Taliban militants have beheaded four people, including two civilians, in Afghanistan’s northern province of Parwan, officials said on Friday.
“Taliban militants beheaded an Afghan intelligence officer along with a member of his family, and an Afghan police officer together with his brother,” Governor Basir Salangi said in a statement.
The Afghan official also said that the Taliban militants had kidnapped the victims before beheading them.
Hours after the beheadings, hundreds of people held an anti-Taliban demonstration in the province.
The militants have in the past been blamed for beheading local villagers, mostly over charges of spying for Afghan and US-led troops in the country.
In late April, the Taliban announced the start of their annual “spring offensive” against US-led and Afghan forces, vowing a new wave of attacks across Afghanistan.
The militant group said it would use “every possible tactic” to inflict casualties on Afghan and US-led forces. They specifically mentioned insider and bomb attacks.