[by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]¸ü¶àÌýÁ¦Çë·ÃÎÊ51VOA.COM [00:00.12]Officials in Afghanistan said Wednesday that gunmen killed [00:05.72]more than 25 people in a rural area in the central province of Ghor. [00:13.56]The victims were among a group of 33 people seized by the gunman. [00:21.40]Local officials, including the governor of Ghor, [00:25.32]say the attackers are former Taliban fighters [00:29.80]now loyal to the Islamic State (IS) militant group. [00:34.80]The officials expressed special concern because [00:39.92]this is the first report of IS activity in the area. [00:45.48]They also said they believe the attack [00:48.96]was in answer to the killing of two local commanders of the militants. [00:56.24]The Taliban denied any involvement in the attack. [01:01.64]A Ghor government spokesman told VOA [01:06.64]that the victims were collecting wood for winter when IS gunmen captured them. [01:14.20]He said the gunmen executed the hostages [01:18.00]while Afghan security forces were trying to rescue them with the help of local civilians. [01:26.40]Amnesty International called it "a horrendous crime." [01:32.00]They demanded Afghan officials carry out an independent investigation into the violence. [01:40.48]Hours earlier, Islamic State said it was responsible for a suicide attack in neighboring Pakistan. [01:50.40]The raid at the police training center killed at least 62 people. [01:56.76]More than 120 others were wounded. [02:00.84]The attack took place in Quetta, the capitol of Baluchistan province. [02:08.16]The IS launched its extremist activities in Afghanistan and Pakistan in early 2015 [02:17.72]after declaring the area the 'Islamic State of Khorasan', or IS-K. [02:26.84]The highest U.S. military official in Afghanistan says [02:33.28]that IS is "very focused" on trying to establish its Khorasan caliphate in the region. [02:42.92]A caliphate is an area ruled by an Islamic political and religious leader. [02:51.08]General John Nicholson said [02:53.51]former militants of the Pakistani Taliban are also helping the group. [03:00.40]The U.S. general told NBC earlier this week [03:05.00]that foreign fighters, particularly Uzbeks, have joined the fight. [03:12.20]Pakistani officials said Uzbek militants were involved in Monday night's attack in Quetta. [03:20.48]General Nicholson said the U.S. military is helping local security forces [03:28.08]drive the militants out of the country. [03:31.80]Nicolson said the joint operations have killed [03:36.06]or wounded many IS fighters in recent months. [03:41.40]Among the dead is IS regional chief, Hafiz Saeed Khan, [03:47.28]a former Pakistani militant commander. [03:52.20]I'm Anne Ball.