KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Local sources in central and eastern Afghanistan have reported two separate suspected killings in Ghazni and Nangarhar provinces, where the body of a local elder and the bodies of two unidentified people were found in separate incidents over the past two days.
The identities of two of the victims, as well as the perpetrators and motives behind both incidents, remain unknown.
Local sources in Ghazni said the body of Qader Ali Rafat, a local elder from Qarabagh district, was found after he had been missing for a day.
According to the sources, Rafat left his home in the village of Shaki Noka on Thursday (July 16) for Tamaki Bazaar but disappeared along the way.
Residents searched for him overnight and discovered his bloodied body on Friday (July 17) in the Kharmon Gul area, the sources said.
According to local sources, the body was first taken to a Taliban checkpoint in the Zardalu area and then to the Qarabagh district police command before being transferred to the provincial capital of Ghazni for a forensic examination.
Following the completion of the forensic procedures, Rafat was buried in his home area of Shaki Noka in Qarabagh district.
In a separate incident, local sources in Nangarhar reported that the bodies of two people were discovered in Jalalabad, the provincial capital.
According to the sources, the bodies were found at around 5:00 p.m. on Saturday (July 18) beneath the Behsud Bridge in the city’s Eighth Police District.
The sources said the victims’ hands and feet were bound, and there were signs of stab wounds on their bodies.
The bodies were handed over to a Taliban checkpoint before being transferred to Nangarhar Provincial Hospital, the sources added.
Taliban local officials in Ghazni and Nangarhar have not commented on either incident.
Since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in August 2021, local sources and rights groups have repeatedly reported mysterious killings and unexplained deaths across the country.
In many cases, the perpetrators have been described as “unidentified armed individuals,” while Taliban authorities have rarely announced the identification, arrest, or prosecution of those responsible. The continued emergence of such cases has raised concerns over public security, accountability, and the lack of transparent investigations into violent crimes.
While the Taliban say they have restored security, residents, civil society activists and human rights groups continue to express concern about the authorities’ capacity to protect civilians, carry out transparent investigations and hold perpetrators accountable.
