An Afghan girl who shot dead two Taliban fighters after they gunned down her parents said she was ready to confront any other insurgents who might try to attack her.
Qamar Gul, 15, killed the militants when they stormed her home last week in a remote village in the central province of Ghor.
“I no longer fear them and I’m ready to fight them again,” Ms. Gul said by telephone from a relative’s home, where she was being watched by guards.
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A photo of Ms. Gul posing with a gun has circulated online, with many praising her actions and calling for her safe passage out of the country.
It was about midnight when the Taliban arrived, Ms. Gul said, recounting the events of that night.
She was asleep in her room with her 12-year-old brother when she heard the sound of men pushing at the door of their house.
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“My mother ran to stop them but by then they had already broken the door,” Ms. Gul said.
“They took my father and mother outside and shot them several times. I was terrified,” she said.
But moments later, “anger took over”. “I picked up the gun we had at home, went to the door and shot them,” said Ms. Gul, who was taught by her father how to fire an AK-47 assault rifle.
Her brother stepped in when one of the insurgents, who appeared to be the group’s leader, tried to return fire.
“My brother took the gun from me and hit (shot) him. The fighter ran away injured, only to return later,” Ms. Gul said.
By then, several villagers and pro-government militiamen had arrived at the house. The Taliban eventually fled following a lengthy firefight.
The New York Times reported on Wednesday that the killings at Ms. Gul’s home also involved a family feud — and that one of the attackers was Ms. Gul’s own husband. The paper, quoting Ms. Gul’s relatives and officials, said he was seeking her “forcible return” after a falling-out with her family.
Officials told AFP that the Taliban had come to kill Ms. Gul’s father, who was the village chief, because he supported the government.