Qamar Gul, a teenaged Afghan girl, is being hailed as a "hero" after she shot dead two Taliban militants, reported local AT News on Monday. The incident happened last week after the insurgents dragged and killed Qamar's parents out of their house in a village in the central province of Ghor.
The militants were on a hunt for Qamar's parents who was a supporter of the Afghan government, local police head Habiburahman Malekzada told AFP. They reportedly pulled him out of the house and killed him. His wife too was shot dead for intervening, the report stated.
"Qamar Gul, who was inside the house, took an AK-47 gun the family had and first shot dead the two Taliban fighters who killed her parents, and then injured a few others," he reportedly said, adding that other Taliban militants who came to attack her house were warded off from the village by pro-government militiamen.
The teen was engaged in an hour-long battle with the Taliban militants alongside her 12-year-old brother Habibullah, Mohamed Aref Aber, a spokesman for the provincial governor said, according to the Guardian.
Qamar, who is reported to be aged between 14 and 16, was taken by Afghan officials along with her younger brother and they were relocated in a safer place. "They were in shock in the first two days and could not talk too much, but are in a good condition now," Aber reportedly said.
"They are saying: 'This was our right because we did not need to live without our parents.' They don't have many relatives other than a half-brother who lives in the same village." Qamar reportedly received praise from Afghan President Ashraf Ghani for the killing of militants and invited her and her brother to the presidential palace.
"When I saw them that night, they were shocked but were feeling honored," district governor Mohammad Rafiq Alam said.
Twitter users too applauded Qamar for her bravery.
The Taliban insurgents kill anyone on suspicion of supporting the government or being the government's informants. The militant organisation has killed several security personnel in recent months despite the peace talks with the government.
