KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Unidentified gunmen shot and killed a cleric and mosque imam in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, local sources said, amid a recent surge in targeted and mysterious killings across the country.
The victim, identified as Mawlawi Agha, was attacked in Babaji district on Wednesday. According to sources, armed men riding motorcycles opened fire on him before fleeing the scene. He was serving as the imam of a mosque in the area.
The motive for the killing remains unclear, and Taliban authorities in Helmand have yet to comment.
The incident follows several recent killings in the province. Among them: a businessman was gunned down in Lashkargah, the provincial capital, while the son of another businessman was killed in Sangin district. In each case, attackers have not been identified.
Rights groups and residents say such killings have been rising nationwide since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, despite the group’s repeated claims of restoring security.
In a report published last month, UK-based Afghan rights organization Rawadari documented at least 251 cases of mysterious, targeted, and extrajudicial killings over the past six months, representing a 30% increase compared with the same period last year. The group said many of the incidents were linked to Taliban members and unidentified armed men.
