KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Local Taliban authorities in Nangarhar, an eastern Afghan province, and Samangan, a northern Afghan province, announced that at least 12 people were killed and 15 others injured in two separate traffic accidents.
The Taliban’s Nangarhar Police Command said that at around 9:30 a.m. today (Saturday, July 11), nine people were killed and eight others injured after a Datsun vehicle overturned in Pachir Aw Agam district.
Sayed Tayyib Hammad, spokesperson for the Taliban’s Nangarhar Police Command, said the victims included four women, two men, and three children.
The spokesperson added that the injured were transferred to the Rodat District Hospital for medical treatment.
Meanwhile, the Taliban’s Samangan Police Command announced that three people were killed and seven others injured in a traffic accident on the Samangan–Balkh highway.
Hashmatullah Rahmani, spokesperson for the Taliban’s Samangan Police Command, said the incident occurred today in Hazrat Sultan district of the province.
He added that the accident occurred when two Saracha vehicles collided, and that one of the victims was a woman.
According to Rahmani, the injured and the bodies of those killed were transferred to the provincial hospital in Samangan.
The cause of both accidents was attributed to driver negligence.
Traffic accidents are common in Afghanistan and claim hundreds of lives each year, leaving many others injured.
In recent years, concerns over road safety and urban traffic management have increased across Afghanistan, with authorities attempting to impose stricter regulations. However, limited infrastructure, lack of enforcement mechanisms, and economic dependence on informal transport systems continue to complicate efforts to reduce accidents and improve traffic arrangement in major cities.
Traffic accidents claim hundreds of lives each year in Afghanistan and leave many more injured. Officials frequently cite reckless driving, poor road conditions and a lack of traffic signs as the main causes of such incidents.
Road crashes have surged since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. Data reviewed by Etilaatroz and KabulNow indicate a fivefold rise in accidents, with 1,187 recorded between March 2021 and March 2022, rising to 2,662 the following year, and at least 5,520 between March 2023 and March 2024, a nearly 80% increase over two years. Recent reports indicate the trend has persisted, with hundreds killed and injured in recent months across multiple provinces.
