17 of Hekmatyar's Men Surrender to Afghan Government

In Afghanistan, 17 members of the Hezb-e-Islami militant group have laid down their arms and surrendered to authorities in the southeast of the country.

The Hezb-e-Islami is led by former Afghan prime minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who is on the United States' most wanted list of terror suspects.

The governor of Khost province, Merajudeen Patan told reporters the 17 men are from different districts of Paktia and Khost provinces, and that they have returned from Pakistan to join the political process and help rebuild war-torn Afghanistan.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai offered an amnesty to rank-and-file Taleban fighters last year. He said all but a hard core of 150 militants wanted for human rights violations would be able to rejoin the political process.

Some information for this report provided by AFP.