NATO probes Afghan detainee ‘abuse’

AFP

The NATO-led force in Afghanistan on Monday said it was investigating a report that US and Afghan soldiers tied a detainee to a military vehicle and threatened to drag him across a road.

One US soldier and an unspecified number of Afghan servicemen have been suspended after the German magazine, Focus, reported the June 10 incident in Ghazni province.

The soldiers were also reported to have threatened the suspect’s family.

“We take these accusations very seriously,” Colonel Martin P. Schweitzer, regional commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), said in a statement.

“The coalition has appointed a senior officer to investigate the allegations in coordination with (Afghan National Security Forces) officials and the local community leaders.

“The soldier in question has been temporarily removed from his post, pending the outcome of the investigation.”

The US soldier was from the 82nd Airborne Division, which is serving under the NATO force.

The statement added that any criminal investigation into the American would be carried out by the US army, and could take months.

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