When I read stories like this, I can't help but think of right wing fringies, like Sharron Angle, who like to boast about how they just maybe might start shooting up the government if they don't get their way. They remind me of the Taliban, the Christian conservative / Religious right version.
Gunmen attack wedding party in eastern Afghanistan, killing 9, including groom
- Article by: AMIR SHAH , Associated Press
KABUL, Afghanistan - Gunmen opened fire on a wedding party in eastern Afghanistan, killing nine people, including the groom, officials said Thursday.
The assailants entered a field where the groom and his family had gathered Wednesday night in the remote Dur Baba district and started shooting, said Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, the provincial government spokesman. The attackers also set fire to a nearby house and a car.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which occurred on the eve of a NATO meeting in Brussels to discuss the alliance's mission in Afghanistan. President Barack Obama is expected to announce soon how many troops he will cut from the 100,000-strong U.S. force in Afghanistan in July, leading to fears that other NATO allies involved in the fight against Taliban insurgents may follow suit.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday in Brussels that there will be no "rush for the exits" by the United States. Germany has warned that pulling too many Americans out of the 10-year war could risk NATO's strategy.
The cousin of the groom killed in Wednesday's attack is the chief administrator for Dur Baba district, suggesting the shooting may have been an insurgent strike against the family for being allied with the government. Officials are investigating, Abdulzai said.
The Taliban and other allied groups have regularly targeted both government officials and those seen as in league with the Afghan administration or international forces. The insurgents have said they do not consider these people civilians. (emphasis mine - DG)
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which occurred on the eve of a NATO meeting in Brussels to discuss the alliance's mission in Afghanistan. President Barack Obama is expected to announce soon how many troops he will cut from the 100,000-strong U.S. force in Afghanistan in July, leading to fears that other NATO allies involved in the fight against Taliban insurgents may follow suit.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday in Brussels that there will be no "rush for the exits" by the United States. Germany has warned that pulling too many Americans out of the 10-year war could risk NATO's strategy.
The cousin of the groom killed in Wednesday's attack is the chief administrator for Dur Baba district, suggesting the shooting may have been an insurgent strike against the family for being allied with the government. Officials are investigating, Abdulzai said.
The Taliban and other allied groups have regularly targeted both government officials and those seen as in league with the Afghan administration or international forces. The insurgents have said they do not consider these people civilians. (emphasis mine - DG)
