Six Contractors Found Beheaded in Afghanistan

Contractors Were Building Checkpoints in Kandahar

Provincial officials have reported finding six bodies of government contractors in the Kandahar Province, all of them beheaded after apparent capture by the Taliban.

According to police spokesmen, the contractors were working for the Afghan National Police force to construct police compounds and checkpoints across the province. The Taliban have yet to confirm responsibility for the killings.

The bodies were initially found by villagers, dumped by the side of the road. The Taliban regularly target contractors working on large government projects, either holding them up for “protection” money or killing them outright.

The Taliban did confirm involvement in a separate attack in Kabul, hitting the Loya Jirga which is discussing continuing the US occupation beyond 2014. The weekend bombing killed 12, according to officials, including three soldiers.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.