Taliban insurgent killed on U.S. base

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KABUL, Afghanistan, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- A known Taliban member has been shot and killed under questionable circumstances at a U.S. Special Forces base in southern Afghanistan, officials say.

Mirza M. Khan was shot multiple times from behind after U.S. forces questioned him, The New York Times reported Friday.

Jamie Graybeal, a spokesman for the American-led coalition, said the circumstances surrounding the engagement were being investigated by the coalition and that it would be inappropriate to comment further until the investigation was complete.

The U.S. troops said Khan, his brother and his 6-year-old son were stopped Wednesday in an area known to be a Taliban stronghold. Soldiers determined he was a wanted man after checking his documents.

The men were taken to the coalition base and questioned and eventually let go. As Khan returned to his car, he was fatally shot, Special Forces said.

Massoom Khan, the surviving brother, said he and Mirza were walking back to their car, which had been left outside the base, when his brother was shot in the back, neck and head.

Mohammed Sharif, the governor of Sangin District, said Special Forces told him Mirza Khan was angry when he left the base, "and said something in Pashto that from his gestures seemed hostile."

Khan was on the American military's list of people to be killed or captured, according to officials.