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Roundup: Afghan president orders probe into Taliban attack near capital

Xinhua, July 5, 2015 Adjust font size:

Amid strong criticism by Afghan public over what they described the government failure to check Taliban activities in Wardak province which had left over the two dozen police dead and injured on Thursday, Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani on Sunday ordered thorough investigation into the bloody case, a statement released by the Presidential Palace said.

Taliban militants in a brazen attack in Jalrez district of Wardak province on Thursday night had overrun 12 police checkpoints and brutally killed 30 local police personnel, some of whom were beheaded, locals said.

Officials however, only confirmed killing of 20 police personnel, saying the government forces, killing 30 Taliban militants and injuring 40 others, forced them to vacate the area, a claim rebuffed by locals.

Locals including head of Wardak provincial council Hajji Ahmad Jafari blamed the government including some security officials for negligence and demanding thorough investigation and bringing to justice those found guilty in fulfilling duty.

Wardak province, 35 km west of Kabul, has been regarded as relatively peaceful province but the recent Taliban attack caused concern among Afghans particularly Kabul residents.

"President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani issued a decree and assigned a high-ranking fact finding commission to visit Jalrez district and conduct a thoroughly investigation into the bloody incident there during which a number of Afghan Local Police (ALP) forces were killed and wounded," the statement said.

The government established the ALP, or community police, in 2010 to protect villages and districts where army and police have limited presence.

Hundreds of people took to street in Wardak's neighboring Bamiyan province on Saturday and blamed government negligence for killing ALP personnel in Jalrez district by Taliban militants.

Meanwhile, Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqi in talks with media on Sunday rejected the allegations as baseless, saying the government did its best to protect security personnel in Jalrez district but the gruesome incident has occurred.

"The ALP personnel in Jalrez had resisted for three days but the government had not sent reinforcement. This negligence is questionable and needs thorough investigation," Jafari told local media. Endi