Qhamar Gul, 15, and his brother Habibullah fought back with an AK-47 assault rifle when their home was attacked, Ghor province spokesman Arif Aber told CNN on Wednesday.
The children’s father, a tribal elder and government supporter, and their mother were killed by insurgents around 1 a.m. local time July 16 in the Tyora district, Aber said.
Qhamar and Habibullah Gul are now “in a safe place,” Aber said, without specifying the location.
The Taliban’s goal is to impose their interpretation of Islamic law in Afghanistan and to remove foreign influence from the country.
On February 29, the United States and the Taliban signed a landmark agreement that launches the possibility of a total withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.
The “Agreement to Bring Peace to Afghanistan” outlines a series of US and Taliban commitments related to troop levels, anti-terrorism and intra-Afghan dialogue aimed at achieving “a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire.”
However, in the month following the signing of the agreement, the Taliban increased their attacks against the United States’ Afghan allies to higher levels than usual, according to data provided to the Pentagon’s Special Inspector General for the Reconstruction of Afghanistan.
Despite continued attacks on the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces, on July 14 the Pentagon announced that the United States withdrew from five bases in Afghanistan and reduced the size of its forces in the country.
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