Afghan Taliban: abuse video will not stop peace talks

There has been anger in the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar at a video appearing to show US troops urinating on the dead bodies of insurgents in Afghanistan.

The latest incident comes as America tries to encourage talks between insurgents and the Afghan government ahead of US troop withdrawal.

Kandahar resident Tawab Khan said he thought the treatment of the corpses was against Islam and that it was the role of the international community to act. He called for an investigation by the Human Rights Commission and the arrest of those involved.

It is another blow to the reputation of US military conduct, following successful prosecutions of troops serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Feda Mohammed lives in the capital Kabul, an area where the Taliban enjoys less support: “The US soldiers who urinated on dead bodies of Muslims have committed a crime. We don’t want them on our soil anymore. We want all foreign soldiers to leave Afghanistan,” he said.

Reassuringly for the US, a spokesman for the Afghan Taliban has said this video scandal will not harm peace talks and negotiations about prisoner exchanges being held with the Afghan government as they are still at the preliminary stage.

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