Taliban say kidnap Lebanese man in Afghan south

SPIN BOLDAK, Afghanistan, July 30 (Reuters) Taliban insurgents said they have kidnapped a Lebanese engineer working for a US company in southern Afghanistan.

A Taliban spokesman, Qari Muhammad Yousuf, told Reuters that militants had kidnapped the engineer, identified as Khalid, on a road in Sha Joy district of Zabul province on Friday.

The fate of the engineer would be decided by the Taliban Council within the next 24 hours and he is likely to be killed for helping and working with the ''infidel occupying forces in Afghanistan'', Yousuf said, referring to US-led coalition troops.

The spokesman said the Taliban have warned people not to work or cooperate with the coalition and anyone found doing this would be considered part of the occupying forces.

No gave no further dtails.

Zabul's police chief, Noor Muhammad, told Reuters police were investigating Taliban's claim.

The militants have kidnapped and later killed a number of Afghan and foreign nationals who worked for reconstruction companies or the coalition in the past.

Ousted by coalition forces in 2001, Taliban guerrillas largely operate in southern and eastern areas where more than 1,700 people have been killed this year.

Most of those killed have been militants, according to Afghan and coalition officials, but the toll also includes scores of civilians, dozens of aid workers, Afghan troops and more than 70 foreign soldiers.

The violence is the bloodiest since Taliban's ouster and coincides with NATO-led mission assuming security responsibilities from coalition in the south to allow the US army to reduce the size of its force from 23,000 to 20,000 this year.

REUTERS SP RAI1127