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| Afghanistan |
| Afghan deputy mayor slain while praying |
| 2010-04-20 |
| INSURGENTS killed a vice mayor of the southern city of Kandahar while he was praying at a mosque, an official said, the latest brazen attack on government officials in the volatile region where troops are preparing for an assault on Taliban forces. Meanwhile, NATO said one of its convoys in Khost province, on the border with Pakistan, fired on a vehicle that ignored warnings to stop late Monday night, killing four people inside the car. It said two of those killed in the incident were later identified as "known insurgents", although the provincial chief of police, Abdul Hakim Hesaq Zoy, said the dead were all civilians, and included a 12-year-old child. In the Kandahar slaying, assailants entered the mosque and shot Azizullah Yarmal while he and dozens of others were praying during services Monday night, said Zalmai Ayubi, spokesman for the surrounding province, also called Kandahar. The assailants escaped and no arrests were made, Mr Ayubi said. Mosques typically provide little security, making them vulnerable to insurgent death squads. He said the assassination was among a series of killings of government workers in southern Afghanistan aimed at undermining central authority by terrorizing competent individuals into leaving their posts and punishing those who defy the insurgents. "This is the work of the enemies of Afghanistan. They don't want these honest people to serve the Afghan people and work in government institutions," Mr Ayubi said. He said Mr Yarmal was not known to have any powerful enemies or to be involved in any disputes, and had worked to obtain funds for road building and other development projects in the city that was the birthplace of the hard-line Islamic Taliban militia and where they continue to enjoy considerable support. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #3 Allowing Western troops inside a mosque?...with video cameras?...no no no totally unacceptable, will have none of that. The second issue, can you get a local to do it. Other than being a spy the fatwa on digital video recording is still out. Film captures and steals souls without doubt but digital, now that is a puzzle for the 21st century imam indeed. But other than those 2 reasons, yes totally agree with Mike. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2010-04-20 12:47 |
| #2 Nice to see all the deeply-held respect for mosques, isn't it? |
| Posted by: mojo 2010-04-20 11:13 |
| #1 "It said two of those killed in the incident were later identified as "known insurgents", although the provincial chief of police, Abdul Hakim Hesaq Zoy, said the dead were all civilians, and included a 12-year-old child." In my view: total propaganda. I think NATO troops should film incidents like this whenever they can, including the persons killed so when a terrorist sympathizer like Abdul Hakim Hesaq Zoy shoots his mouth off with lies, the evidence could confront him and he would be arrested or demoted. Enough with these 'always children being killed' and 'wedding-parties-in-the-desert-at-3am bullsh!t. It's pure propaganda in almost all instances but it is presented as credible to the Afghan population. We are fighting an enemy that doesn't wear uniforms and uses civilians as shields, while they spread their terror in vicious ways. |
| Posted by: Mike Hunt 2010-04-20 10:49 |