ISLAMABAD — The Taliban said Thursday they are investigating reports of Afghan casualties on the Iran border. It's their first acknowledgement of the alleged killing and wounding of Afghan nationals by Iranian security forces in an attack Sunday. They previously described the reports as rumors.
Iran has denied any shooting took place near Saravan, a town in the country's restive southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan, which borders Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.
However, anti-Afghan migrant rhetoric has escalated in Iran in recent months as Western sanctions grind down its economy, with the country's police chief saying some 2 million migrants would be deported in the next six months.
HalVash, an advocacy group for the Baluch people that is broadly focused on Iran, has issued a series of reports about the shooting, citing two unidentified witnesses and others as claiming a death toll of at least dozens, with more wounded. It published images of what appeared to be several corpses and others with gunshot wounds. HalVash alleged that Iranian security forces used both firearms and rocket-propelled grenades in the attack.
Taliban chief spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said a high-ranking delegation was investigating the reported incident.
The delegation includes the deputy interior minister for security and representatives of different ministries, including defense and the General Intelligence Directorate.
''The delegation has been entrusted with the responsibility of conducting an exhaustive and meticulous investigation into the matter,'' Mujahid wrote on the social media platform X. ''Since its assignment, the delegation has worked relentlessly to ascertain the facts. It is committed to providing clarity on this issue to the public at the earliest opportunity.''
The Associated Press has been unable to independently confirm the attack. Verifying information remains difficult in Sistan and Baluchistan, which for decades has been home to a cross-border insurgency and violence involving heroin traffickers.
