Zēṛōk, also known as Ziruk, () is the main town of
Zerok District in
Paktika Province
Paktika (Pashto: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the eastern part of the country. Forming part of the larger Loya Paktia region, Paktika has a population of about 789,000 residents, who are mostly ethnic Pashtuns but sma ...
,
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
. It is located within the heart of
Zadran land on the main
Khost
Khōst () is the capital of Khost Province in Afghanistan. It is the largest city in the southeastern part of the country, and also the largest in the region of Loya Paktia. To the south and east of Khost lie Waziristan and Kurram Agency, Kurram i ...
-
Urgun
Urgun () is the main town of the Urgun District of Paktika Province, Afghanistan. With an estimated population of 10,665,Hezbi Islami
Hezb-e-Islami (also ''Hezb-e Islami'', ''Hezb-i-Islami'', ''Hezbi-Islami'', ''Hezbi Islami''), lit. Islamic Party, was an Islamist organization that was commonly known for fighting the Communist Government of Afghanistan and their close ally ...
members,
Jalaludin Haqqani and Aziz Khan, preached at the local mosque after the
Friday prayer
Friday prayer, or congregational prayer (), is the meeting together of Muslims for communal prayer and service at midday every Friday. In Islam, the day itself is called ''Yawm al-Jum'ah'' (shortened to ''Jum'ah''), which translated from Arabic me ...
. They called to the congregants to fight against the governments that they deemed as infidels that made the Afghans who believed in gods insecure. Subsequently, Haqqani and Khan mobilized the mobs, and they attacked the local government offices. The attack led to the death of a high-ranking official and the disarmament of the local army. As a result, Zerok fell to the Hezbi Islami's hand, making this settlement its first territory within Afghanistan.
See also
*
Khost
Khōst () is the capital of Khost Province in Afghanistan. It is the largest city in the southeastern part of the country, and also the largest in the region of Loya Paktia. To the south and east of Khost lie Waziristan and Kurram Agency, Kurram i ...
*
Loya Paktia
Lōya Paktiā (; lit. Greater Paktia) is a historical and cultural region of Afghanistan, comprising the modern Afghan provinces of Khost, Paktia, and Paktika, as well as parts of Logar
References
Populated places in Paktika Province
{{Paktika-geo-stub