Taliban ser ut til å ha fått sansen for halshogginger av fanger a la Irak. Nå truer de med å halshogge fem; en lege, tre sykepleiere og deres sjåfør hvis ikke to Taliban-fanger løslates.

De som advarte regjeringen da den gikk med på å frigi fem Taliban-fanger mot den italienske journalisten Daniele Mastrogiacomo ser ut til å ha fått rett. Eller: Taliban ville benyttet denne terrortaktikken uansett. De drepte Mastrogiacomos sjåfør uten mål og mening ved å skjære hodet av ham. Sist uke drepte de oversetteren, Ajmal Naqshbandi.

Taliban har tydligvis lært av sine kampfeller i Irak hva gjelder bestialitet. Sprøsmålet er hva Karzai-regjeringen gjør neste gang en vestlig borger eller utlending blir tatt til fange. Karzai sa at de forhandlet om Mastrogiacomo for å redde Prodis regjering.

The Taliban on Monday threatened to kill four Afghan medical personnel and their driver unless the government releases two Taliban commanders, seeking a deal similar to the prisoner swap that won an Italian journalist’s freedom last month.

The threat came a day after the hard-line militia beheaded Ajmal Naqshbandi, an Afghan translator seized March 5 along with journalist Daniele Mastrogiacomo of the Rome-based La Republicca newspaper, after authorities refused another prisoner exchange.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the killing as the work of «enemies of
Afghanistan,» while Afghan journalists staged a protest in the capital.

A spate of abductions has highlighted the lawlessness of southern Afghanistan, where the Taliban remains strong despite the presence of thousands of foreign troops. The kidnappings have also prompted a debate over the ethics of negotiating with kidnappers.

In the latest kidnappings, the Taliban said it seized a doctor, three nurses and their driver on March 27 in Kandahar province.

«If the government does not release our two Taliban commanders, then we will give the same punishment as we did with Ajmal (Naqshbandi),» Shahabuddin Atal, who claims to speak for senior Taliban commander Mullah Dadullah, told The Associated Press on Monday.

Taliban demands new prisoner swap