The Afghan government has reportedly arrested an army colonel suspected of handing over civilians to one of Afghanistan’s most-wanted criminals. Kabul claims the culprit worked for the US Special Forces, torturing and killing on their behalf.
Afghan authorities are investigating the disappearances and
killings of locals in Wardak Province, where at least 11 people
have been found dead and seven others remain unaccounted for.
Local residents claimed that the victims had all been arrested by
US Special Forces. The Karzai government has ordered all Western
troops out of Nerkh district, where the disappearances occurred.
Investigators have accused Zakaria Kandahari of leading a death
squad that terrorized, tortured and killed Afghans suspected of
having links with insurgents. The accusations are based on
forensic evidence, witness reports and footage of one torture
session.
Kabul believes that Kandahari has US citizenship. The US
confirmed that the man worked as an interpreter for the US
Special Forces, but says he was no longer employed at the time
the alleged crimes were committed.
As part of the investigation, Afghan authorities arrested an army
colonel suspected of involvement, Reuters reported, citing Afghan
and international officials who spoke on condition of anonymity
due to the sensitivity of the investigation.
“This colonel was handing over detainees to Kandahari,
thinking that Kandahari worked for the [US] Special Forces and
they had the authority to question any detainee,” an
unidentified Afghan official said. “This was irresponsible and
that’s why [the colonel] was himself detained and is being
investigated.”
A senior US Military official and a senior Afghan official based
in Kabul said Kandahari was working with or for the Americans at
the time the colonel handed over the prisoners. A senior US
official told Reuters Kandahari had no official status with the
US forces deployed in Wardak Province.
Earlier, the US Military said it had repeatedly investigated the
disappearances in Nerkh and had found no evidence of wrongdoing
by any of its personnel.
Kandahari has been at large since January, when the scandal first
emerged following the discovery of mutilated bodies near the US
Special Forces base in Nerkh. The reported arrest of the colonel
comes after the bodies of three men detained since November in
joint US-Afghan raids were found close to the base in May.
This article originally appeared on: RT