Incident Date: September 21, 2024

Location: Near Sarpahlu Sang village, Firuzkoh district, Ghor province, Afghanistan (bordering Daykundi province)

Victims: 13 residents of Qariwdal village, Sang-e-Takht district, Daykundi provincE, One passerby from Palon Sang village, Ghor province, Four severely wounded survivors

Perpetrators: Four armed individuals, later claimed by ISIL-Khorasan Province

Incident Summary:

On September 21, 2024, at approximately 1:00 PM, a group of 17 residents from the small village of Qariwdal in Daykundi province were en route to welcome two fellow villagers returning from a pilgrimage to Karbala, Iraq. As they approached the border area between Daykundi and Ghor provinces, near the small village of Sarpahlu Sang in the Firuzkoh district of Ghor, they encountered four armed men on motorcycles. The armed individuals identified themselves as security forces [of the Taliban] and assured the group that they were searching for a suspicious person, telling them not to worry. The assailants then instructed the villagers to line up, ostensibly for a commemorative photograph. One attacker began taking photos while another started filming. Without warning, the other two opened fire on the group from both sides. The attack resulted in the immediate deaths of 13 people from the Qariwdal village. Four others were severely wounded. Additionally, a traveler from Palon Sang village in Ghor, who happened to be passing through the area during the shooting, was killed while attempting to flee. The day following the attack, ISIL-Khorasan Province claimed responsibility for the massacre in an official statement.