One of the seven Arab Al-Qaeda fighters barricaded in a hospital ward in the Afghan city of Kandahar blew himself up Tuesday, according to a security official.
An armed siege mounted by seven Arab fighters, at a hospital in the south east city, believed to be part of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network, has now lasted a month, according to Afghan doctors on Monday. "First we were allowed to see them, but Afghan and American people came to try to capture them, and now nobody is allowed to see them," claimed Dr. Mohammad Nader, a Mirwais hospital surgeon for the last twenty-seven years. The surgeon added that "They have hand grenades with them, and we saw a pistol with one person," according to AFP.
The Arabs are thought to be mostly from Yemen. They arrived at the hospital in November, after being injured during a U.S. air strike on the airport serving the city. At that time, Kandahar was the religious and political center of the Taliban regime, which sheltered Osama bin Laden and his group.
Before fleeing Kandahar early December, the Taliban handed weapons to the Arabs being treated at the Mirwais hospital, so that they could fight off capture, according to Akbar Jan, a spokesman for Kandahar governor Haji Gul Agha.
Of the 12 fighters admitted in November, four escaped and Gul Agha’s forces arrested another. Seven remained barricaded in the hospital, surrounded by local militia fighters. According to reports, they are armed with grenades, which they have threatened to detonate if any attempts to arrest them are made. An attempt to capture them in December, launched by Agha's men and backed by U.S. soldiers failed. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
