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KABUL (SW): Reports of mass civilian casualties in an aerial raid on a religious seminary in Kunduz invited the Wolesi Jirga (lower house)’s wrath towards the government.
Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi, speaker of the house, said regardless of the fact that a number of top Taliban militants were killed in this raid, such a lethal raid on a religious seminary is unacceptable. He announced to dispatch a fact-finding team to the Dasht-e-Archi district where the bombing took place on Monday.
Kamal Safi, member of the house from Kunduz, said the attack on religious seminary is the act of the enemies of the President, the government and the people of Afghanistan. He alleged elements within the government are seeking to prolong the war with such tactics.
He went on to say the Taliban have utilized civilians for their gains, and the government should stop it.
The Justice and Security for Civilians organization has said their findings indicate that up to 300 people, mostly civilians were present in the seminary when the attack took place, and around 50 civilians lost their lives in the raid. Qadeerul Rehman, member of this group, expressed fears the government’s fact-finding commission might not share its findings with the public.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defense has claimed that 18 high-ranking local and foreign Taliban militants have been killed in this raid. President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani chaired a late-evening National Security Council meeting over the matter on Tuesday to order comprehensive investigations into the incident.
However, the Taliban have asserted that over 100 civilians have been killed in this incident.
ENDS
