By Shadi Khan Saif

KABUL, Afghanistan

The Afghan police in northern Jawzjan province have blamed the thriving pro-Daesh rebels in this part of the country for killing three civilians, and throwing their bodies into a water well.

Police recovered bodies of the three men on Saturday who were abducted by the militants on Wednesday last week from the Darzab district of the province. Abdul Hafeez, the district police chief, has said the Daesh militants took these men as hostage on suspicion of working for the government.

“These men were common civilians, they had nothing to do with the government, but the Daesh rebels killed them in cold blood," he said.

Besides their strongholds in parts of eastern Afghanistan bordering Pakistan, the Daesh rebels are now making their presence felt in the north as well. Rehmatullah Turkistani, Jawzjan’s police chief, has said it has been a while since the son of Tahir Yoldosh, slain leader of the Uzbekistan Islamic Movement (UIM), is busy settling down the militants here.

Jawzjan is the same province where six workers of the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) were killed allegedly by the pro-Daesh rebels last month. Two ICRC workers are still believed to be in their custody.

Separately, the Afghan forces continue to target the Daesh rebels’ strongholds in eastern Nangarhar province in the ongoing operation. On Saturday, the Afghan National Army (ANA)’s 201-Sailab Corps spokesman Brig. Sheren Aqa Faqiri told Anadolu Agency a US drone strike has killed two top Daesh commanders in the province’s Nazyan district. He claimed a total of 22 militants have been killed in this air raid.