The Afghan security forces arrested two suspects on charges of spying for regional countries, local officials said on Saturday.

By this arrest, the provincial governor’s spokesman Jailani Farhad, said the number of those arrested on spying charges reached eight over the past year.  

The suspects were arrested from different parts of the province, including the central city, Herat, he said.  
 
“The suspects have confessed to their ‘crimes’,” Jailani added. 

Herat residents welcomed the move and said that working against Afghanistan’s interests should be counted as a crime. 

“Those who spy and provide government’s confidential information to other countries should be treated the same as those who are fighting against our security forces on the battlefields,” said Najib Marzban, a Herat resident. 

“Such people should be punished in order to be a lesson for others,” said Mirwais Omari, a Herat resident.