An ally of the Afghan president, tribal leader Malik Agha Jan, was kidnapped by the Taliban and later executed, the Independent newspaper reported on its website.

The leader was kidnapped along with his family - two sons, a brother and two nephews. After keeping Aga Jan's relatives in captivity for some time, the Taliban released them. The leader's body was discovered later.

Malik Agha Jan was a tribal leader of the Pashtuns in Zabol province. He was known as an active supporter of President Karzai in the fight against the Taliban.

Taliban spokesman Abdul Latif Hakimi said that Aga Jan was an American spy and was executed by a fair trial.

Recently, as observers note, the number of military clashes in Afghanistan has increased sharply. Over four days, during fighting on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistani border, units of the Afghan, American and Pakistani armies killed more than 60 Taliban militants. In Khost province on Sunday, soldiers of the Afghan and US armies killed 20 Taliban.

At the same time, the Pakistani army conducted an operation against the Taliban in the province of North Waziristan. This caused protests by residents of the province, part of the Tribal Zone on the border with Afghanistan. The funeral of the killed militants grew into a mass demonstration of protest.

A crowd shouting "Down with America, the land of infidels!" and “Long live Islam!”, marched through Miranshah, the administrative center of North Waziristan, after which a rally of thousands took place.

“Waziristan is ready for jihad!” one of the influential local religious leaders, Maulana Abd ur-Rahman, said at the rally. “These people were Mujahideen, and that’s why the Americans killed them.” “We will not allow any foreigners to enter our territory with weapons, but we will continue to help the Mujahideen!” he added.

Taliban lynched Karzai ally