Taleban kill eight Afghan workers en route to US base

PULI ALAM, AFGHANISTAN (AFP) - Taleban gunmen on Thursday shot dead eight Afghan civilians on their way to jobs at a United States military base south of Kabul, officials said.

"Eight Afghan workers who were working in Camp Shank were killed this morning by the Taleban," said the deputy police chief in Logar province, Mr Rais Khan Sadeq. Logar is a Taleban stronghold that neighbours the Afghan capital.

"They were forced out of their car and taken about 200m off road to a nearby village, and shot in the head one by one," he told AFP. Their bodies were found with their eyes blindfolded, the police officer said, describing them as "ordinary civilian workers" on the base.

US and Nato military bases across Afghanistan hire local staff to work on construction projects and as cleaners.

Mr Din Mohammad Darvish, the Logar administration spokesman, confirmed the incident and said the bodies of the victims were recovered in the village.

"They were poor and ordinary workers, all civilians," he said.

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