SHIBERGHAN/FAIZABAD (PAN commander and an Afghan soldier died during a clash in neighbouring Badakhshan province, officials said on Saturday.
Gunmen broke into a house in the Qarqin district centre on Saturday morning, killing a 20-year-old midwife named Ai Bikah, Jawzjan police chief Col. Abdul Manan Raufi told Pajhwok Afghan News.
She was killed at her uncle’s house. Her uncle said three men wearing black masks attacked his house and killed Ai Bikah before escaping the scene.
He said police were investigating the incident but the reason behind the murder remained unclear. Ai Bikah also worked as a vaccinator in a clinic in the district.
Public Health Department official Dr. Feraidoon Habib condemned the incident, saying such incidents had a negative effect on the morale of health workers, especially females.
He urged security forces to arrest the perpetrators and prevent such incidents in future.
The incident comes three months after a vaccinator and a driver with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) were killed in an insurgent attack in Khanaqa district.
In Badakhshan, a group of insurgents attacked Ghanio and Khoj villages of Warduj district, sparking a gun-battle with Afghan National Army (ANA) troops, police officer Col. Jahangir said.
A Taliban commander and one ANA soldier were killed and seven attackers and two ANA soldiers were wounded during the firefight, he said. The attackers were forced into retreat, he said.
The district chief, Mohammad Khawar, said the clash that started on Friday evening continued until 10pm. The Taliban fled after suffering casualties, he said.
But a Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, claimed 12 Afghan soldiers were killed and nine others were wounded. Some bodies of security men were still in Taliban’s custody, he claimed.
Mujahid further said dozens of security officials were killed and wounded during a roadside bomb attack in the Ghanio village.
But the district chief said the bomb was exploded in an open area, causing no casualties.
mds/ma
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