Karzai condemns reporter killing

Jawed Ahmad was released by the US without charge

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has condemned the killing by gunmen of a journalist who spent 11 months in US custody as an enemy combatant.

Jawed Ahmad, who freelanced for a Canadian TV station, had been held at the Bagram base near Kabul until his release in September.

He was shot in the southern city of Kandahar on Tuesday.

Mr Karzai said the enemies of Afghanistan could not disrupt press freedom and democracy.

Translator

The US had accused Jawed Ahmad, 23, of collaborating with the Taleban.

He denied this and was released without charge, saying he had been tortured.

Since then he has reported widely on Canadian forces in Kandahar - their base in Afghanistan.

Zalmay Ayubi, spokesman for Kandahar's provincial governor, said an investigation had been launched but it was unclear who had targeted Mr Ahmad.

Mr Ahmad had been working as a reporter and a translator for US forces when he was arrested by the Americans.

He was accused of supplying weapons to the Taleban and having contacts with the movement.

Mr Ahmad rejected the accusations, saying that as a journalist it was his job to talk to militants.

He said he had been tortured in detention.

"They destroyed me financially, mentally and physically," he told the BBC.

The US military at Bagram said there was no evidence to substantiate any claims of mistreatment.