Kabul - Afghanistan's Taliban Islamic movement said yesterday its forces were not in the area of a reported massacre of more than 600 civilians last week and the killings could have been the work of opposition forces. The Taliban also separately announced it had released 28 opposition prisoners of war.
The government's health minister, Mullah Abbas, said Taliban was not in the area at the time opposition alliance says retreating Taliban forces killed the civilians in a northeastern province on January 1st-2nd. The alliance sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan this week saying the massacre had been committed in four villages and the administrative centre of Qaisar district of Faryab province.