RASC News Agency: Local Taliban officials in Badghis province have confirmed the grim discovery of a beheaded man, underscoring the deteriorating security situation under their rule. The provincial police command of the Taliban issued a statement on Sunday, Aug 17, reporting that the body was recovered the previous day from the area known as “Kohna Shab-Pashak Posts,” within the fourth security district of Qala-i-Naw, the provincial capital of Badghis. According to the statement, the victim had been brutally stabbed multiple times before his head was severed from his body. The identity of the deceased, as well as the motive for the killing, remains unknown, and no family members have been identified to date.
This incident is part of a disturbing pattern of mysterious and targeted killings that have surged across Badghis and other western provinces of Afghanistan in recent weeks. Only a week prior, two young men were murdered in Badghis, and another two in Herat under similarly suspicious circumstances. Residents of Badghis have expressed growing alarm, pointing out that despite Taliban claims of maintaining “comprehensive security,” violent crimes and targeted assassinations continue to rise. Citizens report living under constant fear, revealing the stark contrast between the Taliban’s public assurances and the reality on the ground.
Security analysts suggest that this ongoing wave of violence reflects the Taliban’s structural weaknesses in local governance and their inability to enforce law and order. Furthermore, they warn that armed criminal networks and unaccountable militias are exploiting the security vacuum, perpetrating acts of violence with impunity. The discovery of the beheaded body is yet another indication that the Taliban’s promises of stability and protection remain hollow. Their failure to secure even provincial capitals exposes the regime’s deep incapacity to govern, maintain basic law and order, or protect the lives of ordinary Afghanistani citizens. Under such conditions, the risk of further lawlessness, targeted killings, and the proliferation of violent armed groups continues to escalate, highlighting the human cost of Taliban misrule.
