.Afghans Accuse Italians Of Assassination Plot
LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Afghan authorities have arrested three Italian workers from a medical charity as part of a plot to assassinate a provincial governor in southern Afghanistan, the governor said on Saturday.
The Milan-based charity, Emergency, confirmed that the workers had been detained but said it did not know why.
Gulab Mangal, governor of Helmand province, told a news conference the three Italians working at a hospital run by the charity had been arrested along with six Afghans.
The hospital is located in Lashkar Gah, capital of Helmand, Afghanistan's most violent province, where U.S. and British forces launched a massive assault in February against Taliban fighters.
"Explosive suicide vests, hand grenades and weapons were brought to the Emergency hospital with the help of the foreign staff and their colleagues to carry out attacks in Lashkar Gah. The aim was to assassinate the governor," Mangal said, referring to himself.
"According to their plan, an Emergency foreign staff member received $500,000 as an advance for killing me."
Mangal's spokesman Dawood Ahmadi said two pistols, nine grenades and two explosive suicide vests had been found at the hospital.
Alessandro Bertani, vice president of the aid group, told Reuters a doctor, a nurse and a logistics worker had been taken by NATO and Afghan soldiers from the hospital in southern Afghanistan where they working.
He said the allegations against Emergency's staff were "grotesque." "We do not know the reason why they were arrested," Bertani said.
Lieutenant-Colonel Todd Vician, a spokesman for the NATO-led international force, said no NATO troops were involved in the arrest and referred queries to Afghan authorities.
Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said in a statement he was following the case.
"While we wait to ascertain the dynamic of this incident and the reasons for the detentions, the Italian government reiterates its totally rigorous stance against any activity of direct or indirect support to terrorism in Afghanistan and elsewhere."
The Italian Foreign Ministry added in a later statement: "The Italians involved in this incident are in no way linked to the Italian government's cooperation activities."
Emergency is an Italian medical charity that has operated clinics and hospitals in some of the most difficult parts of Afghanistan throughout years of war, including under Taliban rule before 2001. Its hospital in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand, is one of the few foreign-run clinics in the province.
The group temporarily withdrew from the country in 2007 in protest at the arrest of one of its employees who had acted as a go-between with the Taliban helping to secure the release of a kidnapped Italian journalist.
NYT
Not even the Italians seem to respect O much.
The Milan-based charity, Emergency, confirmed that the workers had been detained but said it did not know why.
Gulab Mangal, governor of Helmand province, told a news conference the three Italians working at a hospital run by the charity had been arrested along with six Afghans.
The hospital is located in Lashkar Gah, capital of Helmand, Afghanistan's most violent province, where U.S. and British forces launched a massive assault in February against Taliban fighters.
"Explosive suicide vests, hand grenades and weapons were brought to the Emergency hospital with the help of the foreign staff and their colleagues to carry out attacks in Lashkar Gah. The aim was to assassinate the governor," Mangal said, referring to himself.
"According to their plan, an Emergency foreign staff member received $500,000 as an advance for killing me."
Mangal's spokesman Dawood Ahmadi said two pistols, nine grenades and two explosive suicide vests had been found at the hospital.
Alessandro Bertani, vice president of the aid group, told Reuters a doctor, a nurse and a logistics worker had been taken by NATO and Afghan soldiers from the hospital in southern Afghanistan where they working.
He said the allegations against Emergency's staff were "grotesque." "We do not know the reason why they were arrested," Bertani said.
Lieutenant-Colonel Todd Vician, a spokesman for the NATO-led international force, said no NATO troops were involved in the arrest and referred queries to Afghan authorities.
Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said in a statement he was following the case.
"While we wait to ascertain the dynamic of this incident and the reasons for the detentions, the Italian government reiterates its totally rigorous stance against any activity of direct or indirect support to terrorism in Afghanistan and elsewhere."
The Italian Foreign Ministry added in a later statement: "The Italians involved in this incident are in no way linked to the Italian government's cooperation activities."
Emergency is an Italian medical charity that has operated clinics and hospitals in some of the most difficult parts of Afghanistan throughout years of war, including under Taliban rule before 2001. Its hospital in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand, is one of the few foreign-run clinics in the province.
The group temporarily withdrew from the country in 2007 in protest at the arrest of one of its employees who had acted as a go-between with the Taliban helping to secure the release of a kidnapped Italian journalist.
NYT
Not even the Italians seem to respect O much.
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