Afghan bank guards beheaded in robbery

Six Afghan private security guards have been beheaded during a bank robbery in northern Afghanistan.

It appeared that the men were poisoned before having their heads cut off, said Sherjan Durani, police spokesman for Balkh province.

He said someone apparently mixed a drug into the guards' food on Monday night at a branch of Kabul Bank in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif.

Abdul Rauf Taj, Balkh Provincial Police Chief, said: "Last night a plot took place against the security personnel of the bank, as a result, six people have been killed by knife attacks."

Durani said an unknown number of robbers beheaded the guards and took about £170,000 worth of US and Afghan currency.

Kabul Bank officials declined to comment on the incident until it had been fully investigated.