Five members of a family were beheaded by unknown individuals in Anjil district in the western province of Herat, officials said—while two young girls have been killed by unidentified gunmen in the northern province of Balkh. 

The officials in Herat said that the victims included three children, one man and one woman. According to the officials, the incident took place on Friday night in Surma village of Anjil district in Herat. 

“Five corpses were brought into the hospital, which included children aged four, six and eight. A 20-year old woman and an old man,” said Mohammad Aref Jalali, head of the provincial hospital.  

“Five of them were martyred by unidentified individuals. Five of them from one family,” said Abdul Sabor, a relative.  

Also, two young girls from Sholdera district of Balkh were found killed in Balkh's capital Mazar-e-Sharif.   

The motive behind the incident is uncertain, the local officials said, saying an investigation is underway to arrest the perpetrators. 

"Two young girls were killed in Balkh. The two girls were taken by unidentified gunmen from Sholdara district to the Mazar-e-Sharif city. They were killed by these individuals,” said Asif Waziri, commander of the provincial security department. “We are in contact with the families of the girls.”  

According to Waziri, one of the girls was shot and killed and another one of them was apparently choked.  

Family members of the two girls declined to comment. The residents called for the perpetrators to be held accountable.  

“Those who commit such crimes should be arrested immediately and brought to justice,” said Rafiullah, a resident of Mazar-e-Sharif.  

Earlier, there had been rumors that several civil society activists have been killed by the security forces in Balkh, but the provincial security department denied it.