KABUL, Afghanistan, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- The head of the border police in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, said border guards shot and killed seven civilians amid concerns the Afghans were militants.
Border police official Abdul Raziq said guards at a checkpoint near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border fired on the civilians because they were concerned their checkpoint was in danger of being overrun, The New York Times reported online Saturday.
Raziq said following Friday's deadly shooting, the guards were taken into custody and questioned regarding the incident.
All of the seven male victims were from the village of Sortano, Afghanistan. The civilians were crossing the border from Pakistan when the shooting took place, Raziq said.
The Times said Afghan border guards in the area where the shooting took place are suspected of being involved in the illegal drug trade plaguing the area. Raziq denied such allegations from U.S. and Afghan officials.
