Taliban insurgents murder 17 attending late-night party

Added by Gary Dunn on August 27, 2012

Taliban insurgents murdered 17 Afghan civilians including two women, by beheading them, after they were discovered by Taliban insurgents at what they called a ‘music party’.

The Afghan Interior Ministry said the attack occurred on Sunday in a Taliban-controlled area of the province of Helmand.

“The victims were having a late-light dance party when the Taliban attacked,” said a source close to the matter.

The Taliban have denied any involvement in the incident.

In the conservative region men and women are not allowed to mingle unless they are related; flirting and displays of affection are condemned, often with violent enforcement by Taliban insurgents.

The deaths come as the current NATO-led war has resulted in over 2,000 US deaths since the beginning of the war; the Australian Defence Force reports a total of 33 deaths and 238 injuries since the operation started.

The total death toll of US service members is currently 6,551 with an approximately estimated 11,3000 Afghan civilian deaths since the conflict began.