RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan
January 2, 2017
Afghan officials have arrested four suspects in the killing last month of five female airport employees and their driver in the southern province of Kandahar.
Security officials brought three of the suspects to a press conference in Kandahar late on January 1, saying the men had admitted to taking part in the slayings.
Provincial security chief Rahmatullah Atrafi told reporters that the fourth suspect was undergoing medical treatment for wounds sustained when security forces arrested the group.
At the press conference, two of the suspects said they participated in the killings of the civilian airport employees, who were gunned down on their way to work on December 17.
It’s unclear if the men spoke under duress.
The Taliban militant group has denied being involved in the attack, but the men said they killed the airport workers based on instructions from a Taliban commander.
The women had been concerned about their security after receiving death threats from people who disapproved of them having careers in the deeply conservative country, airport officials said.
With reporting by Khaama.com