US, Czech soldiers probed over death of Afghan prisoner

This demonstrated the tensions that have grown among military forces after 17 years of war, according to the officials.
According to the New York Times, the commando, Wahidullah Khan, was accused of killing a Czech soldier last month in one of four deadly insider attacks this year by Afghan forces on NATO troops.
One American official said a team from the Army’s 7th Special Forces Group, which helped transfer Mr. Khan to the custody of Czech soldiers, has been withdrawn from Afghanistan as the investigation continues. It is not clear, however, if any American soldiers participated in the beating of Mr. Khan.
Col. Dave Butler, a spokesman for the American-led mission in Afghanistan, acknowledged the investigation but declined to provide details.
The American military “will investigate to determine whether any potential misconduct occurred, and we will hold individuals accountable, as appropriate,’’ Colonel Butler said in a statement on Monday.
Jan Pejsek, a spokesman for the Czech Ministry of Defense, said in an email on Monday that “we strongly deny any such accusations” that Czech troops were involved in Mr. Khan’s death. “There is an ongoing standard investigation regarding the insider attack incident. All respective parties are involved in the procedures,” Mr. Pejsek said.
Officials said Mr. Khan, 19, opened fire on Oct. 22 on a group of Czech soldiers at Shindand air base, a sprawling facility in Herat Province in western Afghanistan. The attack killed Cpl. Tomáš Procházka and wounded two other Czech soldiers.
Within hours, Mr. Khan was arrested by Afghan troops and was taken into custody by Western forces, Afghan officials said. By the time he was returned to Afghan forces, around midnight, he had been beaten and was unconscious, the Afghan officials said.