Suspected Taliban militants have shot and killed a chief judge in eastern Afghanistan.
The
governor of Khost province, Arsala Jamal, told VOA News Afghan Service
Thursday provincial chief judge Sher Gul was killed near the provincial
capital. Officials say Gul is one of a series of judges killed by
militants in recent weeks.
The Afghan Interior Ministry says
police clashed with Taliban militants in the Zhari district of southern
Kandahar province today, killing eight militants and wounding seven
others. And in western Badghis province, police say militants attacked
a NATO supply convoy. Police guarding the convoy retaliated, killing
six militants.
In other violence, Afghan officials said at least
seven policemen were killed Wednesday when militants attacked their
post near Laskar Gah, the capital of southern Helmand province.
Also
Thursday, Afghanistan's spy service says it has freed a businessman
with German-Afghan citizenship who was kidnapped in Kabul almost two
weeks ago. The service's deputy director, Abdullah Laghmani, says
three suspected kidnappers were also arrested.
Separately, NATO says it has deployed a large number of French troops to southern Uruzgan province to help train Afghan forces.
Meanwhile, the
U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan said Wednesday one of its soldiers
died from injuries sustained during a roadside bomb attack in western
Afghanistan on Monday.
More than 500 U.S. troops have been
killed in Afghanistan since 2001, when the U.S. military helped oust
the Taliban-led government.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP.