Kabul, Aug 19 (TIWN) Several people have been killed after Taliban fighters shot at crowds in Afghanistan for waving the national flag at an independence day rally, leading to mass panic and stampede, a witness said, a day after three people were killed in a similar protest, The Guardian reported on Thursday.

Demonstrations in the city of Asadabad, in which white Taliban flags were torn down, were among the first signs of popular opposition to the Taliban since their stunning advance across the country and the capture of Kabul on August 15.

It was unclear if the casualties resulted from the firing or from the crowd crush it triggered, said a witness, Mohammed Salim.

“Hundreds of people came out on the streets. Several people were killed and injured in the stampede and firing by the Taliban,” Salim said.

A Taliban spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.