Afghan police recover bodies of 8 security troops

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Afghan security forces have recovered the bodies of five policemen and three intelligence agents who were kidnapped by insurgents two days ago in eastern Afghanistan, an official said Saturday.

Gunmen abducted the eight security troops on Thursday in the Day Mirdad district of Wardak province, said provincial spokesman Shahidullah Shahid.

The bodies were discovered late Friday and taken to the provincial capital city of Maidan Shahr early Saturday, Shahid said. He added that three suspected insurgents have been arrested in connection with the kidnapping and killings.

Wardak province has been the scene of heavy fighting between international troops and the Taliban. It was also in Wardak that insurgents shot down the U.S. Army Chinook early this month, killing 30 American troops, seven Afghan soldiers and an Afghan interpreter.

In the south, a minivan struck a roadside bomb in the Gereshk district of Helmand province, killing five civilians, the provincial governor's office said in a statement.

In July, the United Nations reported that 1,462 civilians were killed in the first six months of this year with insurgents responsible for 80 percent of those killings. Roadside bombs and mines are the cause of most war-related civilian deaths in Afghanistan, according to the U.N.

In the west, meanwhile, two policemen and four insurgents were killed in shootout in Herat province, said Noor Khan Nikzad, a spokesman for the provincial police chief.