KABUL – A former army member, Gul Agha Jalali, was killed in an armed attack in western Herat province, local sources confirmed.
According to the sources, Jalali was targeted on Sunday evening, September 21, near the Ferqa Grand Mosque in the city’s Third District by two armed men on a motorcycle.
Jalali had fought in multiple battles against the Taliban and lost one of his eyes during clashes in Shindand, Herat. After the Taliban takeover in 2021, he fled to Iran but was deported back to Afghanistan about two months ago.
Taliban authorities in Herat have so far not commented on the killing.
The incident comes amid a continuing wave of targeted killings of former Afghan soldiers and government officials, despite the Taliban’s repeated promises of a “general amnesty.”
Human rights groups and international organizations have documented widespread violations over the past three years.
A report by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) covering the period from August 2021 to June 2023 documented more than 800 cases of serious human rights abuses against former security personnel and government officials, including 218 extrajudicial killings. The report also found over 400 arbitrary arrests, 14 enforced disappearances, and dozens of cases of torture and ill-treatment, with Taliban members implicated in the majority of these incidents.
The pattern has continued into recent months. According to the UK-based rights group Rawadari, at least 20 former government officials, mostly soldiers, have been killed across Afghanistan since January 2025. The group warned that such killings are creating a climate of fear among former security personnel and their families.
Rights groups such as Human Rights Watch have warned that many incidents go unreported, particularly in rural areas where families fear reprisals if they speak out.
