Residents of Shakar Dara district, north of Kabul city, claim that five people--four security force members and a police hospital employee--were taken by the Taliban and then killed by the group.

The residents said the incident occurred in Haji Paik village in Shakar Dara on Friday night as the Taliban conducted a two-hour search operation on a street in the village.

Some relatives of the victims said the five young men were first tortured by the Taliban and then killed.

The residents called it a crime against humanity and blamed the government for not providing security.

Many residents of the province were not prepared to talk on the record about the incident, but one of them, Humayun, said: “They were four or five who didn’t have military uniforms. They were taken far from here.”

Many family members of the victims were not ready to speak on the record about the incident. But a relative of one of the victims gave an account:

“They took out my cousin’s eyes with a ramrod, they also took out his tongue and ran over him with a car. He was also hit by bullets from his toes to his head,” said Abdul Rahman, a cousin of one of the victims.

Mayil Agha, a resident of the area, said the Taliban interrogated him on Friday night. He said the group set up a checkpoint in the village and for two hours they searched for government-related individuals to abduct.

“They were here from 7:30pm or 8:00pm to 10pm. No one was here to help. They killed five people today and they might take five more the next day. What should we do and where should we go?” said Mayil Agha.

Sayed Kamaluddin, an army member, and his brother Sayed Bahiruddin, who was a police solider in Zabul; Niaz Mohammad, a police officer; Ramish, a member of police special unit; and Sayid Rahim, an employee at a police hospital who had a monthly salary of 6,000 Afs (almost $80) and was the only breadwinner for his family, were the five individuals who were killed in the incident.

“They are strangers. They martyred their brothers under Pakistan’s order,” said Nadir, a Shakar Dara resident.

Among close family members of those killed in the incident, only an uncle of Sayed Rahim spoke on the record about what happened on Friday night in their village.

“Four or five bullets hit his forehead. And some were in his backbone. He lied on the ground in Dasht-e-Gul Dara area,” he said.

“The Taliban has some roots in Shakar Dara. A strong base has been established for Talibs here, and from here they can operate in the Kohdaman area and even in the city of Kabul,” said Lotfullah Quraishi, a former commander of public uprising forces.

Residents of the village said that security forces last night searched the houses affected by the incident, instead of going after the Taliban.

“The Taliban are stationed on the other side of the river. Why are you searching for them here?” said Mohammad Shakir, a resident of Haji Paik village.

“The perpetrators of the incident will be arrested soon,” Shakar Dara district governor Gawhar Khan Baburi said.

A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said the incident is under investigation. He said security force members will not be safe unless they quit fighting.