“Stupid is as stupid does,” Forrest Gump opined in the 1994 epic movie. A Taliban commander in eastern Afghanistan last week punctuated Gump’s sage advice by turning himself in for the reward on a “wanted” poster of himself.
Mohammad Ashan, a mid-level officer in Paktika province, ambled to a police checkpoint in the district of Sar Howza, holding a wanted poster bearing his own face. He demanded the finder’s fee of $100 printed on the poster, according to
The Washington Post.
Afghan officials, dumbstruck by Ashan’s motives, arrested him on the spot. U.S. troops, who went to confirm that Ashan, in fact, had turned himself in to claim the finder’s fee, were incredulous, the Post reported.
“We asked him, ‘Is this you?” Spc. Matthew Baker told the Post. Ashan answered them with enthusiasm: ‘Yes, yes, that’s me! Can I get my award now?’ ”
A biometric scan confirmed that the man in Afghan custody was indeed Ashan, the man on the poster.
There was no word on whether Ashan got the reward.
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