NANGARHAR- 27 August 2008(Wakht News Agency):  His body was found in a mountainous area, outside of Khewa District of Eastern Nangarhar Province, after being reportedly being kidnapped around 6:30 am local time on August 26.

Ito kazuya 31 was working in Peshawar-kai Medical Services (PMS) a Non-governmental organisation, working in the Health, Water Supply and agriculture sector by rehabilitating and constructing the Irrigation canals.

Khewa and Dara-e- Noor Districts Governors confirmed the incident and said, his body has been marked with the signs of many bullets on it.

Engineer Shukrullah, the district Governor of Khewa told Wakht News Agency that after walking four hours from Khewa District they were able to find the body, which was riddled with bullets. 

The District governor added that a search party was deployed early in the morning following the advice of Nangarhar Governor Gul Agha Shirzai. 

The Ito’s body was found after the extensive search in the mountainous area far from Khewa, he said.

“We received information from two local Taliban, who were arrested in connection to this incident just a day earlier, when the engineer and driver disappeared,” the District governor said. 

The Taliban told them, that kazuya had been killed by a local Taliban commander named Ahmad in the area, he added.

From the other-side the Taliban Spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility of abduction and says, that the Engineer was shot dead, in the fire exchange of police, he hasn’t been killed directly by Taliban.

A local source , who didn’t want to be named told Wakht, that he might had been killed by Taliban rebels ,while compelling him to walk faster, as they feared police to be arrived soon, and they will be either surrounded or captured.

After knowing that Ito can’t walk quickly in the mountains, possibly they have gun downed him, the source added.    

The district governor of Khewa says that local police are working to transfer his dead body from the mountainous area to the district center.

However, Dara-e- Noor District Governor Mashooq, who is also popular in Malim, told Media Line, that he and his subordinates are also assisting Shukrullah to transfer the body to the district office. 

“It will take 3 to 4 hours to transfer the body to the district center, from this mountainous area.” He said.

Mashooq said that the Japanese engineer was treated harshly and was tortured. It appeared that the Taliban shot him dead, because he failed to climb in the mountains, and go faster with them.

 Amir Khan, spokesman for the police department of Nangarhar also confirmed the death and said the police are working to transfer the body to Khewa district.

The Khewa district governor said they had requested that a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) helicopter be provided to obtain the body quickly.

Sayed Ghafoor Ghafoorzai, a Nangarhar provincial council member told Wakht News Agency ,that a Japanese engineer along with his Afghan driver were abducted while they were passing through the Budiala area of Khewa District in Nangarhar Province. 

A day earlier following their kidnapping, Colonel Abdul Ghafoor informed the Media, that local police surrounded the area and worked to ensure their safe release.

Later one, the police officials informed the media that Afghan driver was released in a police crack-down, but they failed to release foreigner engineer, but still their search is ongoing for him. 

The released Afghan driver told the Wakht News Agency, that he and his Japanese colleagues visited the site to oversee a constructed project by PMS in the area that they come under the attack of armed people. 

Last July, two Germans engineers traveling related to their work in Maidan Wardak Province in the central Afghanistan were kidnapped and killed by Taliban in a week when the German and Afghan governments didn’t fulfill Taliban demands that German forces leave Afghanistan and that the Afghan government release its Taliban prisoners. 

Elsewhere in Spydar area between Barmal and Surubi Districts of south-Eastern Paktika Province, 40 Taliban insurgents were killed in a joint operation and air raid of NATO and Afgahn National Army (ANA) forces, Dr. Akram Khpelwaak the provincial governor of Paktika province reported in a phone interview to Wakht News Agency.

He said that Taliban were killed by a NATO-Led International security assistance forces air raid following the assault on an Afghan and NATO military convoy in the area.

The ANA was preparing to travel from Bermal to a border district, between Afghanistan and Pakistan, as they came under attack from Taliban rebels.

He added that in the exchange of fire five ANA soldiers were wounded and a military vehicle has damaged.  

However, the Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claims that they killed 23 foreigners and ANA soldiers and destroyed five tanks.

Mujahid only confirmed the death of three Talibans in these clashes.

By Naqibullah Taib and Tahir Safai