Clash in visa line to leave Afghanistan: 11 killed

- In another incident, six policemen were killed in a Taliban attack

Kabul, Ta. Wednesday, October 21, 2020

Fed up with the ongoing fighting in Afghanistan, thousands of people flocked to the stadium to leave the country, where 11 women waiting in line for a visa were killed in a stampede, an official said. Ayatollah Khogeyani, a spokesman for the eastern province of Nangarhar, said 15 others were seriously injured, most of them women. They had come to Pakistan on visas and were standing in line.

In a separate incident, at least seven policemen were killed in a Taliban attack in northern Afghanistan. It was the deadliest attack in fighting between the Taliban and Afghan troops since peace talks began last month as part of a process under an agreement reached between the militants and the United States in February.

Rahim Danish, director of the main hospital in northern Takhar, confirmed that five bodies had arrived. Eight Afghan security personnel were also injured. An Afghan security official said the chase and attack was a convoy in which police had set fire to several vehicles.

A spokesman for the provincial government, Jawad Hijri, said the dead included a deputy police officer. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in the area, which was not immediately available for comment.