Taliban hand over bodies of 16 Afghan soldiers

USPA News - Taliban insurgents on Wednesday handed over the bodies of sixteen Afghan service members who were abducted during an ambush three days earlier, local officials said. Seven other service members were set free after local elders intervened.

A group of armed gunmen, believed to be members of the Taliban, ambushed an army and police convoy last Sunday in the Ghani area of the district of Warduj in the northern province of Badakhshan. The attack occurred around 60 kilometers (37 miles) east of Faizabad, the provincial capital. Governor spokesman Abdul Maroof Rasikh said the Taliban had seized 23 security personnel and, on Wednesday, they handed over sixteen of their bodies, Pajhwok Afghan News reported. They had all been shot to death, but it was not immediately clear if they were killed during the initial ambush or later executed after their capture. According to the district chief, Mohammad Khawar, the other seven security personnel were set free after local elders intervened.