Agha Jan was kidnapped along with his two sons, a brother and two nephews from his home in the Ataghar district of southern Zabul province on Thursday, said Gul Habib Jan, local police chief. Agha Jan’s relatives were freed unharmed but the tribal chief’s body was found Friday.

¢He was a strong supporter of President Hamid Karzai’s government and he was against the Taleban movement,” the police chief said.

Dozens of prominent supporters of Karzai’s US-backed administration have been killed along with more than 700 others in an upsurge in violence since March. US and Afghan officials have warned that the violence is likely to worsen in the lead-up to legislative elections set for September.

On Friday, suspected Taleban fighters raided a police post in the country’s south and an ensuing gunbattle left seven officers and five attackers dead.