More Than 100 Civilians Killed In Afghanistan’s Kandahar, Govt Says Taliban 'Assassinated' Them For No Reason

According to Afghan security agencies, the bodies of several civilians are still lying on the ground in Spin Boldak. The US military has carried out several airstrikes in support of government forces.

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New Delhi: Unidentified gunmen killed more than 100 people in the Spin Boldak district of Afghanistan's Kandahar province, which is controlled by the Taliban, TOLO News reported.

According to the report, the Afghan ministry of interior blamed the Taliban for the deaths of civilians in Spin Boldak, saying they were murdered for no reason.

“The brutal terrorists on the order of their Punjabi bosses (Pakistan) ambushed the homes of the innocent Afghans in certain areas of Spin Boldak, looted the homes and martyred 100 innocent people. This unveils the real face of the cruel enemy,” Tolo News quoted Mirwais Stanekzai, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior.

“They (Taliban) conduct these acts on the orders of their masters, they want to give the colour of an ethnic war to their proxy war,” Stanekzai added.

According to Afghan security agencies, the bodies of several civilians are still lying on the ground in Spin Boldak. “They (Taliban) even resorted to the looting of the homes of civilians and government offices including the destruction of public infrastructure,” Rohullah Ahmadzai, a spokesperson for the ministry of defence, said, according to TOLO News. 

“They also assassinated the civilians,” Ahmadzai added.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, on the other hand, denied the allegations.

Last week, the Taliban took control of Spin Boldak. In video footage released by France 24, Taliban members were seen rampaging the town, stealing from homes, and seizing vehicles of government officials.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said that the US military carried out several airstrikes this week in support of Afghan government forces fighting Taliban insurgents, including in Kandahar.

“In the last several days we have acted, through airstrikes, to support the ANDSF,” Kirby said using an acronym for the Afghan national defense and security forces. “But I won't get into technical details of those strikes," Kirby added.

He was responding to a reporter's question about news reports of a Navy FA-18 airstrike in the Kandahar region. Following Kirby's remarks, another defence official stated that the US conducted more than four airstrikes in support of Afghan forces on Wednesday and Thursday