An April 13 NATO airstrike in eastern Afghanistan’s Kunar province killed six civilians, including two children, and wounded 14 more, charged Zalmay Yousufzai, governor of Watapor district, saying that helicopters destroyed one house and damaged several others. NATO officials confirmed the raid, but said that only insurgents had been killed. (NYT, April 13)
That same day, the Taliban executed a young couple by firing squad before a large crowd in Khash Rod district of southern Nimroz province for attempting to elope. The woman, Gul Pecha, 19, and the man, Abdul Aziz, 21, were accused by the militants of immoral acts, and a council of clerics imposed the death penalty. The two had fled their homes and hoped to travel to Iran, but their parents sent villagers to bring them home, said Sadiq Chakhansori, chief of the Nimroz provincial council. Back home, the couple was either turned over to the Taliban or taken by force, according to differing accounts. (AP, April 14)
See our last posts on women in Afghanistan and civilian casualties.
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