Taliban kill 13 in Afghanistan’s Balkh Province

Taliban militants in Afghanistan have killed more than a dozen people in Afghanistan’s northern Balkh Province.

According to local government sources, the Taliban militants stormed a mosque where the group had gathered on Saturday afternoon.

Local hospital officials reported inspecting the bullet-riddled bodies of 13 people.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the Taliban militants had been responsible for the attack. He said 12 people, including three commanders of what he said were local militia forces hired by the government to maintain security in the region, had been killed, and another one was wounded, in the attack.

Mujahid also claimed that the militants took several weapons, ammunition, and grenades from the deceased.

However, a member of the Afghan parliament representing the Balkh Province, Gulalai Noor Sapai, rejected the Taliban claim and said all those killed in the attack had been ordinary civilians and had no links with the government or security institutions.