Mine kills Afghan police moving Macedonians' bodies

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Mar 17 (Reuters) A blast killed five Afghan policemen today as they were bringing back the bodies of four Macedonians kidnapped and killed by the Taliban and dumped in a valley, the Kandahar provincial governor said.

The bodies of the Macedonians were discovered hidden under brush and sticks in a valley in the southern province of Kandahar, near the border with Helmand province, said Kandahar governor Assadullah Khalid.

Several police vehicles were returning with the bodies when one was hit by a blast, apparently caused by a mine, killing five policemen and wounding three, Khalid said.

Violence has increased in Afghanistan in recent months, especially in the south and east, as the Taliban and allied militants step up their battle to oust foreign forces and overthrow the Western-backed government.

The Taliban said they kidnapped the Macedonians, who were working for a services company, last Saturday. A Taliban spokesman later said the four had been executed on the orders of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar and their bodies dumped.

An official at the Ecolog services company in Kabul said the Macedonians worked for the company.

US-led forces overthrew the Taliban in late 2001 after they refused to hand over Osama bin Laden, mastermind of the September 11 attacks on the United States.

REUTERS SHR RN2302