgan province.

A Khas Uruzgan district elder said he found the bodies of fellow council members after sustaining fatal gunshot wounds.

The elder said he brought the news to the attention of a Coalition official, who helped identify the bodies of Mohammad Issa and Asadullah, members of the Badanzai tribe and the district shura council.

According to the elder, the Taliban militants took Mohammad Issa and Asadullah from their homes in the Badanzai village and then stood them before of group of other insurgents, before executing them for working with Coalition forces.

Despite these intimidation tactics, the district attorney general as well as 30 members of the Khas Uruzgan council met for an impromptu shura with Coalition personnel working in the district, according to U.S Military officials.

“The courage of these council members, in the face of murders and intimidation, suggests that Khas Uruzgan citizens are not intimidated by the Taliban,” said Sgt. Ben Watson, a Coalition spokesperson. “These actions are one example of how determined Afghans are to overcome insurgent threats.’

• Date Taken: 07.22.2010
• Date Posted: 07.25.2010 02:32
• Story ID: 53344
• Location: URUZGAN PROVINCE, AF