11. Hours before the massacre, the leader of the Shiite militant faction Sipah-i-Mohammad was assassinated in the nearby city of Bahawalpur. 12. A commission comp the Shiite faction of Harakat, had been appointed to investigate the incident and identify those responsible. 13. A pro-Iranian Shiite faction Sunday rushed fresh troops to protect its stronghold north of Kabul, as the Taliban militia continued to seize more territory in Afghanistan. 14. The pro-Iran Shiite faction, which controls areas in west Kabul, has been involved in sporadic clashes with forces loyal to Rabbani. 15. The Wahdat, a pro-Iranian Shiite faction earlier allied with Hekmatyar, has done likewise. 16. The Taliban militia has captured a key pass in northern Afghanistan, threatening the main stronghold of a pro-Iranian Shiite faction, Taliban-run Radio Kabul said Tuesday. 17. Two other factions are taking part -- Shiite faction Hezb-i-Wahdat of Karim Khalili and the National Liberation Front led by Sibghatullah Mojaddedi. 18. Ten civilians were killed and scores were wounded, many of them children, in a bloody upsurge in fighting early Thursday between rival Shiite factions in south Kabul. 19. Tank and infantry fight broke out between gunmen of the Afghan militant Taliban movement and a Shiite faction based in southwest Kabul Friday, according to Defence Ministry sources. 20. Tawhidi added that the Shiite faction were determined to defend their territory, accusing the mainly-Sunni Moslem Taliban of enforcing religious despotism. |