A former intelligence officer from the previous government was shot and killed by unidentified gunmen near Faizabad, the center of Badakhshan province, local sources told Amu on Thursday, in the latest in a string of unexplained killings of former security personnel.
The victim, Abdul Jamil Joya, was attacked on Tuesday while returning from Kishm district, where he had joined other residents to welcome a pilgrim returning from the Hajj, according to relatives and local sources.
They said Joya was traveling with a friend, who was driving the vehicle, when an unidentified assailant opened fire near the Qara Kamar area at the entrance to Faizabad.
According to the sources, a bullet struck Joya in the left shoulder before traveling into his forehead, leaving him critically wounded.
He was initially taken to the provincial hospital in Badakhshan before being transferred to a regional hospital in Kunduz, where he later died from his injuries.
The motive for the shooting remains unclear, and no group has claimed responsibility.
The Taliban have not commented on the incident.
According to local sources, Joya served as deputy head of the urban directorate of the National Directorate of Security (NDS) in Badakhshan before the collapse of the former government in 2021.
After the Taliban returned to power, he left public service and turned to private business, the sources said.
Relatives told Amu that Joya had not been involved in political or military activities since 2021 and had no known personal disputes.
His killing comes amid a series of attacks targeting former members of Afghanistan’s security forces. According to information gathered by Amu, Joya is at least the third former security official to be killed in the past three weeks, following similar incidents in Kapisa and Daikundi provinces.
The Taliban have repeatedly said they granted a general amnesty to former government officials and members of the previous security forces. However, the UN and human rights organizations have continued to document allegations of extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances involving former security personnel since the Taliban’s return to power.
