11 Killed at Violent Protests over Afghan Deaths

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At least 11 people were killed and more than 50 others injured on Wednesday in violent Afghan demonstrations over the deaths of four people in a NATO raid, an official said.

"Now we have 11 dead and over 50 other people admitted with injuries to hospital," acting provincial health director, Hassan Basij, told Agence France Presse.

Police opened fire at the demonstrations in Taloqan, capital of the northeastern Takhar province, after NATO-led forces said they killed four insurgents including two armed women in an overnight raid in the town.

A spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Kabul said the house was used as a base by the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, a militant group that operates from bases including in Afghanistan.

But the protesters said those killed during the NATO raid were civilians.

It was not immediately clear whether those who died at the demonstrations were killed by police bullets or those from another source.

Lal Mohammad Ahmadzai, a regional police spokesman, blamed "some opportunists and violence-seeking elements" for infiltrating the protests and turning them violent.

Interior ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary told AFP in Kabul: "There have been demonstrations, about 2,000 have demonstrated over the operation overnight. The demonstrations have turned violent."

Bashary said initially that three people had died and about 14 others, eight of them police, were injured as a result of gunshots.

Both officials said that it was unclear who had opened fire.

Although relatively peaceful compared to Taliban strongholds in the south, the north of Afghanistan has seen violence increase in recent years.

Afghan and NATO forces have said that central Asian militant groups such as the IMU are active in the region.

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