Taliban assassinations of Afghan pilots 'worrisome,' U.S. govt watchdog says

FILE PHOTO: An Afghan A-29 pilot prepared for flight in the cockpit of his aircraft, at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan September 10, 2017. Picture taken Septembeer 10, 2017. U.S. Air Force/Staff Sgt. Alexander W. Riedel/Handout via REUTERS

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Taliban assassinations of Afghan pilots detailed by Reuters https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/afghan-pilots-assassinated-by-taliban-us-withdraws-2021-07-09 this month mark another "worrisome development" for the Afghan Air Force as it reels from a surge in fighting, a U.S. government watchdog said in a report released on Thursday.

At least seven Afghan pilots have been assassinated off base in recent months, two senior Afghan government officials told Reuters, part of what the Islamist Taliban says is a campaign to see U.S.-trained Afghan pilots "targeted and eliminated."