In response to reports of an incident involving armed robbery followed by a gang rape of a girl on the Kabul-Kandahar highway, local officials in Ghazni province have said that an investigation has been launched. The incident reportedly occurred on Monday night in Mullah Noh area of Ghazni’s Andar district.

Pictures shared on social media show that passenger vehicles were stopped by the armed men, and their belongings were stolen and then a young girl was raped by the armed thieves.

“One of them asked the passengers to come down, based on the reports, and unfortunately the rape also happened,” said Naseer Ahmad Faqeeri, the head of Ghazni's provincial council.

“Our security and intelligence agencies are trying to find out the identity of these thieves,” said Wahidullah Jumazada, a spokesman for the Ghazni governor.

Until now there has been no information about the identity of the victim and also police in Ghazni have said that no one has so far registered any complaint about such an incident.

“This is an unforgivable crime, it is an inhuman and un-Islamic crime, the perpetrators behind the crime should be referred to the law as soon as possible,” said Sima Samar, adviser to the president on human rights affairs.

“The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission has started its investigation into the incident,” said Zabihullah Farhang, the head of the media department of the human rights commission.

Both the Afghan government forces and the Taliban have claimed to have arrested several suspects in connection with the incident.

On Tuesday, drivers traveling on the route barricaded the Kabul-Kandahar highway to protest the increased insecurity on the road, which connects Kabul to the southern parts of the country.

Kabul-Kandahar highway is one of the most dangerous routes in Afghanistan, where deadly robberies happen along with fighting between the Afghan security forces and the Taliban.