Mass grave unearthed in Afghan jail
Saturday, 7 July 2007
KABUL, July 6 (AFP): A mass grave containing hundreds of bodies has been discovered in an underground prison north of the Afghan capital, the BBC reported early Friday.
Police General Ali Shah Paktiwal told the BBC the grave was unearthed in a former military base dating back to the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s.
The grisly find was made after an old man who recently returned to Afghanistan led police to the site where victims were apparently walled up in rooms and left to die.
"An old man told us about the grave. He told us he worked as a driver when there was a Russian military base here," Paktiwal told the BBC World Service.
"They used to bring people here. They put them in these rooms, they shut the door and then they put bricks and stones and covered the door with earth."
Several hundred bodies have been discovered in the 15 rooms unearthed so far but it was not known how many were buried there in total, the report said.
Paktiwal who is overseeing the criminal investigation into the mass grave said many of the victims had their arms tied and had been blindfolded or gagged.
Photographs on the BBC News website showed policemen digging skulls and other bones out of the underground chambers in the abandoned prison.
Meanwhile: Two NATO soldiers were killed Thursday in eastern Afghanistan, the alliance said Friday.
"ISAF soldiers throughout Afghanistan today are mourning for the fallen soldiers and their families," said International Security Assistance Force spokesperson Maria Carl.
A third soldier with the NATO-led force was also killed on Thursday when a bomb struck a vehicle in southeastern Afghanistan.
Meanwhile:A suicide bomb exploded in the Afghan capital Friday, damaging some vehicles but there was no
immediate reports of casualties, officials said.
"There is a suicide attack. Foreign forces have cordoned off the area. There are a couple of vehicles damaged," interior ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary told AFP.
Police General Ali Shah Paktiwal told the BBC the grave was unearthed in a former military base dating back to the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s.
The grisly find was made after an old man who recently returned to Afghanistan led police to the site where victims were apparently walled up in rooms and left to die.
"An old man told us about the grave. He told us he worked as a driver when there was a Russian military base here," Paktiwal told the BBC World Service.
"They used to bring people here. They put them in these rooms, they shut the door and then they put bricks and stones and covered the door with earth."
Several hundred bodies have been discovered in the 15 rooms unearthed so far but it was not known how many were buried there in total, the report said.
Paktiwal who is overseeing the criminal investigation into the mass grave said many of the victims had their arms tied and had been blindfolded or gagged.
Photographs on the BBC News website showed policemen digging skulls and other bones out of the underground chambers in the abandoned prison.
Meanwhile: Two NATO soldiers were killed Thursday in eastern Afghanistan, the alliance said Friday.
"ISAF soldiers throughout Afghanistan today are mourning for the fallen soldiers and their families," said International Security Assistance Force spokesperson Maria Carl.
A third soldier with the NATO-led force was also killed on Thursday when a bomb struck a vehicle in southeastern Afghanistan.
Meanwhile:A suicide bomb exploded in the Afghan capital Friday, damaging some vehicles but there was no
immediate reports of casualties, officials said.
"There is a suicide attack. Foreign forces have cordoned off the area. There are a couple of vehicles damaged," interior ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary told AFP.