Gunmen Kill Six Relatives Of Ex-Afghan Soldier In Nangarhar Province
Six members of a former Afghan soldier’s family were killed in an attack in eastern Nangarhar province, local sources said.
Six members of a former Afghan soldier’s family were killed in an attack in eastern Nangarhar province, local sources said.
The killings took place two days ago in Sultanpur village, Surkhrod district, according to residents who spoke to Afghanistan International. The victims were relatives of Isfandyar Talwar, a former soldier in Afghanistan’s special counterterrorism unit.
The Taliban’s police command in Nangarhar confirmed the incident on Wednesday, saying “unknown armed men” had attacked the home and killed six members of the family with firearms and knives. Reports said the dead included Talwar’s father, wife, three daughters and a son.
Taliban officials said an investigation had begun and that the bodies were transferred for forensic examination.
A source familiar with the case said Talwar and his family had no personal enmities. The killings have sparked widespread reaction across Afghan social media.
Talwar, who had been living abroad, reportedly returned to Afghanistan after learning of the attack.
The incident comes amid rising concern for the safety of former Afghan soldiers, following recent revelations of UK Ministry of Defence data breaches that exposed personal details of thousands of Afghans who had worked with British forces.
Rights groups and former officials have accused the Taliban of detaining, torturing and, in some cases, killing members of the former security forces despite the group’s promises of amnesty.
