Taliban shoot dead brother of former Afghan Vice President

Kabul, September 11

The Taliban shot dead the brother of Amrullah Saleh, the former vice president of Afghanistan, and his driver in northern Panjshir province, Saleh's nephew said on Saturday.

Shuresh Saleh said his uncle Rohullah Azizi was going somewhere in a car on Thursday when Taliban fighters stopped him at a checkpoint. “As we hear at the moment the Taliban shot him and his driver at the checkpoint,” he said.

A message left with a Taliban spokesman on Saturday was not immediately returned.

Shuresh Saleh said it was unclear where his uncle, an anti-Taliban fighter, was headed when the Taliban caught him. He said phones were not working in the area.

Amrullah Saleh led forces resisting the Taliban in Panjshir, which was the last holdout province to be overrun by Afghanistan's new rulers.

Videos circulating on social media purportedly show the Taliban opening fire on anti-Taliban fighters in Panjshir whom they have arrested. AP