Hundreds in southern Afghanistan rallied to praise the killing of 12 people at the French newspaper Charlie Hebdo, calling the two gunmen "heroes" who meted out punishment for cartoons disrespectful to Islam's prophet, officials said Saturday.

The demonstrators also protested President Ashraf Ghani's swift condemnation of the bloody attack on the satirical newspaper, according to the officials in Uruzgan province.

The rally came after worshippers left Friday prayers at a local mosque in Chora district and swelled to several hundred people, said Chora police chief Abdul Qawi.

"The protesters were calling the attackers heroes and were shouting that those who had mocked the Prophet Mohammad were punished," Qawi said.