Skeletons from 1999 Taliban massacre found

ADRESKAN, Afghanistan -- A tip from a shepherd has led Afghan officials to what they say is the scene of a 1999 Taliban massacre of 72 people falsely accused of fanning a short-lived revolt in the western part of Afghanistan.

The valley was scattered with skeletons and skulls, and the wrists of some of the remains were bound by green nylon rope.

Bones, walking sticks, scraps of clothing, even an artificial leg can be seen half-buried in the mud.

Mousa Rezaie is a representative in Herat province of Hezb-e-Wahadat, a minority Shiite Muslim group that opposed the Taliban.

He said people living in the area had known about the killings of prisoners taken from the Adreskan jail in 1999, but they did not know where their bodies could be found.

He said a shepherd provided information that led searchers Wednesday to a remote valley near Adreskan, about 75 miles south of Herat, the main city in the province of the same name.