Man kills 15 family members

Taliban, September 27: A 30-YEAR-OLD man shot dead 15 family members, including his wife and children, with an automatic rifle before committing suicide in a village in central Afghanistan.

Eight women and several children were among those killed in the shooting, which took place in the village of Ghola, in Ghazni province, provincial police chief Khial Baz Shirzai said.

Shirzai identified the killer as Mohammad Zaman, around 30, saying Zaman shot dead his family members with an AK-47 in a dispute over the ownership of land and a house.

Neighbours in the village said that Zaman was the owner of a homeopathic clinic.

After decades of war and insurrection, Afghanistan has become a violent country, with mental illness rife and easy access to deadly weapons.

—Agencies