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Afghan Boy With US Dollars Hanged
Afghan Boy With US Dollars Hanged
Oct 1 08:42 AM US/Eastern
By NOOR KHAN
Associated Press Writer
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) - Taliban militants hanged a teenager
in southern Afghanistan because he had U.S. money in his pocket, and they
stuffed five $1 bills in his mouth as a warning to others not to use
dollars, police said Monday. Taliban militants elsewhere killed eight
police.
The 15-year-old boy was hanged from a tree on Sunday in Helmand,
the most violent province in the country and the world's No. 1 poppy-
growing region.
"The Taliban warned villagers that they would face the same
punishment if they were caught with dollars," said Wali Mohammad, the
district police chief in Sangin.
Dollars are commonly used in Afghanistan alongside the afghani,
the local currency, although the U.S. currency is more commonly seen in
larger cities where international organizations are found.
Militants often justify their attacks and executions as a
response to U.S. meddling in Afghan affairs.
In Sangin on Saturday, the Taliban shot and killed another man
who had sought farm assistance and seeds from an international aid program,
Mohammad said. The militants accused him of being a spy.
Taliban insurgents in Ghazni province, meanwhile, ambushed a
police convoy Sunday, killing eight officers, said Abdul Khaliq Nikmal,
spokesman for the provincial governor.
He said Afghan authorities have sent police reinforcements to
the area and are meeting with U.S. military officials to plan a
counterattack.
Violence has surged in Afghanistan in recent months. Last week
alone violence killed more than 270 dead, including 165 militants killed in
two large battles in the south and 30 people killed in a suicide bombing on
an army bus in Kabul.
President Hamid Karzai said he would be willing to meet
personally with Taliban leader Mullah Omar and factional warlord Gulbuddin
Hekmatyar, leader of Hezb-i-Islami, in exchange for peace.
On Sunday, Karzai's spokesman, said there is "serious debate"
among some Taliban fighters about laying down arms.
But the Taliban said international troops must first leave the
country before any talks are held, a position mirrored by Hezb-i-Islami in
an announcement Monday.
"Negotiations with Karzai have no worth in the presence of
American forces," said Haroon Zarghun, a purported spokesman for
Hezb-i-Islami.
"Karzai has, in fact, no authority in the presence of American
troops. Talks would be waste of time in such a situation," he told The
Associated Press by telephone. "If the United States announces to leave
Afghanistan, then we will be ready to hold talks."
Insurgency-related violence has killed more than 4,600 people so
far this year, most of them insurgents, according to an AP tally of figures
from Afghan and Western officials.
In Helmand's Reg district, Afghan and U.S.-led coalition forces,
acting on intelligence reports, were pursuing militants hiding out in the
area when they came under attack, the coalition said. The troops called in
airstrikes and fought the militants in a gunbattle.
More than 20 militants were killed, but there were no reports of
civilians hurt. It was not possible to verify the death toll independently.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Afghan Boy With US Dollars Hanged
Oct 1 08:42 AM US/Eastern
By NOOR KHAN
Associated Press Writer
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) - Taliban militants hanged a teenager
in southern Afghanistan because he had U.S. money in his pocket, and they
stuffed five $1 bills in his mouth as a warning to others not to use
dollars, police said Monday. Taliban militants elsewhere killed eight
police.
The 15-year-old boy was hanged from a tree on Sunday in Helmand,
the most violent province in the country and the world's No. 1 poppy-
growing region.
"The Taliban warned villagers that they would face the same
punishment if they were caught with dollars," said Wali Mohammad, the
district police chief in Sangin.
Dollars are commonly used in Afghanistan alongside the afghani,
the local currency, although the U.S. currency is more commonly seen in
larger cities where international organizations are found.
Militants often justify their attacks and executions as a
response to U.S. meddling in Afghan affairs.
In Sangin on Saturday, the Taliban shot and killed another man
who had sought farm assistance and seeds from an international aid program,
Mohammad said. The militants accused him of being a spy.
Taliban insurgents in Ghazni province, meanwhile, ambushed a
police convoy Sunday, killing eight officers, said Abdul Khaliq Nikmal,
spokesman for the provincial governor.
He said Afghan authorities have sent police reinforcements to
the area and are meeting with U.S. military officials to plan a
counterattack.
Violence has surged in Afghanistan in recent months. Last week
alone violence killed more than 270 dead, including 165 militants killed in
two large battles in the south and 30 people killed in a suicide bombing on
an army bus in Kabul.
President Hamid Karzai said he would be willing to meet
personally with Taliban leader Mullah Omar and factional warlord Gulbuddin
Hekmatyar, leader of Hezb-i-Islami, in exchange for peace.
On Sunday, Karzai's spokesman, said there is "serious debate"
among some Taliban fighters about laying down arms.
But the Taliban said international troops must first leave the
country before any talks are held, a position mirrored by Hezb-i-Islami in
an announcement Monday.
"Negotiations with Karzai have no worth in the presence of
American forces," said Haroon Zarghun, a purported spokesman for
Hezb-i-Islami.
"Karzai has, in fact, no authority in the presence of American
troops. Talks would be waste of time in such a situation," he told The
Associated Press by telephone. "If the United States announces to leave
Afghanistan, then we will be ready to hold talks."
Insurgency-related violence has killed more than 4,600 people so
far this year, most of them insurgents, according to an AP tally of figures
from Afghan and Western officials.
In Helmand's Reg district, Afghan and U.S.-led coalition forces,
acting on intelligence reports, were pursuing militants hiding out in the
area when they came under attack, the coalition said. The troops called in
airstrikes and fought the militants in a gunbattle.
More than 20 militants were killed, but there were no reports of
civilians hurt. It was not possible to verify the death toll independently.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
