2015 Zabul massacre

The 2015 Zabul massacre refers to the killing of seven Afghan Shia Hazaras on 9 November 2015 in the southern Afghan province of Zabul.[1][2]

2015 Zabul massacre
LocationZabul Province, Afghanistan
Date9 November 2015 (2015-11-09)
Deaths7
PerpetratorsIslamic State

Hostage-taking and executions

Fighters claiming allegiance to the Islamic State took seven members of the Hazara ethnic group hostage in October 2015 in Ghazni and held them in Arghandab District, Zabul Province. The hostages included four men, two women, and a nine-year-old girl, Shukria Tabassum.[1] The hostages were moved 56 times to avoid their rescue by Afghan military forces.[3] Two hundred Taliban fighters were involved in battles with the Islamic State group and another insurgent group.[4]

The hostages were executed on 9 November 2015 by the Islamic State group[1][2] Several Western media sources described the execution as a beheading. Martine van Bijlert stated that this was most likely a mistranslation (Dari: حلال کردن, halal kardan), and that the victims' throats had been slit, most likely with kite wire sharpened with glass for kite fighting.[5]

The victims were later found by the Taliban. Local elders helped arrange for the bodies to be transferred to a hospital in territory controlled by the Afghan government.[4]

Nicholas Haysom, head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, stated that the killings could constitute war crimes. UNAMA commented that the hostage-taking and murder of civilians are serious violations of humanitarian law.[6]

Aftermath

The grassroots Tabassum movement started on 11 November 2015, when about two[3] to twenty[7] thousand mourners carried the coffins containing the seven bodies to the presidential palace in Kabul, protesting against the lack of security provided by government forces.[3]

See also

References
  1. Qazi, Shereena (10 November 2015). "Afghans protest 'beheadings of ethnic Hazara by ISIL'". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  2. Tharoor, Ishaan (12 November 2015). "The beheading of a 9-year-old girl prompted huge protests in Afghanistan". The Washington Post. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  3. Mashal, Mujib (11 November 2015). "Protest in Kabul for More Security after Seven Hostages Are Beheaded". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 3 June 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  4. Mashal, Mujib; Shah, Taimoor (9 November 2015). "Afghan Fighters Loyal to ISIS Beheaded 7 Hostages, Officials Say". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 13 January 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  5. van Bijlert, Martine (12 November 2015). "The 'Zabul Seven' Protests: Who speaks for the victims?". afghanistan-analysts.org. Afghanistan Analysts Network. Archived from the original on 31 January 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  6. "UNAMA condemns murder of seven civilians in Zabul" (Press release). United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. 11 November 2015. Archived from the original on 4 June 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  7. "Insurgents Kidnap Over 20 Bus Passengers In Zabul". TOLOnews. 21 November 2015. Archived from the original on 4 June 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2021.


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