Joint Taliban, Islamic State massacre that killed 27 Afghan civilians may amount to war crime, says UN

Kabul: A United Nations investigation published on Sunday confirmed that Taliban and self-proclaimed Islamic State insurgents jointly massacred dozens of people in Afghanistan earlier in August in an attack that “may amount to a war crime”. The body’s mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said it had “verified allegations” of at least 36 deaths in the predominantly Shia village of Mirzawalang in Sayad district of northern Sar-e Pul province. [caption id=“attachment_3905271” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] “These killings, corroborated by multiple credible sources, constitute violations of international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes,” UNAMA said in its report. It added that more than half of the killings took place on Saturday 5 August when civilians tried to flee the village after militants had captured it following a battle with a government-backed militia. Afghan officials claim that Taliban and Islamic State fighters killed more than 50 villagers, including by beheadings, in a rare joint operation between the two insurgent groups. The UN investigation said that as many as 27 civilians were killed, including one woman, four teenage boys and 13 men over the age of 60. Also among the dead were at least seven pro-government militia fighters, one local policeman, and an Afghan army soldier, it added. It was unable to confirm the beheading claims. The UN investigation noted that a commander implicated in the raid had claimed allegiance to Islamic State but concluded it was “not aware of any information supporting his links” to the wider Islamic State group. Taliban and Islamic State fighters have regularly clashed in Afghanistan over the past two years but allegiances are occasionally fluid and security sources say they have teamed up in the past to strike Afghan forces in certain areas. The Taliban had earlier confirmed capturing Mirzawalang but said it did so alone. It has also denied allegations it had killed civilians. Last week, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for killing 54 Shias in Sar-e Pul in a statement released by its propaganda outlet Amaq.