Governor Gulab Mangal said one of the men had received a $500,000 advance Three Italian medical workers are among nine men arrested in Afghanistan in connection with an alleged plot to kill a provincial governor, officials say. The detentions came after suicide bomb vests and weapons were discovered at a hospital run by a Milan-based charity in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand. Helmand Governor Gulab Mangal said the devices had been brought to the clinic "with the help of the foreign staff". But the charity, Emergency, said it was confident its employees were innocent. It complained that it had not been allowed telephone contact with them and that the Afghan government had not explained why they were being held. "These are people who for years have worked to ensure care for the people of Afghanistan. We ask that you respect their rights, first of all, the right to communicate with us and let us know where they are and what their condition is," the organisation said in a statement. 'Linked to Taliban' At a news conference, Mr Mangal said "explosive suicide vests, hand grenades and weapons were brought to the Emergency hospital with the help of the foreign staff and their colleagues to carry out attacks in Lashkar Gah". He added: "According to their plan, an Emergency foreign staff member received $500,000 as an advance for killing me." The governor's spokesman, Dawood Ahmadi, said the six Afghans who were arrested had worked at the hospital as clerks, guards and translators. Investigators believed all nine had links the Taliban, and that the group had planned to carry out a suicide bombing in Lashkar Gah, then kill the governor when he came to the hospital to visit the injured, Mr Ahmadi added. The Associated Press reported that video of the raid it had obtained showed British troops accompanying Afghan police, soldiers and government officials to the Emergency Surgery Centre for Civilian War Victims, run by Emergency. At one point, the video shows a storeroom packed with open boxes that appear to contain bullets, pistols, hand grenades and bags of explosives, according to AP. A British soldier is heard saying that an explosives disposal unit is on its way. Three foreign staff members are then seen sitting on outdoor benches, their identification cards visible but names unclear. A Nato spokesman said its forces had not taken part in any arrests. Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said: "While we wait to ascertain the dynamic of this incident and the reasons for the detentions, the Italian government reiterates its totally rigorous stance against any activity of direct or indirect support to terrorism."



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