BAJAUR, Dec 23: Three Taliban suspects were killed in an encounter with the troops of Afghanistan’s Eastern Shoora some three kilometres from Asadabad, the capital of Kunar province, on Saturday night.

According to reports reaching here from Asadabad, the Taliban, who were suspected members of the Al Qaeda terror network, were killed in a gunbattle with the Mujahideen troops of Eastern Shoora in the Topchi area near Asadabad, while they were trying to cross over to Pakistan.

They were hiding in the mountainous areas some 30km from the provincial capital of Afghanistan’s eastern Kunar province after the Taliban government was routed in Kabul, the reports indicated. They encountered the Mujahideen troops when they came out of their hideout and tried to cross the border over to the Bajaur tribal agency of Pakistan.

The suspect Al Qaeda members, who sported long beards, were between 25 and 35 years of age, sources said, adding that the Mujahideen had also recovered Arabic letters and other documents from their possession.

According to information, the identity of the bodies has not been established so far, but one thing is clear that all the three were Afghan nationals and they lived at the Governor’s House in Asadabad during the Taliban regime.

The bodies have been placed at the Topchi village, so that the relatives could be found out. The sources said that a large number of people turned up at the village to see the bodies. However, nobody could confirm their identity.