KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban confirmed that five members of a family were killed in northern Jowzjan province, saying two suspects have been arrested in connection with the attack.
In a statement, the Taliban police command in Jowzjan said the incident took place around midnight on Thursday in the Fourth Security District of Sheberghan, the provincial capital.
The statement said armed individuals stormed a residential house and opened fire with Kalashnikov rifles, killing five family members and injuring two others before fleeing the scene.
It added that security forces launched an investigation shortly after the incident and detained two people in connection with the killings. Authorities did not provide details on the identities of those arrested or their possible motives.
Earlier, local sources reported that the attack occurred in the “Pamp Khana” area near the Sar-e-Pol port in Shibirghan, where unidentified armed men entered a home and shot dead a woman and her three daughters, while three sons were wounded. The father of the family, who works at an oil tank station, was not present at the time of the incident.
The motive behind the killings remains unclear.
The sources described the family as ordinary civilians with no known political or militant affiliations, and said the killings had heightened concerns about security in the area.
The case comes amid a series of violent incidents reported in recent weeks across Afghanistan. A day earlier, the bodies of two young women were found in Kabul’s 17th district, while another woman’s body was discovered in the Nasaji area of Kandahar city, according to local sources.
The Taliban authorities say they have restored nationwide security since returning to power in 2021. However, reports of mysterious and targeted killings, as well as other violent crimes, continue to emerge from different parts of the country, with residents and activists questioning the group’s ability to protect civilians and ensure accountability.
