Afghan official arrested for involvement in abuse of prisoners

A senior Afghan army colonel has been arrested for allegedly playing a role in the abuse of prisoners in the war-torn country’s central Maidan Wardak Province, Press TV reports.

According to the official, the colonel has confessed to illegally turning over an unknown number of prisoners to Zakeria Kandahari, a man accused of torturing and killing Afghan villagers.

Reports say Kandahari worked with a US Special Forces team in Maidan Wardak.

The Afghan official said the colonel had assumed Kandahari has the authority to receive and interrogate Afghan detainees. He added that the army official’s “irresponsible” actions had led to his arrest.

US forces in Afghanistan however have denied involvement in the case.

Kandahari and US-led soldiers in Wardak have long been accused of committing human rights abuses.

This is while tensions have increased between US-led and Afghan forces over the international coalition security forces’ detention, torture, and murder of villagers in Maidan Wardak’s Nerkh district.

Some military experts say the arrest has been made to calm local villagers angered by the crimes committed by US-led forces.

The United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan in 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. The offensive removed the Taliban from power, but insecurity remains across the country despite the presence of thousands of foreign troops.

According to a UN report released in February, more than 2,750 people were killed and over 4,800 were injured in conflict-related violence in Afghanistan in 2012.