Afghanistan hangs Kabul Bank attackers
Insurgents threaten reprisal attacks as Afghan government executes two convicted over bank attack that killed dozens.
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| At least 35 people were killed in the attack on a Kabul Bank branch in February. |
Afghanistan has executed two men convicted of killing dozens of people in an attack on a bank in the eastern city of Jalalabad earlier this year.
Dressed in police uniforms, Zar Ajam, a Pakistani citizen, and Matiullah, who goes by a single name, stormed a branch of Kabul Bank in February, opening fire on those waiting in line to collect their payments.
They killed at least 35 people and injured 73, according to the Afghan government, in what was one of the most savage attacks in recent months in Afghanistan.
“Kabul Bank convicts, Matiullah a resident of Nangarhar province and Zar Ajam a resident of North Waziristan,
who were accused of the murder of 35 Nangarhar residents were executed today,” Justice Ministry Spokesman Farid Ahmad Najibi told Tolo TV on Monday.
Footage from the bank’s security cameras showed one of the militants shooting customers one by one.
Later, local media broadcast interviews with Zar Ajam in which he admitted to having enjoyed killing the civilians.
The two men were hanged in Kabul’s Pul e Charkhi prison, Afghanistan’s intelligence agency confirmed.Zar Ajam’s body will be handed over to the Pakistani embassy in Afghanistan and Matiullah’s body will be returned to his family, officials said.
In reponse to the executions, insurgents in eastern Afghanistan have annouced that they will target courts and judges, Reuters reported.
“If our man in Afghan custody is executed, we will launch a new operation to only target judges and courts,” Sirajuddin Haqqani, leader of the Haqqani network, said before the executions were confirmed by the Afghan government.