Kabul offers amnesty to Omar, Hekmatyar

Fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar and former prime minister and warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar are not excluded from an amnesty offer, Afghanistan's reconciliation commission said yesterday.

Commission chief Sibghatullah Mojaddedi said the amnesty would also cover Afghan detainees held at the US military base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

"Yes the amnesty includes these two people, who cannot do anything on their own when people around them surrender," he said, when questioned on the issue by AFP.

"At this moment we announce amnesty for all, so give them some time, let them think about it and contact us," he said.

Meanwhile, two US Marines and up to 23 militants were killed in a clash in eastern Afghanistan amid an upsurge in violence by suspected Taliban rebels which has claimed around 90 lives in the past week.

The deaths occurred after a group of Marines hunting militants clashed Sunday with about 25 rebels northwest of the eastern city of Jalalabad, the US military said Monday.

"Two insurgents were confirmed killed and another 21 suspected dead after a five-hour gun battle in the Laghman province Sunday," a US military statement said.