Local sources in Jawzjan province say that four former government soldiers were shot dead by the Taliban in separate incidents.
According to these sources, at least two of these people had recently returned to the country from Iran.
The first case concerns Akhtar Jawzjani, the former commander of the second security district of Sheberghan city, who was shot and killed at around 2:00 PM on Thursday, June 15, in front of the building of the same district where he previously served.
Sources say he had returned from Iran about a month and a half ago.
In another incident, a person named Noorullah, a former soldier and resident of the village of “Kalte Shakh” in Aqcha district, was shot by the Taliban on his way home the previous day after returning from Iran.
The identities of two other soldiers, according to sources, have not been revealed due to severe threats from the Taliban, but it has been confirmed that they were also killed during the same wave of targeting.
Meanwhile, an audio tape obtained by the media belongs to a Taliban member, in which he claims that two of the dead were members of the “Northern Guerrillas” and were targeted by the group while riding in a “Motor Guard” vehicle.
Local sources also say that the Taliban have warned the families of the victims not to attribute the killings to unknown individuals and personal enmity in their statements.
This is while similar cases of detention, torture, and murder of former soldiers by the Taliban have been reported many times in the past three years, but the group’s officials have always either remained silent or have not accepted responsibility.
