Gunmen kill former Taliban spokesman

Gunmen wearing Afghan army uniforms killed a former Taliban spokesman in eastern Afghanistan, an official said Friday. About a dozen assailants used a ladder to scale a fort in the eastern Chaparhar where the former spokesman, Mohammad Hanif, was living with his father-in-law after being released from Afghan custody, said Sayed Mohammad, a district chief. Once inside the compound they killed Hanif and three other people, Mohammad said. He could not say who was behind the killing. Hanif was arrested by Afghan intelligence agents in January of 2007. He was released from custody six months ago. Afghanistan's intelligence service later distributed a video CD of what it said was Hanif claiming that Pakistani intelligence was helping to hide Taliban leader Mullah Omar inside Pakistan - a charge denied by Pakistan.