Afghan troops force suspected Taliban fighter to sit on IED and explode it

Afghan soldiers allegedly killed a suspected Taliban fighter in southeast Afghanistan by forcing him to sit on an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), according to a video published on TikTok.

In a case that raised fears of impunity among sections of the Afghan armed forces as they try to wrest back control over swathes of the country, France24 said in a report on Tuesday that it had verified and geolocated the two-and-a-half-minute video.

Early in the footage, a huge explosion is seen, followed by rising plumes of smoke as uniformed Afghan soldiers erupt into cheers. Graphic scenes of strewn body parts are displayed as one soldier shouts expletives.

The camera later turns to a commander, who appears to warn other suspected fighters "who destroy national properties or facilities" of a similar fate.

The incident took place on July 8 on a main road 30km south of the capital of Paktika province, according to France24. The region has seen intense battles between Afghan government forces and Taliban fighters.

But a local journalist who spoke to the family of the victim was told the man was wrongly accused of planting an IED under a bridge he was crossing at the time.

The journalist, Naseed Zadran, said he received another video showing the man, identified by locals as Barakatullah, being beaten by Afghan police and pro-government militia.

Zadran interviewed the victim's father, who described Barakatullah as a well-known but impoverished construction worker.

"The soldiers and the militias thought that he [Barakatullah] was sent by the Taliban [to detonate the IED] and they mobbed and beat him viciously. After they beat him up, he was forced to sit on the IED they had unearthed and they detonated it while he was directly above it," the father said.

While it is not possible to confirm the veracity of the testimony, an Afghan defence official has denied the claims of extrajudicial killing attributed to its forces.

Fawad Aman, a spokesman for the Afghan ministry of defence, called the video "terrorist Taliban propaganda", saying that Afghan soldiers were "true and honest children of Afghan [who] fight and die every for the Afghan people".