Over the past three months, more than 80 individuals in more than 20 provinces across Afghanistan have been victims, as reported by The Hasht-e Subh Daily. Among them, approximately 15 are former military personnel targeted by the Taliban, while unidentified assailants have killed another 55 non-combatants. The Taliban have openly claimed responsibility for the murder of 10 non-combatants, and some former military personnel are also attributed to this group.
The victims include three women, three children, a teacher, a religious scholar, a madrasa instructor, two money changers, a merchant, a jihadist commander, and some former leaders of previous uprisings against the Taliban. The Taliban’s methods of targeting and killing these individuals have ranged from covert to overt. It’s essential to note that this report only mentions figures previously published by The Hasht-e Subh Daily, and the actual casualties among former military and non-combatant individuals killed by the Taliban are likely higher than reported.
Reports from the Hasht-e Subh Daily between July to October 2023 show that that more than 80 individuals in various provinces, including Kabul, Parwan, Badakhshan, Badghis, Sar-e Pol, Balkh, Faryab, Kapisa, Ghor, Herat, Nangarhar, Paktika, Khost, Konar, Kandahar, Helmand, Takhar, Panjshir, and Baghlan, have been subjected to these targeted attacks by the Taliban or their deaths have been attributed to this group.
Individuals targeted by the Taliban in the past three months were predominantly former military personnel who had returned to ordinary life following the group’s takeover. The Taliban have denied involvement in the killing of former security forces, but reports from the public and sources within the ranks of former military personnel suggest that this group is seeking vengeance under various guises. According to sources, Taliban militants have, in most cases, openly targeted former military personnel in front of their family members.
Findings from the Hasht-e Subh Daily over the past three months reveal that alongside former security forces, children, women, students, religious scholars, and ethnic leaders have also been the targets of deliberate attacks by the Taliban and other fear-inducing groups in the country. According to reports, during this period, over 50 non-combatants in various provinces have lost their lives. The Taliban attribute their killings to unidentified gunmen, but local sources label this group responsible for the deliberate slaughter of non-combatants. Additionally, during this time, ISIS beheaded an individual in Konar Province on charges of collaborating with the Taliban.
Simultaneously with the killing of former security personnel and non-combatants, some Taliban fighters have also been killed in attacks attributed to unidentified gunmen. Over the past three months, approximately six Taliban members have been killed in mysterious attacks. Security sources have attributed these killings to internal disputes within the Taliban group.
According to published reports, the Taliban have targeted at least 15 former military personnel in provinces including Kabul, Sar-e Pol, Paktika, Laghman, Balkh, and some other regions of the country during this period. This group continues to be responsible for the killing and targeting of non-combatants as well. Recently, the Taliban publicly executed a non-combatant in Kabul in front of his family members.
Sources have confirmed to the Hasht-e Subh Daily that a young man named Abdul Aziz was gunned down on Saturday, October 14, following a verbal dispute with the Taliban in Kabul’s Qala-e Fatullah district. According to sources, Abdul Aziz was initially subjected to physical assault by the Taliban for failing to comply with their inspection orders at a security checkpoint. After tensions escalated, members of this group fatally shot Abdul Aziz in front of several of his family members.
In addition to this, sources in Laghman province have confirmed that on Saturday, October 14, the Taliban killed two former military personnel in the “Degaran” area, a part of Dawlat Shah district. According to sources, these two individuals were named Khan and Javid, and they had worked as policemen in the previous government.
In recent months, the Taliban have extended their attacks to include former military personnel who, as a result of the conflict, have become visually impaired or acquired disabilities. On Monday, October 2, in the village of Jalalzai, situated in the Janikhel district of Paktika province, fighters from this group killed Abdul Aleem, a former soldier who had lost his eyesight, in front of his home.
In addition, there have been mysterious killings of several merchants, with sources linking these murders to the Taliban. It’s essential to note that, apart from the Taliban, no one else is authorized to bear arms, and this group’s fighters are driven by a quest for revenge. On Tuesday night, October 17, Agha Mohammad Rodwal, the deputy of the Nangarhar Directorate of the Chamber of Commerce, met his demise at his workplace in the first security district of Jalalabad city. As of now, no group has taken responsibility for his murder.
Concerns over these killings have escalated with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) reporting recent human rights violations by the Taliban. These violations include the detainment of former military personnel, women activists, civil activists, and journalists.
In another report, UNAMA documented a minimum of 800 cases involving extrajudicial killings, torture, mistreatment, arbitrary detention, imprisonment, and the disappearance of former government officials and defense and security personnel at the hands of the Taliban. According to this organization, the Taliban have not demonstrated a commitment to their publicly announced amnesty, raising significant concerns about the prospects for lasting peace and Afghanistan’s future.
In its previous report, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan had recorded 218 cases of extrajudicial killings of former non-combatants in 34 provinces. It held the Taliban responsible for at least 14 cases of disappearances and 424 cases of arbitrary detention of security forces and former government employees.
The National Resistance Council for the Salvation of Afghanistan, in response to the beheading of two Hazara residents in the Khawas district of Oruzgan province, had claimed that the Taliban had killed 17 Hazara people in this area over the past two years. A recent UNAMA report also confirms the killing of six Hazara residents in the Khawas district of Oruzgan.
Meanwhile, the LGBTQ+ Community of Afghanistan has informed the United Nations and other human rights organizations through a letter that the Taliban have carried out mysterious killings and disappearances of a considerable number of LGBTQ+ community members.
Earlier, the residents of Kandahar province had been alerted that the Taliban were imprisoning certain residents of the province in their private jails without clear charges. Previously, the Hasht-e Subh Daily had acquired information suggesting that the Taliban subjected former security forces to harsh torture after detaining them. These methods included actions like urinating on the victim’s face, hanging individuals by their feet, and administering electric shocks – techniques commonly associated with Taliban torture practices.
