10 killed in Faryab, Laghman attacks

MAIMANA/MEHTARLAM (Pajhwok): At least 10 people have been killed and 11 others wounded during separate security incidents in northwestern Faryab and eastern Laghman provinces, officials said on Sunday.

Faryab Governor Mohammadullah Batash told Pajhwok Afghan News seven people, including a woman, were killed as result of a clash between irresponsible commanders in Pashtunkot district

Saturday’s firefight erupted between Mohammad Rassoul and Madad in Gilim Baf area. He linked the clash to a personal dispute over collection of Zakat and the use of meadows.

“These illegal commanders clash on a daily basis. I have ordered security forces to arrest them but they have failed to do so. I think the forces are either are weak or influenced by criminals,” Batash said.

A security official, wishing not to be named, said that three civilian houses were also set on fire during the clash involving more than 100 armed individuals from both sides.

Madad and Rassoul are former local commanders who have long been involved in deadly clashes. But a supporter of Madad accused Rassoul for killing six civilians including a woman and torching several houses. He said he was a pro-government commander and his rival as a militant.

But Tahir Rahmani, a supporter of Rassoul, said that they were not involved in the clash but their relatives resisted after they came under attack from Madad’s men.

A woman who was defending herself against Madad was shot dead along with her child, he alleged.

According to another report, three civilians were killed and 10 others wounded during separate security incidents in Laghman province.

The governor’s spokesman, Sarhadi Zwak, said that one civilian was killed and six others including five women hit a civilian house in Alishang district late on Saturday.

Meanwhile, two more civilians were killed and four others wounded in a militant attack on the rickshaw they were travelling in the Maidani area of Mehtarlam, the provincial capital.

One of the wounded was in critical condition and shifted to Nangarhar Civil Hospital for treatment, Zwak said. The Taliban militants have not yet commented on the incidents.

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