2 Female Judges Fatally Ambushed in Kabul

Attack came during peace talks in Qatar
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jan 17, 2021 7:40 AM CST
Gunmen Kill 2 Women Judges in Kabul
Afghan women cry at the site where gunmen opened fire in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Jan. 17, 2021.   (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Gunmen fired on a car in northern Kabul on Sunday, killing two female judges who worked for Afghanistan's high court and wounding the driver, a court official said. It was the latest attack in the Afghan capital during peace talks between Taliban and Afghan government officials in Qatar. Supreme Court of Afghanistan spokesman Ahmad Fahim Qawim, said the women were judges who worked for the high court but he did not identify them by name. Per the AP, no one claimed responsibility for the attack and Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the insurgent group wasn't responsible. The Afghan government has repeatedly blamed the Taliban for targeted killings in recent months and the insurgent group accuses the government of staging the killings to spoil the peace process.

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for multiple attacks in the capital in recent months, including on educational institutions that killed 50 people, most of them students. IS has also claimed responsibility for rocket attacks in December targeting the major US base in Afghanistan. There were no casualties. The Taliban and the Afghan government earlier this month resumed peace talks in Qatar. Negotiations were off to a slow start as the insurgent group continues attacks on Afghan government forces while keeping their promise not to attack US and NATO troops.
(More Afghanistan stories.)

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