Afghan driver for slain medical volunteers being held by authorities

[Turborama]

Source: LA Times

By Laura King,
August 10, 2010 -

An Afghan driver for the humanitarian team that fell into a lethal ambush last week in northeastern Afghanistan is being held and questioned by Afghan authorities, who on Monday declined to say whether he was formally under arrest or suspected of colluding in the attack.

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The bodies of the U.S. nationals — which were flown to the capital Sunday along with those of two Afghans, a German and a Briton who died with them — were to be brought to the United States for autopsies as part of an FBI-assisted investigation, the group's executive director, Dirk Frans, told reporters in Kabul on Monday.

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Two team members survived. One Afghan assistant had left ahead of schedule because of medical problems and drove home by another route. The other, identified as Safiullah, was present for the assault. He told police he recited verses from the Muslim holy book as he pleaded for his life, and the gunmen spared him.

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"He is here in Kabul, in a Ministry of Interior facility," Frans said. "He is part of the investigation — he is one of, if not the only, witness." Zemari Bashary, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, refused to say whether the driver was suspected of being an accomplice to the gunmen. "We are not saying 100% that he is a criminal, but we are doing our investigation to find out more," he said. Asked about the driver's account, Frans said the other two Afghan members of the group were also Muslims and would probably have recited Koranic verses as well if they believed themselves in mortal danger.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-afghan-aid-workers-20100810,0,2290323.story

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This combination of undated photographs taken at unspecified locations and provided by the International Assistance Mission (IAM) shows eight of the ten IAM workers slain in a lethal ambush in northeastern Afghanistan.

Pictured are (top row left to right) Glen Lapp of the U.S., Tom Little of the U.S., Daniela Beyer of Germany, Jawed of Afghanistan, (bottom row left to right) Mahram Ali of Afghanistan, Dan Terry of the U.S., Cheryl Beckett of the U.S. and Brian Carderelli of the U.S. (IAM, AFP/Getty Images)


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x403033">In Memoriam: Profiles of the 8 Aid Workers & 2 Afghan Assistants Murdered in Cold Blood by Taliban