Afghan security forces killed a Taliban commander they alleged
yesterday to be behind the July kidnappings of 23 South Korean
church workers. The Taliban denied the claim.
The Taliban commander, named as Mullah Mateen, was among 22
militants killed in fighting late Monday and early yesterday in
Ghazni province, where the South Koreans were abducted, said Ghazni
Deputy Governor Kazim Allayar and a senior police officer.
Allayar said Mateen played a key role in the kidnapping,
including telephone negotiations with the government in the early
days of the kidnappings. He said another Taliban leader wanted over
the kidnappings, Mullah Abdullah Jan, remained at large.
Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi said seven insurgents were
killed in the clash, all of them ordinary fighters. He said the
Taliban did not have a commander called Mullah Mateen.
(China Daily via agencies September 5, 2007)
