November 29, 2001	Thursday	Ramazan 13, 1422

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QUETTA, Nov 28: A senior commander with Pakhtoon forces in southern Afghanistan said on Wednesday 160 captured Taliban fighters who refused to surrender last week were executed before the eyes of US military personnel.

“We tried our best to persuade (the Taliban) to surrender before we attacked. We asked them many times, quoted the Quran and even offered them money,” said the commander from forces loyal to Gul Agha, a former mujahideen governor of Kandahar.

“But they replied with abuse so we had no choice. We executed around 160 Taliban that were captured. ”

They were made to stand in a long line and five or six of our fighters used light machineguns on them,” he said, adding that some of those killed were Pakistani.

The commander, who declined to be identified, said seven or eight U.S. military personnel who had been filming the fighting tried unsuccessfully to prevent the executions.

He said U.S. helicopters had made a night-time drop of weapons, uniforms and medicines before the battle last week at the town of Takhta Pol, between Kandahar and the Pakistan border.

He said he had been present at the executions, which took place on Friday after around 2,500 Gul Agha fighters captured Takhta Pol to cut a key Taliban supply route between Kandahar and the border.—Reuters