GARDEZ (SW) – Locals in Zurmat district of Paktia province staged a protest demonstration against the alleged killings of six civilians in a security operation.
Blaming the Afghan and U.S forces for taking out six civilians from their homes and killing them, the locals staged the demonstration on the Kabul – Paktia highway. They demanded the government to answer questions related to these alleged civilian killings in the security operation.
They said among the dead included a father and his three sons and one other civilian. One of the protesters, Haji Ghulam, said two of the victims were his nephews who had just returned home on a break from their universities in Khost and Paktia. He added commander Naeem and Syed Hassan, two more men killed in the operation, were his brothers.
The provincial administration has confirmed civilian casualties.
Abdul Wali, deputy governor, told the protesters that investigations are underway into the incident. He said the provincial administration and security officials were not informed about this operation.
There was another aerial operation in the Mamozay area of the province, but the provincial police chief, Raz Mohammad Mandozay, and spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, Nusrat Rahimi, said they have no knowledge about it.
A month ago, eight people got killed in a similar operation.
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