Taliban kill eight workers at US base on holiday leave

AFGHANISTAN: Taliban extremists shot dead eight labourers working on a US base in eastern Afghanistan as they were driving home for an upcoming Muslim holiday, police said Friday.

A group of 10 workers had left the base in the eastern province of Kunar in a minibus late Thursday when they were stopped by a group of gunmen, provincial police chief Abduljalal Jalal told AFP.

The gunmen sprayed the vehicle with bullets, he said. Two labourers managed to escape.

"Eight labourers were brutally shot and killed by armed men in Korangal area. They were working at a US base and were going home for Eid holidays," Jalal said.

Eid al-Fitr, Islam's biggest festival, takes place at the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan. It is due to fall next week, depending on sightings of the moon, but many people begin their holidays early.

The Korangal valley has seen much Taliban activity. No one claimed responsibility for the attack but Jalal blamed the extremist Taliban regime, who are waging an insurgency that has gained pace every year since they were toppled from government in late 2001.

The violence is aimed mainly at Afghan and foreign troops but the Taliban have made it clear that Afghans working for the international military here are among their targets. Asadabad, Friday, AFP