Reliable local sources in Daimirdad district of Maidan Wardak province have confirmed that a young man was killed and his brother wounded in an armed attack on Friday. Taliban authorities have arrested four Kochi men on suspicion of involvement.
A source, speaking to KabulNow, identified the victim as Nowroz, a native of the village of Qutu in Daimirdad. According to the source, Nowroz and his family had been displaced for several years, living in Kabul and other areas, and had only recently returned to their home village.
The attack occurred on Friday morning (November 14) when Nowroz stepped outside his house and was shot dead. He was approximately 30 years old and the father of two children.
The source said: “The night before the attack, the four assailants had hidden in an abandoned neighbouring village called Upper Qutu. Early in the morning, they moved through the mountains to Lower Qutu, and as soon as Nowroz left his house, they opened fire on him.”
His brother, Rahmatullah, who rushed outside after him, was also shot and sustained a severe head injury. He is currently in critical condition and in a coma at Emergency Hospital.
The motive for the attack remains unclear. However, Taliban intelligence forces have detained four Kochi men suspected of carrying out the shooting. According to the sources, Kochi groups have repeatedly attacked residents of Qutu in the past, forcing the entire village population to flee.
The source added that more than 200 families once lived in Qutu, but over the past decade the village has been abandoned due to repeated Kochi attacks. The family of Nowroz was the first to return in the last two years, after financial hardship in Kabul pushed them back to their ancestral home.
According to the source, the killing appears to have been aimed at preventing displaced villages from returning to their land.
Longstanding conflict between Kochis and settled communities in Maidan Wardak – particularly in Behsud and Daimirdad – has been a recurring crisis. Tensions have escalated since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, with local residents accusing the Taliban of siding with Kochi groups.
