In February and March 2000, after a short period of warfare between the Taliban and The Union Front forces, the latter withdrew, enabling the Taliban to seize control of the Gosfandi Districts in Sar-e-Pol province. Residents of Sayyad reported that on March 26, 2000, during the Taliban clean-up operation in Gosfandi and Sayyad, the Taliban summarily executed twenty-two people from Sayyad in four different locations: Jar-e-Shorab, Jar-e-Bator, Sayyad villages, and Bashom Aikashom. The victims identified by the Sayyad inhabitants include individuals ranging in age from 14 to 65, including both men and women.