Gunmen kill 8 civilians working for the U.S. military in eastern Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan — Gunmen ambushed a car carrying Afghan civilians working on a remote U.S. military base in eastern Afghanistan and killed eight of them execution-style, a police official said Friday.

The killings came as a statement, purportedly from fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Omar, urged militants to step up attacks on Afghan and foreign troops. It told NATO to leave Afghanistan, saying the alliance was "losing their soldiers only for America."

The victims, who worked for the U.S. military as laborers in the mountainous Korangal area of Kunar province, were killed Thursday while driving home from work, said Abdul Saboor, Kunar's deputy police chief.

Gunmen stopped the workers' car, searched them and took about $6,000 before gunning them down, said Salehzai Didar, Kunar's governor. Two workers escaped, he said.

"This was a shocking attack against these poor people," said Saboor, who did not identify the attackers other than to describe them as "the enemy."

Afghanistan this year has faced its deadliest surge in violence since U.S.-led forces ousted the Taliban regime five years ago for hosting Osama bin Laden.

The statement from Omar was forwarded by e-mail to The Associated Press by Muhammad Hanif, who claims to speak for the hardline militia. It warned the Taliban would increase their attacks against foreign and Afghan troops in fighting "which would be a surprise to many."

"I would again ask mujahideen (holy warriors) to intensify their attacks but they should avoid any harm to innocent people and children," said the statement, issued on the eve of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.

It was not possible to verify the statement's authenticity.

The statement said NATO, which has in recent months taken control of security operations across Afghanistan from a U.S.-led coalition, should leave. The statement also alleged that democracy in Afghanistan had failed and the Western-backed government of President Hamid Karzai was seeking an "exit."

"I want to make it clear that the puppet of aggressors and his associates are searching for exit. We will never give them an exit. They will be brought to Islamic justice," it said.

Omar's whereabouts remain a mystery. Karzai told the AP this week that the Taliban leader was hiding in the Pakistani city of Quetta. Pakistan says Omar is Afghanistan.