Afghan cleric against suicide attacks killed

An Afghan religious leader was killed by alleged Taliban days after preaching against suicide and other bombings, officials said Saturday, in an attack condemned by President Hamid Karzai.

Militants kidnapped Shamsudin Agha in Farah province's Anar Dara district on Tuesday, days after he led prayers condemning the practice of using suicide attacks, said provincial police Chief Abdul Ghafar Watandar.

The cleric, Shams-u-Din Agha, had been abducted by the insurgent Taliban group, said the director of the local governor’s office Said Mukhtar Rahib.

"He was then killed on charges of supporting the government and preaching on the illegality of suicide attacks and bombs."

A local Taliban outfit claimed the killing.

Karzai said in a statement those who murdered the mullah did not know the Islamic religion and had been acting on behalf of the "enemies of Afghanistan", a term that refers to insurgents from the Taliban and other radical groups.

An extremist insurgency in Afghanistan targets Afghan and international troops as well as government officials or those working with them, including through the use of bombings and suicide attacks.

Violence by the Taliban and other insurgent groups has spiked this year to record levels. Attacks are up 30 percent from 2007, military officials say.