Afghan Lawmakers Vote to Oust FM

An Afghan street vendor hangs a dress in a street market in the center of Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, May 12, 2007. Afghan lawmakers voted Saturday to oust the foreign minister over the mishandling of an influx of Afghan refugees from neighboring Iran, although President Hamid Karzai said his top diplomat would remain pending a Supreme Court ruling. (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq) (Musadeq Sadeq - AP)

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Afghan lawmakers voted Saturday to oust the foreign minister over the mishandling of the expulsion of Afghan refugees from neighboring Iran, although President Hamid Karzai said his top diplomat would remain pending a Supreme Court ruling.

An official in the country's intelligence service, meanwhile, said Afghan and U.S.-led coalition forces killed 77 suspected Taliban militants in southern Afghanistan in the past week, driving the militants out of a district in Helmand province. A coalition spokesman said the operations had resulted in a "significant" number of militant casualties, but did not give details.

Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta received 141 no-confidence votes in the 249-member lower house of parliament on Saturday following a vote Thursday that was just shy of the necessary majority, said Abdul Qayum Sajadi, a lawmaker from Ghazni province.

Karzai's office said the president wanted the Supreme Court to decide if lawmakers can oust a minister for an issue not directly related to his ministry. Spanta will remain in his job until that ruling, Karzai said.

Lawmakers on Thursday ousted Repatriation and Refugee Minister Mohammad Akbar Akbar over the refugee issue.

Thousands of Afghans pushed out of Iran are living in the Afghan border province of Nimroz without shelter, angering lawmakers who said the ministers should have stood firm against the expulsions.

Karzai said he would respect the lawmakers' decision concerning Akbar.

Iranian influence in Afghanistan dates back to ancient times and, while dependent on U.S. military and financial support, the Afghan government tries not to antagonize Iran, which currently houses about 2 million Afghan refugees.

The intelligence service official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with government policy, said five Taliban commanders were among the 77 killed in fighting in Helmand province this past week. He said the combined forces took back control of Nahri Sarraj district from the militant group.

A U.S. coalition spokesman said the report was a roundup of fighting in the region.

"We have reports of significant casualties but we don't have any confirmed numbers at this time," Maj. Chris Belcher said of the death toll.

Helmand's governor has said 21 civilians were killed north of Sangin on Tuesday after militants sought shelter in civilian homes that were later hit by airstrikes. Villagers say as many as 40 civilians were killed.

The U.S.-led coalition has acknowledged civilian casualties in the fighting but hasn't said how many might have been killed.

Separately, a roadside bombing on the outskirts of the southern city of Kandahar killed eight policemen on Saturday, said the provincial police chief Esmatullah Alizai, who blamed the Taliban. He provided no evidence to back up his claim.

Kandahar used to be the stronghold of the Taliban regime which was ousted by U.S.-led attacks following the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States. Since then, Taliban have been attacking Afghan security forces and police to force them to abandon their support for Karzai's government.