Afghan judges' bodies discovered

The bodies of four Afghan judges who were kidnapped nearly a fortnight ago, have been found in Ghazni province, officials have said.

The bodies were discovered on Tuesday night in Dehyak district, one of the officials told the BBC.

The Taleban have claimed responsibility for the killings.

The judges were from the neighbouring province of Paktita. They were abducted a day after 23 South Koreans were taken hostage.

Two of the Koreans, who are also being held in Ghazni, have been since killed.

'Bodies seen'

A man, who identified himself as Qari Yousaf and claimed to speak for the Taleban, told the BBC, "Our Mujahideens (fighters) killed the four judges last night around 8pm.

"They were killed because they were working for the Afghan government."

News agency AFP said its photographer had seen the bodies of the four men. One of the men had been shot in the head and others in the body.

Last month, suspected Taleban gunmen killed a judge in southern Afghanistan.

Judge Qazi Namatullah was killed by two men on a motorbike in Panjwayi district in Kandahar Province.

A man claiming to speak for the Taleban said the group had killed the judge because he worked for the government.