During April 2018, Taliban forces conducted a series of targeted assassinations across Ghazni province, killing nine people in Ghazni City alone. This occurred in the context of Taliban control over most of the province, including Ghazni City and the districts of Deh Yak, Zana Khan, Khugyani, Waghaz, and Andar. The systematic nature of these killings demonstrates the Taliban's use of assassination as a tool of control in areas under their influence.