Afghan Spy Agency Arrests Four Journalists For "Propaganda": Report

The four Afghans were detained in Kandahar after returning Monday from Spin Boldak, the border crossing with Pakistan seized by the Taliban earlier this month.

Afghanistan's spy agency has arrested four journalists for visiting a Taliban-held border town and accused them of spreading enemy "propaganda", officials said Tuesday. The four Afghans were detained in Kandahar after returning Monday from Spin Boldak, the border crossing with Pakistan seized by the Taliban earlier this month. Local media said the journalists were investigating government reports that the Taliban had massacred civilians in the town -- charges the insurgents deny. "Any kind of propaganda in favour of the terrorists and against Afghanistan's national interest is a crime," Interior Ministry spokesman Mirwais Stanikzai said in a statement.