“We found the five sprayed with bullets in the mountains of Ghorak district after a massive search operation by Afghan police some days ago,” Assadullah Khalid, the governor of strife-torn Kandahar province, told AFP.

“The bodies were buried,” he added.

Haji Mohammed Nawab, who was standing in landmark elections on September 18, was abducted with the new district chief of Ghorak, Mohammed Yaqoob, and three policemen northwest of Kandahar city on September 1.