![]() ![]() But they are stretched thin as the Taliban steps up attacks across the country. In its statement, the Taliban claimed “fake videos and footage of years-old video showing activities of Daesh militias are also passed off as recent actions committed by the Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate.”Īfghan special forces – who are US-trained and better equipped than regular units – number some 11,000. Rahmat Gul/APĪccording to the Long War Journal, which tracks territorial control in Afghanistan, as of July 10, 212 districts were under Taliban control, with 76 under the control of the government and 119 still contested. The US military left Afghanistan's Bagram Airfield on July 5, and didn't notify the new Afghan commander for more than two hours. Then they brought them into the middle of the street and shot them all,” the witness said. “The commandos were surrounded by the Taliban. One man said the commandos arrived in the town with several tanks but ran out of ammunition after two hours of fighting and received no support from the air. She added that Afghan authorities should “launch an immediate investigation into this reprehensible act,” and if they failed to bring perpetrators to justice, “the international community and the International Criminal Court must step in.”Īccording to several witnesses interviewed by CNN in Dawlat Abad, the commandos were shot in cold blood. Samira Hamidi, Amnesty International’s South Asia Campaigner, said: “This evidence suggests that the Taliban’s persistent claims to have changed their ways are predicated on a lie and completely undermines their claims that they will respect human rights in the peace process.” What we are witnessing is the cold-blooded murder of surrendering soldiers – a war crime,” the group said after CNN’s reporting on the killings first aired Monday. “This deeply disturbing footage is horrific and gives insight into the increasingly desperate situation enveloping in Afghanistan. Human rights watchdog Amnesty International UK said that the killings amounted to a war crime. The video clearly shows the Taliban executing our soldiers after surrender,” Aman stated. The Taliban have no mercy on anyone From the military to innocent civilians are executed. ![]() ![]() In a statement to CNN Wednesday, Afghan Ministry of Defence spokesperson Fawad Aman said the executions constitute a “war crime.” “This is not the first time the Taliban have shot dead our soldiers. “The report is from a fake scene combined with footage from another where 22 commandos were killed during clashes while carrying out an operation in Faryab province,” a Taliban spokesperson wrote. The Taliban has denied the alleged executions, stating in a Twitter post on Wednesday that the accusation is “fictitious” and accusing CNN of fabricating video evidence. See inside Afghanistan's 'deserted' Bagram Airfield after US withdrawal The video claimed that “the Washington guards, a CIA specially trained special commando who had been pursuing the Taliban in Dawlat Abad, Faryab, were captured alive by the Taliban, disarmed and handcuffed.” The Taliban posted a video three days after the fighting in Dawlat Abad, showing the seizure of military trucks and weapons. The killing of the soldiers stands in stark contrast to the Taliban’s efforts to show it is accepting the surrender of soldiers and, in some instances, paying them to go home as it makes territorial gains across Afghanistan. In another video, a man can be heard saying: “Open his body armor.” One fighter can be seen taking equipment off the body of one of the commandos. In one video, about 45 seconds long, a bystander can be heard saying in Pashto, the local language: “Don’t shoot them, don’t shoot them, I beg you don’t shoot them.” The bystander then asks: “How are you Pashtun killing Afghans?” The Pashtuns are the main ethnic group in Afghanistan.Īt the end of the video, another voice off-camera says: “Take everything off them.” After a fierce battle to hold the town, the commandos had run out of ammunition and were surrounded by the Taliban fighters, witnesses said. Videos show the commandos’ bodies strewn across an outdoor market. The summary killings took place on June 16 in the town of Dawlat Abad in Faryab province, close to Afghanistan’s border with Turkmenistan.ĬNN has obtained and verified several videos of the incident and has spoken with witnesses. The victims were members of an Afghan Special Forces unit: their executioners, the Taliban. At least a dozen men are seen shot to death amid cries of “Allahu Akhbar” – God is Great.
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