Two armed robbers killed, four AK-47 seized in northern Afghanistan

Kabul, October 24 (IANS). Afghan police have killed two armed robbers and seized four AK-47 rifles during an encounter in northern Balkh province. The provincial police office gave this information in a statement on Friday. The incident took place late on Thursday evening in the Chahi district, where robbers ambushed a passenger vehicle and looted all the belongings of the passengers. The victims immediately reported the crime, which helped the police take immediate action, Xinhua reported. When the police tried to arrest the suspects, the robbers resisted, leading to a shootout from both sides, in which both the assailants were killed. A search of their luggage revealed four Kalashnikov assault rifles, two of which belonged to the robbers and two previously stolen from security forces. In a related incident, police killed another armed robber in an encounter in neighboring Sari Pul province on Wednesday. There are no reports of any other injuries and the investigation is ongoing. On October 6, Mullah Azatullah Haqqani, provincial police spokesman, said that the police had recovered and seized about 400 firearms and military equipment during various operations in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan in the past five months. The official said the weapons seized in the provincial capital Lashkar Gah and surrounding districts included 41 Kalashnikov rifles, 188 pistols, one RPG-7 rifle, two M16 rifles, more than 170 other types of weapons and thousands of bullets and projectiles. Police also detained 75 people on charges of illegal possession and carrying of weapons, the official said. As part of efforts to secure practical peace in Afghanistan, Afghan government security forces have amassed thousands of weapons and ammunition, including battle tanks, since taking power more than four years ago. –IANS MS/ABM Share this story Tags