Farah (Pashto/Persian: فراه) is the capital of Farah Province, located in western Afghanistan. It has a population of about 108,400, and is mainly ethnic Pashtun people. It is about the 16th largest city of the country in terms of population. The Farah Airport is located in the area.
An Afghan boy and his father walk their cattle along a street in Farah City, May 12, 2012.
Following the collapse of the Soviet-backed government of Najibullah in 1992, Ismail Khan returned to power in Herat, and came to control Farah, as well as the other surrounding provinces of Ghor and Badghis, until Herat fell to the Taliban in 1995.
The roads in Farah province have seen massive improvement since May 2005. The education system has been greatly improved and a great number of illegal weapons have been collected and destroyed in the province by the Provincial Reconstruction Team. The United States built a base at Farah Airport, which also houses the Afghan National Security Forces (ANFS).
On May 7, 2009, thousands of Afghan villagers shouting "Death to America" and "Death to the Government" protested in Farah City over American bomber air strikes on May 4 that killed 147 civilians. Clashes with police started when people from the three villages struck by US B1-bombers brought 15 newly discovered bodies in a truck to the house of the provincial governor. Four protesters were wounded when police opened fire. Going by the account of survivors, the air raid was not a brief attack by several aircraft acting on mistaken intelligence, but a sustained bombardment in which three villages were pounded to pieces. An Afghan government investigation concluded on May 16, 2009 with the Afghan Defense Ministry announcing an official death toll of 140 villagers. A copy of the government's list of the names and ages of each of the 140 dead showed that 93 of those killed were children, and only 22 were adult males.
On 20 November 2009 it was reported that a suicide bomber on a motocycle detonated near a market in Farah Naz city, killing 17 people and wounding 29. Mullah Hayatullah was the Taliban commander for Farah province and was reported to be known to run suicide training camps.
Afghan girls sing songs to U.S. service members during a visit to the orphanage in Farah City June 19, 2012.
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