Afghan militia beheads ISIS fighters | Inquirer News

Afghan militia beheads ISIS fighters

/ 09:12 AM December 28, 2015

Afghanistan militant

An Afghan militant stands guard. INQUIRER WIRES

KABUL, Afghanistan — Militiamen loyal to an influential Afghan lawmaker beheaded four Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) fighters and publicly displayed their severed heads, officials said Sunday, highlighting an increasingly brutal conflict as the jihadist group makes inroads in Afghanistan.

The killings in volatile Nangarhar province bordering Pakistan provoked horror and condemnation in a country that has witnessed four decades of bloodshed and war.

Article continues after this advertisement

The militia force loyal to Haji Zahir, deputy speaker of parliament, has been battling self-styled ISIS militants in Achin district in the province for weeks.

FEATURED STORIES

Zahir said the group captured and beheaded four of his fighters, prompting his men to retaliate.

“If they behead you, behead your son, do you expect us to cook sweets for them?” the firebrand politician told reporters.

Article continues after this advertisement

“Sweets are not distributed during war. People die.”

Article continues after this advertisement

Zahir’s men placed the severed heads of four militants atop stacks of stones on the side of a main road in Achin, district officials said.

Article continues after this advertisement

“If they were criminals then they should have been punished by the judiciary, not by a kangaroo court,” district chief Haji Ghaleb said in comments cited by the local media.

“This barbaric incident should not have happened.”

Article continues after this advertisement

Nangarhar faces an emerging threat from loyalists of ISIS, which controls territory across Syria and Iraq and is making gradual inroads in Afghanistan, challenging the Taliban on their own turf.

The jihadists have managed to attract disaffected Taliban fighters increasingly lured by the group’s signature brutality that has made them notorious.

In a sign of their growing reach in Afghanistan, the group has taken to the airwaves in a 90-minute Pashto-language radio show called “Voice of the Caliphate”.

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

The government has said it is trying to block the broadcast, beamed from an undisclosed location, that is aimed at winning new recruits.

TAGS: Afghanistan, beheading, ISIS, News

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our newsletter!

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

© Copyright 1997-2024 INQUIRER.net | All Rights Reserved

This is an information message

We use cookies to enhance your experience. By continuing, you agree to our use of cookies. Learn more here.