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Afghanistan
Gunmen kill 13 civilians in east Afghanistan
2015-03-25
[Iran Press TV] More than a dozen civilians, among them a woman, have been killed when a group of unknown gunnies launched an attack on buses traveling toward the troubled eastern region of Afghanistan.

Ataullah Khogyani, the front man for Maidan Wardak provincial governor, said on Tuesday that the assailants fired shots at the buses at around 1:00 a.m. local time on Tuesday (2030 GMT Monday) in Saydabad district of the province, killing 13 passengers. Two people also sustained grave injuries in the attack.

The buses were heading from the capital, Kabul, towards Afghanistan's eastern province of Ghazni.

Mohammad Ali, the deputy governor of neighboring Ghazni province, confirmed the incident, saying the gunnies picked their victims and shot them one by one.

No group or individual has grabbed credit for the deadly attack, but such assaults bear the hallmarks of those made by Talibs. Afghan authorities have launched an investigation to determine the motive behind the act of violence.

Speaking from Kabul, Press TV correspondent, Fayez Khorshid said the victims were returning home in Ghazni after celebrating Nowruz, which marks the Persian New Year, in the Afghan capital.

He added that their next of kin are demanding justice over the deadly attack.
An Nahar adds:
The bus was heading for the restive southern city of Kandahar, once a bastion of the Taliban.

The Taliban's chief front man, Zabihullah Mujahid, denied they were behind Tuesday's attack, though the district where it happened is known to have a stong myrmidon presence.

The Taliban often deny attacks that involve a high civilian corpse count.
Posted by:Fred

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