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Associated PressKABUL — A new Taliban code of military conduct that tells fighters to limit suicide attacks and avoid killing civilians is a sham that doesn't reflect the true nature of the insurgents, NATO and Afghan officials said Wednesday.
The code, entitled "Taliban 2009 rules and regulations booklet," is believed to have been published in May. Copies have been seized in operations throughout the country, NATO spokesman Brig. Gen. Eric Tremblay said.
"It seems to be a form of propaganda to try to show there is a central control over the insurrection," he said.
The requirement for Taliban fighters to respect the rules of war contradicts the reality on the ground, Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammad Zahir Azimi said, noting that Taliban fighters captured and beheaded an Afghan soldier this week in the eastern Paktika region.
Tremblay said insurgents have conducted at least 90 suicide bombings this year, and at least 40 percent of the victims were civilians. He also said that insurgents traffic children to use them as unknowing suicide bombers, and have destroyed at least 40 schools this year.
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