Officials in Afghanistan said Wednesday that gunmen killed more than 25 people in a rural area in the central province of Ghor. The victims were among a group of 33 people seized by the gunman. Local officials, including the governor of Ghor, said the attackers are former Taliban fighters now loyal to the Islamic State (IS) militant group. The officials expressed special concern because this is the first report of IS activity in the area. They also said they believe the attack was in answer to the killing of two local commanders of the militants. The Taliban denied any involvement in the attack. A Ghor government spokesman told VOA that the victims were collecting wood for winter when IS gunmen captured them. He said the gunmen executed the hostages while Afghan security forces were trying to rescue them with the help of local civilians. Amnesty International called it “a horrendous crime.”
Title: Afghan Officials Say Militants Have Killed Hostages
Content: <div id='article-page'><div id='article-content' data-media-url='//news-app-staging.s3.amazonaws.com' data-base-url='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1468/afghan_militants.m4a' data-capture-url='//staging.analytics.lingraphica.com/events/capture_news' data-article-title='Afghan Officials Say Militants Have Killed Hostages' data-article-id='1975'><script src='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/javascripts/getscripts.js'></script><link rel='stylesheet' href='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/stylesheets/article.css' type='text/css' /><div class='article'><p><span data-start-time='0' data-end-time='13313'>Officials in Afghanistan said Wednesday that gunmen killed more than 25 people in a rural area in the central province of Ghor.</span> <span data-start-time='13313' data-end-time='21083'>The victims were among a group of 33 people seized by the gunman.</span> <span data-start-time='21083' data-end-time='35208'>Local officials, including the governor of Ghor, said the attackers are former Taliban fighters now loyal to the Islamic State (IS) militant group.</span> <span data-start-time='35208' data-end-time='45188'>The officials expressed special concern because this is the first report of IS activity in the area.</span> <span data-start-time='45188' data-end-time='55979'>They also said they believe the attack was in answer to the killing of two local commanders of the militants.</span> <span data-start-time='55979' data-end-time='61938'>The Taliban denied any involvement in the attack.</span> <span data-start-time='61938' data-end-time='73958'>A Ghor government spokesman told VOA that the victims were collecting wood for winter when IS gunmen captured them.</span> <span data-start-time='73958' data-end-time='86583'>He said the gunmen executed the hostages while Afghan security forces were trying to rescue them with the help of local civilians.</span> <span data-start-time='86583' data-end-time='91563'>Amnesty International called it “a horrendous crime.”</span> </p></div><div class='control-buttons-sticky' style='display:none;'><div class='control-buttons'><button title='Back' class='back' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Play' class='play' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Pause' class='pause' style='display:none;'></button><button title='Forward' class='forward' disabled='disabled'></button><button class='finished-reading' style='display:none;'>Done</button></div></div></div><div id='article-media'><div id='media-image'><img src='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1468/Afghan_militants.png'/></div></div><div id='question-content' style='display:none;'><div class='vocabulary_question question-container' data-question-id=7501 data-hint-location='86583' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1468/what_does_horrendous_mean.m4a'>What does horrendous mean?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='very bad or unpleasant'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1468/to_be_sad_and_depressed.m4a'><span>to be sad and depressed</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1468/to_be_happy_and_cheerful.m4a'><span>to be happy and cheerful</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1468/very_bad_or_unpleasant.m4a'><span>very bad or unpleasant</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1468/very_pleasant.m4a'><span>very pleasant</span></div></div></div><div class='multiple_choice_question question-container' data-question-id=7502 data-hint-location='13313' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1468/how_many_hostages_were_captured_by_the_gunman.m4a'>How many hostages were captured by the gunman?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='33'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1468/10.m4a'><span>10</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1468/40.m4a'><span>40</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1468/38.m4a'><span>38</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1468/33.m4a'><span>33</span></div></div></div><div class='sentence_completion_question question-container' data-question-id=7503 data-hint-location='55979' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1468/the__blank__denied_any_involvement_in_the_attack.m4a'>The <span class='blank'>Taliban</span> denied any involvement in the attack.</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='Taliban'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1468/russians.m4a'><span>Russians</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1468/taliban.m4a'><span>Taliban</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1468/chinese_governmment.m4a'><span>Chinese Governmment</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1468/us_military.m4a'><span>U.S. Military</span></div></div></div><div class='question-buttons'><button class='skip-button'></button><button class='hint-button'></button><button class='speak-button'></button></div></div></div>
Sound Name: https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1468/afghan_militants.m4a
Preview
