Taliban Executes British-Trained Afghan Sniper In Front Of His Family In Brutal Manhunt, Retaliation

An Afghan sniper, who served with the British special forces in Afghanistan during the 20-year foreign invasion, was reportedly tracked down and mercilessly executed by Taliban fighters in front of his own family on Monday.

The victim, 28, identified only as “N” to protect his surviving kin, was a father of five who was among the hundreds of Western allies left behind during a messy exit out of the war-torn country, The Times reported.

Rafi Hottak, a former interpreter living in the U.K., said "N" was part of the list of 700 Afghans who wanted to come to Britain but had been left behind.

“It was entirely predictable this would happen for all of those left behind who were given no guidance,” British former Colonel Ash Alexander-Cooper, who was once a senior adviser to the Afghan Ministry of Interior Affairs, said.

“He [had] been in hiding because of the threat he faced but [the Taliban] found him, and he was shot multiple times, executed in front of his family,” he added.

The murdered sniper had been targeted following his involvement in the elite Afghan squad CF333, which was mentored by British soldiers. Alexander-Cooper said "N" would have been regarded as a “collaborator," the New York Post noted.

The former U.K. army colonel also noted that the recent murder proves that the Taliban’s declarations of an amnesty for those who worked against their group was a mere “fantasy.”

Sharif Karimi, an interpreter who also failed to flee Afghanistan after serving the British military, was kidnapped and severely assaulted by a 25-man squad of insurgents.

The 31-year-old father of four said he was held for four days in a tiny cell and was eventually released after local elders intervened and his family paid $21,500 for his freedom.

Last month, the Islamic fundamentalist group intensified its hunt-down for individuals they suspect had served foreign troops and the previous Afghan administration despite their “no-revenge” promise.

The Taliban had also started their campaign to go after Western-affiliated journalists and fatally shot a relative of an editor working for the German news outlet Deutsche Welle. The group reportedly carried out door-to-door searches to locate the editor, who has since successfully returned to his homeland.