Civilians suffer casualties in Kunar clashes

ASADABAD (PAN): A woman and a boy were killed and three others, including two children, injured after security forces clashed with heavily armed insurgents in eastern Kunar province on Friday, officials said.

The armed rebels launched simultaneous attacks on Shegal, Dangam, Marawara, Chawki districts and Asadbad early in the morning, sparking gunbattles with security forces, police spokesman Col. Sher Wali told Pajhwok Afghan News.

The clashes lasted five hours, he said, claiming the insurgents had killed a woman in Karala area of Asadabad and injured three people, including two children, in Marawara district.

Meanwhile, police chief Brig. Gen. Ewaz Mohammad Naziri said that a rocket hit a house on the outskirts of Asadabad, killing a seven-year-old boy. A police officer and a constable were injured in clashes in Marawara district.

Public Health Director Dr. Adam Khan confirmed receiving the body of a woman and three injured people at the civil hospital. The injured are in stable condition.

Mohammad Isamil, a resident of Sarkano district, said both sides used heavy weapons. The firefight that began at midnight continued until the morning, he said, but had no information about casualties.

The police chief said the attackers were repulsed at several locations and heavy casualties inflicted on them. Gen. Naziri said the bodies of some insurgents were still lying at the sites of clashes, but he had no exact figure.

But Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid denied the fighters had suffered casualties, claiming a number of security officials were killed and wounded in attacks in Marawara, Dangam, Narai, Chawki, Shegal, Wata Pur, Sarkano and Manogai districts.

The rebel spokesman said four security men were killed when the fighters attacked their post in the Shinkorak area of Shegal district.

Governor Syed Fazullah Wahidi alleged that Pakistani troops fired 124 rockets into Dangam and 75 in Narai district to pave the ground for the insurgents’ infiltration into the border towns.

ma/mud

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