by Abdul Haleem, Aria
SHIBERGHAN, Afghanistan, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- "The Taliban's barbaric acts and the brutalities committed by the Islamic State (IS) have compelled me to fight back," Badam Gul, 40, told Xinhua, while toting an assault rifle.
Both Taliban fighters and militants loyal to the IS, according to villagers and local officials, have committed indiscriminate crimes including killing and torching houses in parts of the Qushtapa district of the northern Jawzjan province.
Jawzjan province, with Shiberghan as its capital, has been the scene of increasing insurgency over the past couple of years.
With an AK-47 assault rifle slung over her shoulder and dressed in local attire, Gul recounted her experiences of the Taliban and the IS rebels torching scores of houses and murdering dozens of people both young and old in Jarmgar village, in the Qushtapa district, just three weeks ago.
"Daesh (IS) rebels have brutally invaded us, they have indiscriminately killed dozens of villagers including elderly people and youngsters and didn't even spare the children," Gul exclaimed, adding that such barbaric acts have forced regular men and women, like herself, to take up arms and fight back against the onslaught in the Qushtapa district.
Read the full story at Xinhua