Taliban seize 18 Afghan mine clearing experts

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Taliban seize 18 Afghan mine clearing experts

By David Fox
Sun Jun 24, 10:45 AM ET

KABUL (Reuters) - Taliban fighters have seized 18 Afghan
mine clearing experts and threatened to kill them if
investigations suggest they are working for U.S.-led forces
in the country, officials and the insurgents said on Sunday.

The group was seized along with four specialist mine-sniffing
dogs, which can take years to train, on Saturday in the Andar
district of Ghazni province, part of the eastern and southern
"badlands" where the Taliban are at their strongest.

"Our investigation is ongoing and after the investigation we
will decide what to do," Taliban commander Mullah Safiullah
told Reuters by satellite phone.

-snip-

"PROTECTED STATUS"

Hakimi told Reuters that the Taliban leader, Mullah Omar, had
previously given mine clearers "protected status" and that he
hoped this ruling would still apply.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070624/wl_nm/afghan_kidnap_dc

[soothsayer]

1. mine clearing is humanitarian and benefits all sides

[nealmhughes]

2. That is fundamentally about as low as one can get.

[rec_report]

3. No worries there - they would never be working for the US government.

'Taliban fighters have seized 18 Afghan mine clearing experts and threatened to kill them if
investigations suggest they are working for U.S.-led forces in the country, officials and the insurgents said on Sunday.'
Bush and Cheney's terrorists are trying to kill as many civilians as possible, in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Polar Bear

[Eugene]

4. Taliban expected to free deminers, official says

Source: Reuters

Taliban expected to free deminers, official says
25 Jun 2007 06:17:52 GMT
Source: Reuters

KABUL, June 25 (Reuters) - Afghanistan's Taliban were expected
to free 18 mine-clearing experts they seized at the weekend, an
official for the group said on Monday.

The 18 Afghans were taken on Saturday along with four specialist
mine-sniffing dogs in the Andar district of Ghazni province, part
of the eastern and southern areas where the Taliban are at their
strongest.

The Taliban threatened at the time to kill them if investigations
showed they were working for U.S.-led or Afghan forces in the
country.

"Through our contacts and mediation in this issue, we have been
assured that all will be released soon," Shohab Hakimi, head of the
non-governmental Mine Detection Dog Centre (MDC), told Reuters.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SP162267.htm