(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-12-27 14:24

Kabul - A senior EU official and another from the United Nations left Afghanistan on Thursday after the Afghan government ordered their expulsion, accusing both of holding talks with the insurgent Taliban and for paying cash to the group.

A British soldier with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force during a patrol in the town of Musa Qala in Helmand province, December 15. The United Nations and European Union are trying to settle a "misunderstanding" that led Kabul to order the expulsion of two senior European diplomats after claims they contacted Taliban militants while in Musa Qala. [Agencies]

Acting head of European Union mission Michael Semple who is from Britain and senior UN official Marvin Patterson from Ireland left the country, officials from their organizations said.

An Afghan official on Thursday reiterated the pair posed a "threat to Afghanistan's national security."