KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – A young man was found dead under mysterious circumstances in northern Afghanistan’s Samangan province, local sources and Taliban authorities said on Friday.
The victim, identified as Nasrullah Rasouli, was allegedly strangled by one or more unidentified individuals late Friday night (July 24) in the jurisdiction of the Second Police District of Aybak, the provincial capital, according to the Taliban’s Samangan Police Command.
In a statement, the Taliban police said Rasouli’s body had been transferred to the provincial hospital for further examination.
Authorities added that the motive for the killing remains unknown and that an investigation is underway to identify and arrest those responsible.
Local sources said Rasouli was a resident of Dara-e-Zendan village in Aybak. They added that he had recently secured a job with the Samangan Department of Education and also worked as a tailor.
No group or individual has claimed responsibility for the killing, and Taliban authorities have not released further details about the case.
The latest killing adds to a series of mysterious and targeted killings reported across Afghanistan in recent weeks. On July 23, unidentified gunmen shot dead Arbab Jumagul Saghari, a former jihadi commander and community elder, in Herat’s Obe district, while a young man was separately killed in Jawzjan’s provincial capital, Sheberghan. Earlier, on July 20, Nangyali, a former member of the U.S.-backed Khost Protection Force (KPF), was shot dead in Khost shortly after returning from the United States. On July 19, the bodies of two people bearing signs of torture and stab wounds were discovered beneath a bridge in Jalalabad, Nangarhar, while the body of local elder Qader Ali Rafat was found in Ghazni after he had gone missing.
Days earlier, on July 17, Mohammad Ali Tofan, a former senior official of Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS), was shot dead in Daikundi province. The succession of unresolved killings has fueled growing concerns over the continued insecurity and apparent impunity surrounding violent crimes and targeted attacks across the country.
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.
