VOA News 18 July 2010
NATO says Taliban leader Mullah Omar has ordered fighters to kill Afghan civilians, contradicting orders he issued last year.
In a statement Sunday, NATO says it intercepted orders that Mullah Omar gave to subordinate commanders at the beginning of June. It says he instructed fighters to kill Afghans who work with NATO or the Afghan government, and to kill women who provide information to coalition forces.
There was no immediate reaction to the claim from Taliban leaders. Last November, Mullah Omar called on militants to avoid causing civilian deaths when attacking government and foreign troops.
NATO blamed the Taliban for a suicide bombing that killed at least three people Sunday in the capital, Kabul. Authorities say at least 35 people were wounded.
The attack occurred despite heavy security imposed ahead of an international conference about Afghanistan's future. The Afghan capital is set to host a major gathering of the country's international partners Tuesday.
NATO says it captured a "Taliban facilitator" who it called a direct threat to the conference. It also says a combined Afghan-international security force killed several insurgents and detained another in Kandahar province Saturday.
NATO says one of its troops was killed by a bomb in southern Afghanistan Sunday. It gave no details on the blast or the identity of the soldier.
In Afghanistan's western Farah province Sunday, Taliban guerrillas staged a series of raids on four police posts and simultaneously blew up the entrance of a jail.
Yonus Rasouli, an official of Farah province, said while the police were responding to the attacks on the stations, the Taliban blew up the gate of Farah's jail, allowing 23 prisoners to escape.
Rasouli said several of the inmates were captured, but some remain at-large. He said one guard was killed in the attack.
The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the jailbreak.