Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
January 19, 2022
A Taliban commander and three other people were killed when a man opened fire on a vehicle in Afghanistan’s eastern Kunar Province, a local Taliban official said on January 19.
The incident occurred in the Narang district of Kunar, the Taliban director of information and culture in the province, Mawlawi Najibullah, told the media.
Another nine people were wounded, Najibullah said, adding that the attacker had escaped to a civilian house and when the owner had denied him shelter, he killed him too.
The attacker was detained after being wounded and police are investigating the case, he said.
A local elder put the number of dead at six, including four Taliban members.
The elder said the attacker had switched allegiance from the Taliban to the Islamic State (IS) group in the past.
“He opened fire on the car with a machine gun,” the elder said.
IS, which is active in eastern Afghanistan, has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August.
The Taliban and IS have been fighting each other since the latter emerged in Afghanistan in early 2015.
Based on reporting by dpa and Etleaks.com