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Karzai makes deal with Taliban
05/06/2007 00:04 - (SA)
Kabul - President Hamid Karzai ordered swapping the body of a slain top Taliban commander in exchange for the release of five Afghan health workers kidnapped in the country's south, an official said on Monday.
Karzai told "relevant authorities" to exchange the body of Mullah Dadullah - the top Taliban commander killed last month in southern Afghanistan - for a doctor, three nurses and a driver kidnapped by militants in southern Afghanistan two months ago, said Abdullah Fahim, a spokesperson for the Public Health Ministry.
It followed an exchange demand from Dadullah Mansoor, the brother of the slain commander, who now heads the militant operations in the country's south, Fahim said.
Mullah Dadullah, a one-legged militant, who orchestrated Taliban suicide attacks and beheadings, was killed in a US-led military operation in Helmand province. He was the second top-tier Taliban field commander to die in six months, after a US airstrike killed Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Osmani in December.
Dadullah reportedly was buried at a secret location near Kandahar.
The health workers were kidnapped on March 27 by suspected Taliban militants in southern Kandahar province's Zhari district, after they had administered vaccines and other treatment at a refugee camp, officials said.
"We hope that they will release our workers safe and secure," Fahim said. "Now it is up to local authorities in Kandahar ... to hand over the body (to the family)," he said.
It was not immediately clear when the swap would be made.
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