KANDAHAR, April 30: Police in Afghanistan on Sunday found the headless body of an Indian engineer kidnapped two days before by Taliban militants, a killing that earned swift condemnation from New Delhi. Afghan President Hamid Karzai called it a “brutal” act and said that the Afghan and Indian nations know who were behind it.

“The death of the Indian engineer who was working for the construction and reconstruction of Afghanistan without a doubt is the work of enemies of Afghanistan,” Karzai said during a ceremony at his palace.

A Taliban spokesman, Yousuf Ahmadi, claimed responsibility for the killing of K. Suryanarayana, a contractor for Afghan mobile telephone network Roshan, but said his death was unintentional, while officials said it was no accident.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned what he called the “inhuman” slaying of Suryanarayana, who hailed from the southern Indian city of Hyderabad and was a father of three.

Karzai also offered his condolences to the government and people of India. “The Afghan nation honours all those foreigners who help Afghan nation, and the Afghan people become deeply saddened by such killings.”—AFP