JALALABAD (Pajhwok): More than 100 people, mostly civilians, were killed and injured in a series of targeted killings, explosions and armed clashes in eastern Nangarhar province during the past one month.
According to figures compiled by Pajhwok Afghan News since January 20, the dead and wounded included 54 civilians.
There were 24 incidents of insecurity during the period, with 15 incidents taking place in Jalalabad city and the remaining in districts.
The incidents included 13 blasts in which eight civilians and three securiry officials were killed and 21 civilians and 19 security forces were injured.
Also, six targeted killings were reported in which six civilians were killed and six others were injured and five security forces were killed and as many injured.
During the period, two car bombs exploded, killing 13 soldiers and wounding six others.
According to reports, two armed clashes took place during the period, in which five soldiers were killed and five others wounded.
In another incident, a woman was killed and four children and two adults were injured when a mortar shell hit a house during a clash in the Sherzad district.
Meanwhile, residents of Nangarhar are concerned about the deteriorating security situation in the province, especially in Jalalabad, and demand that special measures be taken to prevent such incidents.
Every day, they say, the fear of explosions and targeted killings has made it difficult for them to get out of homes and has even caused people psychological distress.
Khan Wali, a resident of the Angorbagh area in Jalalabad’s second district, said there were deadly incidents at the beginning of each day that made people worried.
Samiullah, a student at a private university in Jalalabad, said he received repeated calls from home every day to know if he was met any incident.
Dr. Nasir Kamawal, a member of the Nangarhar Provincial Council, expressed concern over the targeted killings and bombings, saying that any action taken by the government in this regard was symbolic.
Civil society activist Abdul Rahman Mawan said weak intelligence agencies and the provincial administration’s inattention were the main reasons for the increase in violent incidents.
He added: “Intelligence agencies are weak. They can’t even catch the perpetrators of an incident. Their identities are not known. Every governor who comes here works only to fill his pockets.”
In the past three months, Nangarhar police have arrested 158 people in connection with targeted killings, bombings and other armed activities, officials said.
A spokesman for the police chief, 1st Inspector Farid Khan, told Pajhwok Afghan News that the new police chief, General Juma Gul Himmat, had started work on a plan to control the incidents and would reshuffle officials.
But on the third day of the new commander’s appointment, four civilians were killed in a targeted killing incident in Jalalabad.
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