KABUL, Sept 1: Taliban militants beheaded a cleric, saying he was a candidate in the Sept 18 elections. However, a provincial official said on Thursday that the dead man was not a candidate though he had been helping one.

Four candidates for the parliamentary and provincial elections have been killed with five election workers but the election commission says it does not regard all of the deaths as election-related.

A Taliban spokesman said Mullah Amir Mohammad was killed by Taliban fighters on Wednesday night. A provincial official confirmed the murder.

“He was beheaded,” said Wali Alizai, spokesman for the governor of Helmand province. “But he was not a candidate, he was killed because he was supporting a candidate.”

Security is a major worry for the vote on Sept 18, the country’s latest step on a difficult path to stability, but the government says the Afghan people will not be deterred.

The Taliban, forced from power in late 2001, have condemned the vote and claimed responsibility for attacks on candidates but a spokesman said last month they would not attack polling stations on election day because of the risk of civilian casualties.

Suspected Taliban gunmen have also killed several clerics apparently because they were seen as supporting the US-backed government.

In June, Taliban fighters shot dead the head of a religious council who was a prominent critic of the Taliban.—Reuters