Kidnapped Indian found beheaded in Afghanistan

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Apr 30 (Reuters) A kidnapped Indian telecommunications worker was found beheaded in southern Afghanistan today and the Taliban said they had killed him.

The man and his Afghan driver were kidnapped on Friday.

Taliban insurgents yesterday said they had taken both men and vowed to kill the Indian unless New Delhi withdrew all its workers from Afghanistan within 24 hours.

''We found the body, beheaded, in a ditch by a road, about 10 km from where he was kidnapped,'' said Mohammad Mir, a district police chief in Zabul province.

Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yousuf said by telephone Suryanarayan had been shot dead last evening while trying to escape.

The man, identified by India as K. Suryanarayan, 41, was kidnapped with his driver after gunmen stopped their vehicle.

Mir said the driver's fate was unknown.

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