REUTERS (UK) AL JAZEERA (Qatar) BBC NEWS (UK), CNN (USA)
KABUL – Fifteen men and two women were found beheaded in Afghanistan’s southern Helmand province on Monday. Reuters, Al Jazeera and other news outlets reported that the victims had attended a “mixed-sex” party where men and women were socializing.
The bodies were found in a house near the Musa Qala district, about 75 kilometers north of the provincial capital Lashkar Gah, in the South of Afghanistan. Some had gunshot wounds while others showed signs of beatings, reports BBC News.
Although there were no immediate claims of responsibility, the local Governor’s spokesman said that “it was the work of the Taliban”, who have long condemned any social mixing between men and women, according to BBC News.
Meanwhile, ten Afghan army soldiers were killed in a Taliban attack in the same province. CNN reports that an Afghan soldier shot two NATO service members Monday in a so-called “green-on-blue” attack. Afghan and NATO officials are investigating the incident.
