Kabul, August 22: An Afghan vote monitoring group says Taliban militants in Afghanistan’s south cut off the fingers of two Afghan voters, carrying out a gruesome pre-election threat.
Nader Nadery of the Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan says Saturday two voters in southern Kandahar province — the Taliban’s spiritual birthplace — lost their fingers.
Nadery says the two fingers sliced off had been dipped in purple indelible ink, an anti-fraud measure, but one that identified voters to militants in dangerous, insurgent-held areas.
Rumors that militants would cut fingers off spread before Thursday’s presidential vote. However, a Taliban spokesman said militants would not carry out such attacks.
–Agencies