A former commander of the public uprising force under the previous government was killed in gunmen attack in the northern province of Faryab after he returned to his home from Iran, local sources said on Saturday.
This marks the latest in a series of mysterious killings targeting former security personnel.
The victim, Mohibullah Mirzad, was gunned down last Monday in Maimana, the capital of Faryab Province, sources said, adding that two armed assailants on a motorcycle opened fire on Mirzad on Ludin Road. He later died from his injuries at a local hospital.
Mirzad had previously served as the commander of anti-Taliban public uprising forces in Kohistan District and was affiliated with Jamiat-e Islami, a major political party that played a central role in the country’s former US-backed government. After the fall of Kabul in August 2021, Mirzad fled to Iran, where he had been living until his recent forced return amid a wave of deportations of Afghan migrants.
Sources said he sustained gunshot wounds to the chest and arms.
A relative of Mirzad claimed that the attackers identified themselves as members of the Taliban, though the group has not publicly commented on the killing.
The incident follows a similar case late Sunday, in which a former security officer named Mohammad, a resident of Jarqula village in Ghormach District, was shot dead near his home shortly after returning from Iran.
The Taliban, despite previously announcing a general amnesty for members of the former government, have remained silent on a spate of targeted killings and disappearances reported across multiple provinces in recent months. Human rights groups and former government officials have repeatedly called for investigations, but accountability has remained elusive.
