14 killed as mortars hit Afghan market
At least 14 people were killed and dozens more
wounded when a busy market in northern Afghanistan was hit by mortar fire,
officials said on Saturday.
Several Taliban shells hit the market Friday morning
in the Khwaja Sabz Posh district of Faryab province, according to Hanif Rezaee,
an Afghan army spokesman.
“Fourteen civilians were killed and 40 - including
women and children - were wounded,” Rezaee told AFP.
He said that the Taliban had been trying to hit an
army checkpoint near the market. The insurgent group did not immediately
comment.
Naem Musamim, Faryab’s public health director, said
14 bodies and 39 wounded people including four children had been taken to local
hospitals.
Some victims with critical injuries were airlifted
to hospitals in Mazar-i-Sharif in Balkh province.
The deadly incident comes as the war between the
Taliban and Afghan security forces rages on, even as Taliban officials are
meeting with US negotiators in Doha in a bid to bring about an end to the
conflict.
On Sunday, the insurgents will meet in the Qatari
capital with various representatives from Afghan society as part of a potential
peace process.
