Media reports say the Taliban on August 8 released 235 hostages from a village in a remote area of northern Afghanistan where it allegedly massacred around 50 civilians along with Islamic State (IS) militants.
“This evening 235 people including women and children were released from Mirza Walang as a result of mediation by the local elders and provincial officials,” Zabihullah Amani, a spokesman for the provincial governor, told AFP on August 8.
“They have been safely evacuated to Sar-e Pul, but there are still an unknown number of people being kept hostage there,” he added.
AFP reports that according to local officials, Taliban and IS fighters killed around 50 men, women and children in the mainly Shiite village on Saturday after overrunning a government-backed militia in a 48-hour battle.
"Despite the efforts of elders the bodies of the victims have not been recovered," Mohammad Zaher Wahdat, the provincial governor, told Tolo News, an Afghanistan television news channel.
"Two hundred and thirty-five hostages have been released. They are so shocked they can't even speak to tell us about anymore other hostages," he added.
Amani, the provincial spokesman, has said that dozens of Taliban and IS group militants, under the command of a local Taliban commander who he claimed pledged allegiance to IS, launched a co-ordinated attack on the area on Thursday.
They defeated the Afghan Local Police (ALP) after a 48-hour battle before massacring civilians, he claimed. The majority of those killed were Shiites. Most were shot or beheaded, he said.
"Since the village is cut off, we can't confirm any new killings by the terrorists," Amani told AFP.
Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri told AFP that 34 civilians were known to have been killed.
The Taliban confirmed capturing Mirza Walang but said it did so alone. It has also denied allegations it had killed civilians.
Taliban and IS militants have regularly clashed in Afghanistan over the past two years but security sources say they have teamed up in the past to strike Afghan forces in certain areas.
