US forces arrest a journalist in Khost

Reporters Without Borders today called on US-led coalition forces to explain the arrest yesterday of Noorajan Bahir, of radio Killid in Khost, eastern Afghanistan, along with his two brothers. Bahir was arrested by coalition forces and members of the Afghan military and is now reportedly being held in the NATO base at Bagh-e-Sara. “It is essential and urgent that coalition forces' officials provide precise information about the reason they arrested this experienced reporter”, the worldwide press freedom organisation said. The 28-year-old journalist, who is married, has worked for the independent radio station since 2004. Director of the Killid Group, Najiba Ayubi, told Reporters Without Borders that she was extremely worried: “We do not understand why he has been arrested or why it was done in this manner. They could summon him and this arrest was not necessary. We have not forgotten the awful case of journalist Jawed Ahmad (an Afghan reporter working for Canadian television, arrested by US forces and held for almost a year).”