Afghans say Taliban behead six policemen

KABUL - Taliban guerrillas have beheaded six Afghan policemen they kidnapped in southern Afghanistan, a provincial governor said yesterday, a day after the guerrillas claimed to have beheaded a missing United States commando.

The bodies and heads of the policemen were found dumped in an area of Deshu district of Helmand province near the border with Pakistan on Saturday, said Helmand's governor, Sher Mohammad Akhundzada.

"They were beheaded in a very brutal way," Akhundzada told Reuters adding government forces were scouring the area for suspected Taliban members who had carried out the executions.

News of the beheadings came after the Taliban said they beheaded a missing American commando on Saturday who they claimed to have captured in eastern Afghanistan last month.

The US military said it had no information to support the claim and a search for the man was continuing.

- REUTERS