Afghan Woman, 70, Is Hanged
Suspected Taliban militants hanged a 70-year-old woman and her 30-year-old son from a tree after accusing them of spying for the government, an official said Wednesday.
The pair were killed Monday in the village of Daigh, five miles north of the town of Musa Qala in the southern province of Helmand, said Amir Mohammed Akhundzada, the deputy governor.
He did not identify the two but said the woman’s son-in-law worked for police in the district.
President Hamid Karzai called the slayings an act “against historical and cultural values of Muslims.”
In eastern Afghanistan, meanwhile, U.S. soldiers and warplanes drove off an insurgent attack on a new American base Wednesday, killing 19 militants.
The raid in the town of Kamdesh in Nuristan province was staged by fighters believed to be with the Hezb-i-Islami militant group, who attacked from three directions using rocket-propelled grenades and guns, the U.S. military said. Kamdesh can be reached only by helicopter.
Several hundred soldiers returned fire with mortars and small arms for more than two hours before jets dropped four 500-pound bombs, ending the clash.
A military statement said two U.S. soldiers were wounded but returned to duty after receiving treatment.
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