KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Local sources have reported the killings of two men by unidentified individuals in the southern province of Kandahar and eastern Nangarhar province.
According to sources, a man was attacked with a knife and then beheaded on Sunday, October 11, in the second district of Kandahar city.
The man was killed near the Jami Ettefaq Mosque. The motive for the killing remains unclear, local sources said.
The Taliban’s police command in Kandahar confirmed the killing, saying efforts to identify those responsible were ongoing.
In a separate incident, local sources reported that a young man named Ismail was shot and killed by unidentified armed men in Surkh Rod district of Nangarhar province.
According to the sources, Ismail was visiting a friend’s house in Fatah Abad village when armed men opened fire on him, killing him at the scene. The attackers fled, and their motive remains unknown.
Sources also said the Taliban had arrested members of the host family following the killing. Taliban officials in Nangarhar have not commented on the incident.
Similar killings have also been reported in Kabul and Nangarhar. On October 7, an 18-year-old man, Ali Abbas Khanzada, was stabbed to death in the Dasht-e Barchi area of western Kabul, with a local resident suggesting robbery may have been the motive. On October 8, armed robbers shot and killed a baker, Sultan, inside his shop in Jalalabad, Nangarhar, and fled with cash and his motorcycle.
The killings come amid continued reports of violent crime across Afghanistan, despite repeated claims by Taliban authorities that security has improved under their rule. Reports of killings, robberies and the discovery of bodies continue to emerge from various provinces.
According to Rawadari, an Afghan human rights organization, at least 251 people were killed or injured in targeted, mysterious and extrajudicial killings involving the Taliban and unidentified individuals during the first six months of 2025. The victims included former government employees, people accused of links to anti-Taliban groups, protesters and local influential figures.
The organization has also highlighted difficulties in documenting such cases because of restrictions on information and fears among victims’ families and witnesses.
The lack of publicly available information about perpetrators and motives continues to raise concerns about accountability and the protection of civilians in Afghanistan.
