casualties.
Hizb-i-Islami is headed by 65-year-old former warlord Gubuddin Hekmatyar a former Afghan prime minister and one-time U.S. ally who is now listed as a terrorist by Washington. The group is a radical Islamist militia with thousands of fighters and followers across the country’s north and east.
The group has recently been seeking to participate in a so-far fruitless peace and reconciliation effort led by Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Its more moderate parts are thought to have close ties to the Karzai administration and as part of its efforts, the group offered a peace plan that called for a broad-based government.
The Taliban have also threatened to increase their attacks against foreign targets to avenge the controversial film. Taliban fighters last week attacked a large British base in southern Afghanistan, killed two U.S. Marines and destroyed six fighter jets. NATO forces killed 14 insurgents and captured another who participated in the attack.
“The anti-Islam film hurt our religious sentiments and we cannot tolerate it,” Zarghoon said. He said the 22-year-old Fatima volunteered to be the suicide bomber.
“There had been several young men who wanted to take revenge but Fatima also volunteered and we wanted to give a chance to a girl for the attack to tell the world we cannot ignore any anti-Islam attack,” he said.
Zarghoon said recent events such as the mistaken bombing by NATO that killed eight women and girls who had gone out before dawn to gather firewood in the remote eastern Laghman province, a traditional Hizb-i-Islami stronghold, has soured the organization’s desire for reconciliation talks.
“Americans have not taken any serious steps for peace,” he said. “They killed civilians in Laghman two days ago who had gone to cut wood. When the Americans show they are serious in talks and a solution, we will talk peace then.”
The U.S.-led coalition acknowledged that civilians had been killed and expressed its regret over the air strike. It insisted known insurgents had been the target.
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