By DPA
Kabul : Afghan and coalition forces killed at least 16 Taliban fighters, including Qari Mateen, who masterminded the kidnapping of 23 South Koreans in the southern Afghan province of Ghazni, police said Tuesday.
The incident took place Monday night in Qarabagh district, where the 23 South Korean Christian aid workers were abducted by Taliban forces while they were on their way from Kabul to the southern province of Kandahar.
“A group of Taliban fighters attacked our police posts in Shir area at around 11 pm last night,” Alishah Ahmadzai, the provincial police chief, told DPA.
“We had already intelligence information and once they attacked us, we surrounded them from all sides,” Ahmadzai said. “During a four-hour firefight, our forces killed 16 Taliban, including Qari Mateen, who was involved in the kidnappings of Koreans in the area.”
He said that the body of Mateen, who along with another Taliban commander Abdullah Jan, “masterminded the kidnappings,” was identified by local people.
Another 18 militants were wounded during the gun battle, while “one Arab and two Pakistani nationals from Punjab province were among the dead,” Ahmadzai said.
Khewaja Mohammad Sediqi, district chief of Qarabagh, also confirmed the death of Qari Mateen and said that they have also arrested two militants.
Regarding involvement of Mateen in the South Korean abduction case, Sediqi said, “At first Adullah Jan’s men snatched the Koreans, but soon after Mateen and his men came to the area and until the end of the case, both Qari Mateen and Abdullah Jan were handling the matter.”
US-led coalition forces also said in a statement that their forces, along with Afghan police, “killed several suspected militants” during an operation in Qarabagh district of Ghazni.
After six weeks in Taliban custody, 19 South Korean hostages were released in batches last week. They were among a group of 23 Christian aid workers abducted on July 19 while travelling overland.
Two hostages were killed by the Taliban when deadlines for their demands were not met, while two women were freed about two weeks ago.