HERAT, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Gunmen rounded up and shot dozens of civilians in a remote part of Afghanistan on Tuesday, UN officials said, in an attack that prompted angry protests from residents about government failure to protect them.

The provincial governor’s spokesman blamed fighters from Islamic State for the killings in the central-western province of Ghor, but there was no independent confirmation.

The militant group has hitherto been largely confined to the eastern province of Nangarhar, and other officials said they doubted it was involved.

Government security forces have long struggled to exert control in Ghor, a poor and mountainous province with sharp ethnic and tribal divisions and illegal armed groups that operate with impunity.

The United Nations, condemning the incident as an “atrocity”, said 26 men were killed by unidentified gunmen after being taken hostage while collecting firewood. It said the fate of other hostages remained unknown.

Taliban insurgents denied responsibility and said the killings appeared to have been prompted by ethnic rivalries fueled by a clash over sheep-stealing.

Local reports said the dead were Kuchi nomads. Estimates of their number varied, with governor’s spokesman Abdul Hai Khatibi putting the total at about 30, the Taliban saying 36 and some local people saying it was as high as 42.

“Afghan police killed a Daesh (Islamic State) commander in Ghor province during an operation yesterday but Daesh fighters abducted some 30 civilians from near the provincial capital and shot them all dead in revenge,” Khatibi said on Wednesday.

He said the killings followed an attack by the militant group on Tuesday near Feroz Koh, capital of Ghor.

Hundreds of people gathered in the town as bodies were prepared for burial and there were angry scenes as residents demanded government action.

“Our demand to the local and central government is to bombard and destroy the terrorist nests in this province,” said protester Haji Abdul Samad.

“If the government doesn’t pay attention to our civil movements, then we will use the power of our youth to destroy the terrorist nests.”

Amnesty International described the killings as a “horrendous crime” and called for an immediate investigation by the government.

The killings underline the lack of security across Afghanistan, involving not only the Taliban insurgency and Islamic State violence but by a wider breakdown in law and order as government control has weakened.</s>Afghan men gather around the bodies of civilians, including children who were killed by the Daesh terror group militants in Ghor province, on Wednesday (AFP photo)

HERAT, Afghanistan — Gunmen in the remote central-western Afghan province of Ghor rounded up dozens of civilians and executed them on Wednesday in an attack that officials blamed on Daesh fighters retaliating for the death of one of their commanders.

If confirmed as the work of the Daesh terror group, it would mark a major departure for the radical group, which has hitherto been largely confined to the eastern province of Nangarhar since its appearance in Afghanistan at the end of 2014.

However there was no independent verification and the Taliban, who denied responsibility, said the killings appeared to have been prompted by ethnic rivalries fuelled by a clash over sheep-stealing.

The killings in any case underlined the lack of security across Afghanistan, prompted not just by the Taliban insurgency and Daesh violence but by a wider breakdown in law and order as government control has slipped.

Government security forces have long struggled to exert control in Ghor, a poor and mountainous province with sharp ethnic and tribal divisions and large numbers of illegal armed groups that operate with impunity.

The dead appear to have been Kuchi nomads and estimates of their number varied, with governor's spokesman Abdul Hai Khatibi putting the total at about 30, the Taliban saying 36 and some local people saying it was as high as 42.

"Afghan police killed a Daesh commander in Ghor province during an operation yesterday but Daesh fighters abducted some 30 civilians from near the provincial capital and shot them all dead in revenge," Khatibi said.

He said the killings followed a militant attack on Tuesday near Feroz Koh, the capital of the central western province.

Hundreds of people gathered in the town as bodies were brought in and prepared for burial and there were angry scenes as residents demanded government action.

"Our demand to the local and central government is to bombard and destroy the terrorist nests in this province," said protester Haji Abdul Samad.

"If the government doesn't pay attention to our civil movements, then we will use the power of our youth to destroy the terrorist nests." Amnesty International condemned the killings as a "horrendous crime" and called for an immediate investigation by the government.</s>Suspected Islamic State fighters killed dozens of civilians in the remote Afghan province of Ghor in revenge for the death of one of their commanders, a provincial official said on Wednesday.

"Afghan police killed a Daesh commander in Ghor province during an operation yesterday but Daesh fighters abducted some 30 civilians from near the provincial capital and shot them all dead in revenge," said Abdul Hai Khatibi, a spokesman for the governor, using a name commonly given to Islamic State.

The killings followed an attack by militants near Feroz Koh, the provincial capital, on Tuesday.

Ghor, in central-western Afghanistan, has not been known as a major center for Islamic State, which has been concentrated in the eastern state of Nangarhar.</s>The killings indicate the extremist organization has been gaining adherents in new parts of the country.

KABUL, Afghanistan — Gunmen who claim to be followers of the Islamic State group killed 23 civilian hostages in a remote province in western Afghanistan, officials said Wednesday.

The killings on Tuesday in Ghor province were the most recent indication that the extremist organization, also known as ISIS or ISIL, has been gaining adherents in new parts of the country, even as the authorities have successfully moved against its strongholds in the eastern province of Nangarhar, which borders Pakistan.

Provincial police and government officials in Ghor said the killings were carried out by a former Taliban unit with 150 members who had defected from that insurgent group and declared allegiance to the Islamic State. The Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid quickly disassociated his group from the deaths, posting a message on his Twitter account saying the killings had “nothing to do with the mujahedeen,” a term referring to Taliban fighters.

Ghor is far from Afghanistan’s main locus of Islamic State activity, in parts of Nangarhar province, where the extremists have been subjected to American airstrikes as well as government military action in the past two years.</s>KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghan police official: Taliban insurgents kill at least 20 civilians a day after abducting them in central province.</s>KABUL, Afghanistan — Taliban insurgents on Wednesday killed 26 Afghan civilians after abducting them in the remote central province of Ghor the previous day, officials said, the latest brutal attack targeting the local population on one of the country's most lawless areas.

The slain civilians were from a group of 33 taken by the militants near the provincial capital of Ferozkoh, according to Ziauddin Saqib, the deputy provincial police chief. Earlier reports suggested 20 were killed but the death toll rose later in the day.

The abductions took place while battles were underway between the Taliban and Afghan security forces on Tuesday that saw two militant commanders killed, Saqib added.

Both commanders were infamous figures in Ghor and were involved in many anti-government activities, Saqib also said, adding that the "cowardly insurgents killed innocent civilians in revenge for their commanders killed by security forces."

There was no immediate statement from the Taliban on the incident in the largely lawless Ghor.

However, Abdul Hai Khateby, the spokesman for the provincial governor, said he is convinced the militants behind the attacks and abductions were a renegade Taliban group that had sworn allegiance last year to Afghanistan's Islamic State affiliate.

"The group is former Taliban who just a year ago announced their support to their Islamic State group and changed their white flag to black," Khateby told The Associated Press, speaking over the telephone from Ghor.

The two different statements could not immediately be reconciled. Khateby also said he believed the abductions and killings were in revenge for the deaths of the two commanders.

The civilians who were abducted are all poor people from the area, mainly villagers and shepherds, and there were even children among those taken, said Khateby.

He said that the victims' families and relatives, along with other residents of Ghor, held a protest rally near the governor's office in Ferozkoh, the provincial capital, later on Wednesday.

The demonstrators denounced the government, which they said cannot protect the local population.

"The locals were so angry and they were throwing stones toward the governor's building," he said. No one was hurt in the protest, which later ended with the help of tribal leaders who mediated between the crowd and the authorities.

Ghor is one of Afghanistan's poorest and least developed provinces, with many areas outside Ferozkoh believed to be under Taliban control.

In a report from eastern Paktika province, 17 people, including two children, were wounded when a bomb went off on Wednesday at a marketplace in the provincial capital of Sharan, according to local officials.

Dr. Wali Gul Kharoti, head of the public health department, said there were also two military personals among the wounded. He said all of the wounded were ins table condition.

Abdul Raouf Massoud, deputy police chief in Paktika, said the explosive was "placed inside a shop at the city market" in an attack obviously meant to target civilians. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Taliban have in recent months stepped up attacks across Afghanistan, taking advantage of the warm weather to wage war against the Kabul government. Many civilians have been caught in the cross-fire and also targeted by roadside bombs, which are among the insurgents' weapons of choice.

Recently, the Taliban have attacked Afghan security forces in northern Kunduz province, briefly taking control of a district headquarters. The militants have also overrun a district in northern Baghlan province and in eastern Paktia province.

Meanwhile, in eastern Nangarhar province, Taliban militants have fought pitched battles with security forces. Afghanistan's Ministry of Defense says its forces are waging operations in 15 provinces.

In July, Kabul was shaken by a massive suicide bombing that struck a peaceful rally by Afghanistan's minority ethnic Hazara community, killing more than 80 people and wounding hundreds. That attack was claimed by the Islamic State group, which emerged last year in Afghanistan as an affiliate of the militant group fighting in Iraq and Syria. Analysts believe the Islamic State affiliate in the country is mostly made up of disenfranchised Taliban fighters.

The Hazara attack was the IS Afghan branch's first assault in the country's capital and the deadliest attack in Kabul since the U.S.-led invasion to oust the Taliban regime in 2001.</s>If confirmed as the work of Islamic State, it would mark a major departure for the radical group, which has hitherto been largely confined to the eastern province of Nangarhar since its appearance in Afghanistan at the end of 2014.

However there was no independent verification and the Taliban, who denied responsibility, said the killings appeared to have been prompted by ethnic rivalries fueled by a clash over sheep-stealing.

The killings in any case underlined the lack of security across Afghanistan, prompted not just by the Taliban insurgency and Islamic State violence but by a wider breakdown in law and order as government control has slipped.

Government security forces have long struggled to exert control in Ghor, a poor and mountainous province with sharp ethnic and tribal divisions and large numbers of illegal armed groups that operate with impunity.

The dead appear to have been Kuchi nomads and estimates of their number varied, with governor's spokesman Abdul Hai Khatibi putting the total at about 30, the Taliban saying 36 and some local people saying it was as high as 42.

"Afghan police killed a Daesh commander in Ghor province during an operation yesterday but Daesh fighters abducted some 30 civilians from near the provincial capital and shot them all dead in revenge," Khatibi said, using a name commonly given to Islamic State.

He said the killings followed a militant attack on Tuesday near Feroz Koh, the capital of the central western province.

Hundreds of people gathered in the town as bodies were brought in and prepared for burial and there were angry scenes as residents demanded government action.

"Our demand to the local and central government is to bombard and destroy the terrorist nests in this province," said protester Haji Abdul Samad.

"If the government doesn't pay attention to our civil movements, then we will use the power of our youth to destroy the terrorist nests."

Amnesty International condemned the killings as a "horrendous crime" and called for an immediate investigation by the government.</s>Suspected Islamic State fighters rounded up dozens of civilians and executed them in a reprisal after police killed a militant commander in the remote Afghan province of Ghor, a provincial official said on Wednesday.

The killings followed a militant attack on Tuesday near Feroz Koh, the capital of the central western province. Up until now most Islamic State activity has taken place in the eastern province of Nangarhar.

"Afghan police killed a Daesh commander in Ghor province during an operation yesterday ,but Daesh fighters abducted some 30 civilians from near the provincial capital and shot them all dead in revenge," said Abdul Hai Khatibi, a spokesman for the governor, using a name commonly given to Islamic State.

In a Twitter message posted by spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban, which is bitterly opposed to Islamic State, said it was not responsible for the civilian deaths in Ghor.</s>There has so far been no official claim of responsibility from the group.

Militants linked to the Islamic State group killed around 30 civilians, including children, in the central Afghan province of Ghor, the local government said on Wednesday.

The incident occurred late on Tuesday in north of the provincial capital Firoz Koh, with the government calling it a revenge attack after a local IS commander was killed.

“Our security forces with the help of locals conducted an operation and killed a Daesh (IS) commander on Tuesday. Daesh fighters in return abducted around 30 villagers, mostly shepherds,” Ghor Governor Nasir Khazeh told AFP.

“Their dead bodies were found by local people this morning.”

There has so far been no official claim of responsibility from the group.

The killings underscore unravelling security in Afghanistan as the resurgent Taliban continue a push into urban centres 15 years after they were toppled from power by the US invasion.

IS fighters are also making steady inroads into Afghanistan, winning over sympathisers, recruiting followers and challenging the Taliban on their own turf, primarily in the country’s east.</s>KABUL, Afghanistan — Taliban insurgents have killed at least 20 Afghan civilians after abducting them in the remote central province of Ghor the previous day, officials said Wednesday.

The slain civilians were from a group of 33 taken by the militants near the provincial capital of Ferozkoh, according to Ziauddin Saqib, the deputy provincial police chief.

The abductions took place while battles were underway between the Taliban and Afghan security forces on Tuesday that saw two militant commanders killed, he added.

Both commanders were infamous figures in Ghor and were involved in many anti-government activities, Saqib also said, adding that the "cowardly insurgents killed innocent civilians in revenge for their commanders killed by security forces."

There was no immediate statement from the Taliban on the incident in the largely lawless Ghor.

However, Abdul Hai Khateby, the spokesman for the provincial governor, said he is convinced the militants behind the attacks and abductions were a renegade Taliban group that had sworn allegiance last year to Afghanistan's Islamic State affiliate.

"The group is former Taliban who just a year ago announced their support to their Islamic State group and changed their white flag to black," Khateby told The Associated Press, speaking over the telephone from Ghor.

The two different statements could not immediately be reconciled. Khateby also said he believed the abductions and killings were in revenge for the deaths of the two commanders.

The civilians who were abducted are all poor people from the area, mainly villagers and shepherds, and there were even children among those taken, said Khateby.

Ghor is one of Afghanistan's poorest and least developed provinces, with many areas outside Ferozkoh, the provincial capital, believed to be under Taliban control.

The Taliban have in recent months stepped up attacks across Afghanistan, taking advantage of the warm weather to wage war against the Kabul government. Many civilians have been caught in the cross-fire and also targeted by roadside bombs, which are among the insurgents' weapons of choice.

Recently, the Taliban have attacked Afghan security forces in northern Kunduz province, briefly taking control of a district headquarters. The militants have also overrun a district in northern Baghlan province and in eastern Paktia province.

Meanwhile, in eastern Nangarhar province, Taliban militants have fought pitched battles with security forces. Afghanistan's Ministry of Defense says its forces are waging operations in 15 provinces.

In July, Kabul was shaken by a massive suicide bombing that struck a peaceful rally by Afghanistan's minority ethnic Hazara community, killing more than 80 people and wounding hundreds. That attack was claimed by the Islamic State group, which emerged last year in Afghanistan as an affiliate of the militant group fighting in Iraq and Syria. Analysts believe the Islamic State affiliate in the country is mostly made up of disenfranchised Taliban fighters.

The Hazara attack was the IS Afghan branch's first assault in the country's capital and the deadliest attack in Kabul since the U.S.-led invasion to oust the Taliban regime in 2001.
Ghor Province Governor's spokesman claims ISIL insurgents killed 26-42 civilians in his governed province, Afghanistan.