KABUL // The badly beaten, bullet-riddled bodies of seven Afghan soldiers were found dumped in an eastern province yesterday, apparent victims of insurgents.
The discovery comes as the Taliban have stepped up their attacks in Afghanistan and US-led foreign forces are reducing their presence in the country. The handover of responsibility for security to local forces has made the Afghan army an even more tempting target than usual for militants.
Residents found the corpses next to each other in Andar district of Ghazni province, their hands chained behind their backs.
The dead soldiers had been kidnapped at different times, with some abducted while they were on leave, said Mohammed Ali Ahmadi, the deputy governor of Ghazni. The victims hailed from northern provinces and were found with identification documents.
The Taliban did not claim of responsibility for the killings, but Mr Ahmadi said the insurgents were known to occasionally stop vehicles in search of people to "prosecute" for working for the US-backed Afghan government or security forces.
In Ghazni's Qarabagh district, two Afghans involved in civilian militias that resist the Taliban were killed during a gunfight with militants, Mr Ahmadi said. Such citizen militias have cropped up in several parts of Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, a roadside bomb killed eight Afghan employees of a private mining company in the north on Saturday, authorities said.
The workers were travelling in a small lorry to the chromite mine in the Bagram district of Parwan province. The provincial governor Abdul Basir Salangi said yesterday that five people also were wounded in the explosion and that the victims were all either labourers or security guards at the company.
An explosion yesterday was apparently aimed at the mayor of the eastern city of Jalalabad but wounded his driver.
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
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Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
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Investment raised: $4 million
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Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Match on BeIN Sports
UAE Rugby finals day
Games being played at The Sevens, Dubai
2pm, UAE Conference final
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Name: Rain Management
Year started: 2017
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Employees: 100-120
Amount raised: $2.5m from BitMex Ventures and Blockwater. Another $6m raised from MEVP, Coinbase, Vision Ventures, CMT, Jimco and DIFC Fintech Fund
Our family matters legal consultant
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Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
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Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
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Tour de France Stage 16:
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1971: The Year The Music Changed Everything
Director: Asif Kapadia
4/5