Sources in the Spin Boldak district of Kandahar reported that Mohammad Rangin Achakzai, a former government soldier, was shot dead by unknown armed individuals on Monday.

Achakzai was arrested by the Taliban last year and later released through the mediation of tribal elders. He had previously served in the logistics section of the Border Forces Brigade in Spin Boldak district.

So far, no details are available about the motive behind this murder or the perpetrators of this incident.

Mohammad Sangin Achakzai, the victim’s brother, was also the former commander of the 03 National Police Unit in the previous government.

Rangin Achakzai had close relations with General Abdul Raziq Achakzai’s family, the former chief of police in Kandahar. Abdul Khaliq, General Raziq's brother, expressed regret over his death and said that Rangin Achakzai was "killed by a ruthless enemy”.

General Abdul Raziq Achakzai was a prominent commander and a staunch opponent of the Taliban in southern Afghanistan. He was killed on October 18, 2018, in a shooting by the former Kandahar governor's bodyguard, who was a Taliban infiltrator.

After the fall of the previous government, dozens of soldiers and individuals close to General Raziq's family in the Spin Boldak district of Kandahar were killed by the Taliban, and some of them are still being held in Taliban private prisons.