Conflicting information is coming from Afghanistan about the fate of the special forces who were captured by the Taliban. According to some reports, more than 20 soldiers were cynically shot, the militants themselves claim that the video that appeared on the Network is a fake and an attempt by the official Kabul to scare the population with the brutality of the Taliban.
Dawlat Abad, (Afghanistan) - Behind the scenes of a clear but jumping video, the words are heard: "Surrender, commandos, surrender." Several unarmed people leave the building. Gunfire is heard. At least ten men were shot while shouting "Allahu akbar", which means"God is great".
The victims were members of an Afghan special forces unit: their executioners were the Taliban. The massacre took place on June 16 in the city of Davlat-Abad in Faryab province, near the border of Afghanistan with Turkmenistan.
CNN received and verified several videos of the incident and spoke with witnesses. The video shows the bodies of commandos scattered across an open area. According to eyewitnesses, after a fierce battle to hold the city, the commandos ran out of ammunition, and they were surrounded by Taliban militants(*an organization banned in Russia-ed.).
In one video, about 45 seconds long, a passerby can be heard saying in Pashto, the local language: "Don't shoot them, don't shoot them, I ask you not to shoot them." The witness then asks, "How do you Pashtuns kill Afghans?" The Pashtuns are the main ethnic group in Afghanistan. At the end of the video, another voice-over says: "Take everything off them." In another video, a man can be heard saying: "Unbutton his bulletproof vest."It is visible how one fighter removes equipment from the body of one of the special forces.
The Red Cross confirmed the death of 22 commandos. The killing of the soldiers stands in stark contrast to the Taliban's efforts to show that they accept the soldiers ' surrender and, in some cases, pay them to return home as they make territorial gains across Afghanistan.
The Taliban released a video three days after the fighting in Dawlat-Abad, which shows the seizure of military trucks and weapons. The video claimed that it was "Washington security guards, specially trained special forces who chased the Taliban in Dawlat-Abad, Faryab, were captured alive by the Taliban, disarmed and handcuffed."
The Taliban told CNN that the videos showing the executed commandos are fake and government propaganda designed to encourage people not to give up. A Taliban spokesman said they were still holding 24 commandos who were captured in Faryab province, but did not provide any evidence.
The Afghan Defense Ministry denied that the Taliban were holding the commandos and told CNN that they were killed.
Tim Lister, Anna Coren, Sandi Sidhu
