RASC News Agency: Najibullah Pedram, who lost nine family members in a recent shooting by ISIS in Daykundi, claims the gunmen had identified themselves as members of the Taliban. He further noted that the roads between Daykundi and Ghor have been increasingly insecure for the past six months. Expressing frustration over the Taliban’s failure to apprehend the perpetrators, Pedram revealed that nine of the victims were his immediate family members, while five others were more distant relatives. The Taliban, however, reported the death toll as 14.
Providing further details, Pedram explained that the victims were on their way to welcome pilgrims returning from Karbala when they were ambushed by armed men. “About a kilometer from the village, two motorbikes carrying four armed Taliban approached and declared, ‘We are representatives of the Islamic Emirate and are here to ensure your safety,’” he recounted. According to Pedram, the assailants lined up the victims, photographed them, and then confiscated all of their belongings.
Pedram, who lost two brothers, three cousins, his brother-in-law, a nephew, and his sister’s father-in-law in the attack, decried the growing insecurity in the Daykundi-Ghor region over the past six months. He added that this was not an isolated incident, mentioning “two previous mass killings” in the area where no perpetrators were arrested. “Our village is not politically inclined; its people are all civilians, farmers, impoverished, and marginalized,” Pedram said.
Highlighting the presence of Taliban intelligence officials from both Daykundi and Ghor in the village, Pedram criticized their lack of action. Despite the Taliban’s promises to investigate and apprehend those responsible, no arrests have been made. The massacre of Shiite Hazara civilians once again underscores the vulnerability of this persecuted community in Afghanistan. While ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, many believe that both ISIS and the Taliban share a common stance toward the Shia population, with both groups labeling them as heretics.
