Deutsche Presse Agentur, March 11, 2011

4 Afghans lose ears to Taliban because of development project jobs

The governor's office said the Taliban had targeted a group of road workers in the same district a few weeks earlier, killing and injuring four people

Mohammad Khan, an elderly person whose ears were cut off by Taliban, said on Friday the rebels wanted to behead him along with three others, including his son. (Photo: PAN)

Kabul - Taliban militants cut off the ears of four Afghans working for a government-funded development project in the southern province of Kandahar, the provincial government said Thursday.

The militants on Wednesday detained eight people, including four children, who all work for the development project in the Zhari district, a statement issued by the governor's office said.

The vehicle they were travelling in was burned and the ears of the four adults' severed before the eight were released, it said, adding that the children were not harmed.

All eight are Pashtuns from northern Afghanistan who fled the area after the 2001 toppling of the Pashtun-dominated Taliban regime because they feared recrimination from non-Pashtuns. They now live in a refugee camp in the district.

The governor's office said the Taliban had targeted a group of road workers in the same district a few weeks earlier, killing and injuring four people.

Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban, has been a tough fight for foreign troops and Afghan forces in their battle against the Taliban. The foreign soldiers claimed 'fragile' and 'reversible' gains in 2010, but violence against civilians is still at a record high.

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