Woman among a dozen killed in separate incidents

KABUL and nine militants have been killed during separate incidents of violence in Nangarhar, Zabul and Kandahar provinces, officials said on Saturday.

In Nangarhar, a NATO airstrike left two women and four insurgents dead in the Trilley area of Kot district, the governor’s spokesman said.

Ahmad Zia Abdulzai told Pajhwok Afghan News said the Coordination Centre of Security Departments had informed them about the death of four insurgents and two women in the airstrike.

A girl was injured in the incident, he said, adding a joint investigation team had reached the area to know if the dead women had any links with the insurgents.

“Civil and military officials are in the area to find out what the two women were doing there and if they had any relation with the slain militants,” the official said. 

Hajir, a local, confirmed the casualties in the airstrike and said that local officials told them the women had links with insurgents.

Mobile phones of the dead insurgents were found with the women, he said.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said those killed and wounded in the airstrike were civilians.

However, ISAF said in a statement “no civilian casualties or damage to structures occurred during this operation. Protecting Afghan civilians is the cornerstone of ISAF’s mission.”

Elsewhere, five insurgents have been killed during separate clashes with police in southern Zabul province, an official said.

The clashes on Friday night took place in Shinkai and Dai Chopan districts, said acting provincial police chief, Col. Ghulam Jillani Farahi.

He told Pajhwok Afghan News two militants were killed during a clash in Roghani area of Shinkai district, with the police confiscating arms and ammunition.

Farahi said another three rebels were killed after they attacked security posts in the Dai Chopan district.

Bodies of the dead militants remained in the area, he said, adding security forces and civilians stayed unharmed during the clash that lasted three hours.

There has been no word from the Taliban about the two incidents.

However, their spokesmen Qari Yousaf Ahmadi claimed more than 10 army soldiers had been killed in gun and roadside bomb attacks in Shah Joy, Mizan, Qalat, the provincial capital, and Shinkai districts.

In southern Kandahar province, an intelligence official was killed and two businessmen injured during separate incidents of violence.

The governor’s spokesman, Samim Khaplwak, told Pajhwok Afghan News the National Directorate of Security official was killed in a gun attack along with a female relative in the Karizak area of Dand district on Saturday morning.  Another woman was injured in the attack, he said.

The administrative head of neighbouring Zheri district, Muhammad Hashim Agha, confirmed the incident and said police had started their investigation.

The two businessmen were injured when suspected insurgents attacked them in the heart of Kandahar City, the provincial capital, in the afternoon.

Khpalwak said the unknown attackers opened fire at the two men inside a mosque near the Ansari Market and managed to escape from the scene.

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