On Monday night, Feb.21,2022, Taliban forces opened fire on a vehicles carrying three people in the Bakrabad area in central Herat city. Mahboob Shah, a former Herat police officer, was killed by Taliban insurgents along with two civilians. The Taliban displayed their bodies in several parts of Herat city.
Photographs of the incident on social media show that the Taliban have dealt harshly with them. In one photo, the brain of victim was pulled out of his head, and then the Taliban hung his body from a crane in a part of Herat city.
After firing on the three men, Taliban fighters told locals that they intended to kidnap a gold trader, and that is why they prevented the kidnapping. But the Taliban did not provide any information about the gold trader or how the accused tried to kidnap him.
Taliban fighters think by firing directly on suspects, hanging them and displaying their bodies in the city want to give a lesson to others.
Shoot the former officer
Mahbubshah is one of the former government police officers. A relative of hers told the daily Etilaat-e-Rooz that Mahboubshah had graduated from a six-month criminal course in the Turkish city of Sivas. "He has never kidnapped."
Mahbubshah was a trained police officer in the former government and served as the Ghorian police supply chief during the Taliban's takeover of Herat districts.
One of Mahbubshah's aides told the daily Etilaat-e-Rooz that Mahbubshah had special skills in supplying supplies in difficult war zones and was performing his duties "properly" as a police officer in the police command.
Mahbub Shah was engaged to a woman before the fall of the government and planned to get married soon. He was a law and political science student at a private university in Herat.
The identities of the two killed by the Taliban are unknown, but popular sources told the daily that the two were civilians and had not served in the former government.
The Taliban are thought to have asked the families of the three not to be interviewed by the media.
Field Court
Earlier this month, the Taliban hanged the bodies of four people for the first time this year on charges of kidnapping in crowded parts of Herat city, and since then the bodies of several people accused of kidnapping have been displayed in Herat.
However, some residents of Herat believe that such actions have not been effective in curbing kidnapping and have caused more panic among the people.
Mohammad Osman is 35 years old and criticizes the Taliban for firing on people accused of kidnapping. "Anyone who kills the Taliban is said to have been a kidnapper," he told the daily Etilaat-e-Rooz. Accused people should not be killed like this. "If anyone kidnaps, they should be arrested and brought to justice."
He urges the Taliban to prevent field trials from taking place.