By Shadi Khan Saif

KABUL, Afghanistan

Taliban militants ambushed and killed 13 members of an anti-militant militia in a mosque in northern Afghanistan, officials confirmed on Sunday.

The incident took place a day earlier in the remote village of Haji Nadir in the restive Chamtal district, in the Balkh province bordering Uzbekistan.

Muneer Farhad, spokesman for the provincial government, told Anadolu Agency that the men were ambushed in a mosque. “A group of anti-militants was on its way to back the security forces in the Chamtal and Chahar Bolak district when they fell prey to the enemy in the Masjid-e-Safaid [white mosque] area,” he said.

Gulalay Noor, a parliamentarian from Balkh, however, claimed the men were civilians, and had nothing to do with the security forces.

“The provincial government instructed them to go and fight the rebels”, she claimed. Seven among the deceased are said to be members of a single family.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the killing. In a message on their website, the group claimed that three pro-government commanders were among the 13 victims.

Chamtal is one of the restive districts in the relatively safe Balkh province, despite an operation against militants three months ago by Governor Atta Mohammad Noor.