The Taliban beheaded a kidnapped doctor in Kandahar province of southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, after the government failed to timely transfer the body of killed top Taliban commander Mullah Dadullah, a Taliban spokesman said.

Doctor Abdul Khalil was beheaded as the deadline for Afghan authorities to hand over Dadullah's body was over, self-claimed spokesman Shahabudin Atal told Xinhua by satellite phone from an undisclosed place.

Khalil and his four colleagues including three nurses and a driver were abducted in March in Kandahar province, a stronghold of Taliban militants.

The Taliban on Sunday threatened to kill the hostages unless the government transferred Dadullah's body before 10 a.m. (0530 GMT) on Tuesday.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai had ordered to hand over the body to get free the five hostages, an Afghan health official said Monday.

Meanwhile, Kandahar governor Assadullah Khalid said Tuesday that the government was waiting for Dadullah's family to recover the body, but no one appeared so far.

Dadullah was killed on May 12 by Afghan and international forces, and his body was buried by the government at a secret place in Kandahar.

The Taliban spokesman said Taliban fighters would kill the other four hostages if the authorities did not turn over Dadullah's body.