Afghan hero soldier released from jail after car wreck

KABUL, Afghanistan, July 14 (UPI) -- An Afghan soldier was released from jail Tuesday following a deadly auto wreck involving a car given to him for thwarting a Taliban attack on parliament last month.

Sgt. Esa Khan, 28, received high praise, medals of valor, a new home, money and a car from government officials after he shot dead six Taliban gunmen who assaulted Afghan parliament in June.

Authorities arrested Khan on July 2 after one person died in a car accident involving his new vehicle, the BBC reports.

While authorities investigate the matter, Khan is allowed to travel freely in Afghanistan until his trial date.

The June 22 attack kicked off when a car bomb detonated outside the parliament building in Kabul, killing a woman and 10-year-old girl and wounding more than 30 people.

Khan, then a lance corporal, said he was on guard duty when he witnessed militants storm the facility following the blast. He then engaged them in a firefight.

"One by one. I killed all of them. Their bodies are there. Everyone can see them," he said at the time.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani honored Khan the following day with a medal, promotion in rank and keys to a new apartment, while Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum gave him the vehicle in question. Some lawmakers reportedly gave him a month of their salaries.

After three years service with the Afghan National Army, Khan returned to the military and had at the time of the attack been tasked with guarding parliament "because of the love he had for his country," according to a defense ministry statement.