List of massacres in Afghanistan

The following is a list of massacres that have occurred in Afghanistan (numbers may be approximate). The list does not include collateral damage, especially from raids and airstrikes, which were due to mistaken identity or getting caught in the line of fire.

Khwarazmian Empire NameDateLocationDeaths, Wounded and CapturesNotesSiege of Herat (1221)May or June 1221 (first siege) December 1221-June 1222 (second siege)Herat, Khwarazmian Empire (present-day Herat Province)1,600,000a Mongol army commanded by Tolui, son of Genghis Khan, laid siege to the city. After the city fell, the Mongols massacred the entire population and destroyed much of its infrastructure. According to chroniclers, the city was devastated to the point that very little of its former structures survived.Siege of BamyanJuly 1221Bamyan, Khwarazmian Empire (present-day Hazarajat)all the inhabitants of the cityThe ruler Genghis Khan leads a Mongol force that besieges and captures the fortified city of Bamyan after fierce resistance; during the fighting, his grandson Mutukan is killed, prompting a brutal massacre of the city’s defenders and its population

Durrani Empire and Anglo-Afghan War NameDateLocationDeaths, Wounded and CapturesNotes1842 retreat from Kabul–13, 1842Between Kabul and Jalalabad via Gandamak (figure may incorporate: the missing and captured as well)4,000 soldiers of the British East India Company and 12,000 civilians and camp followers.Hazara genocide1888–1893Hazaristan Afghan Troops Massacre Hazaras and take their land known as HazaristanOver 60% of the total Hazara population was either killed or displaced by the massacre.

Khalq communist rule

NameDateLocationDeaths, Wounded and CapturesNotes1979 Herat uprisingHeratThousands disappeared without trace3,000–25,000 In 1992, a mass grave was uncovered, containing 2,000 bodies of those killed by the DRA repression.Kerala massacre by the PDPAKerala, Kunar Province1,170–1,260 killedUnarmed males murdered by the armyChindawol uprisingChindawolThousands disappeared without traceCrack-down by government forces reported, including 4-hour battle, and around 10,000 Hazaras and Qizilbash arrested. Abdul Majid Kalakani was executed.Male, Beverley (1982). Revolutionary Afghanistan: A Reappraisal. Taylor & Francis. .Afghanistan under Soviet Domination, 1964–91 by Anthony Hyman

Soviet-Afghan War NameDateLocationDeaths, Wounded and CapturesNotesOperation Storm-333Kabul350 killed (Afghanistan side), and 14 killed (Soviet side) 25 (Soviet side) wounded. 1,700 Afghan soldiers surrendered and 150 Palace and Leader's Guards captured.3 Hoot uprisingKabul6005,000+ arrested.1980 student protests in KabulLate to early June, 1980Kabul72 and 200 Students poisoned; 400 to 2000 arrested and a student, Nahid Saaed killed.Siege of Urgun-January 16, 1984Urgun, Paktika Province600 killed and 243 surrendered (Soviet claimed)The 243 prisoners were released.Laghman massacreLaghman Province~500 to ~1,000 Soviet reprisals against civilians against alleged anti-communist resistance groups.Battle of Maravar Pass–2 2, 1985Sangam and Daridam, Kunar Province31 (Soviet side); Unknown capturedFatalities from the Afghan Mujahideen side is unknown.281 killed and 363 injured are losses reported by the mujahideen. Gregory Feifer reports that the mujahideen suffered one thousand casualties in this battle. See The Great Gamble: The Soviet War in Afghanistan, by Gregory Feifer, HarperCollins, 2009. Badaber uprising–2 6, 1985Badaber, Pakistan52 killed (Soviet side); Soviet claimed 100 to 200 Afghan mujahideen's killed. Afghan mujahideen claimed killing of 20 people.Shkurlatov R. "АРХИВ: Последнее па Пешаварского вальса." Bratishka , July 2006. Pahmutov S. "Бадабера: неизвестный подвиг". Фонд "Русская Цивилизация", 25 April 2005. Elistratov I. "Восстание в Бадабере: в поисках истины." Smolensk, July 2007. 1985 Bakhtar Afghan Airlines Antonov An-26 shootdownKandahar52A Bakhtar Afghan Airlines An-26 (YA-BAM) was shot down by a SAM near Kandahar, killing all 52 people on board.Battles of ZhawarFirst battle: –October 1985; Second battle: February 28 – April 19, 1986First battle: Zhawar, Paktia Province; Second battle: Zhawar, Khost Province184 killed, 321 wounded and 530 captured (Afghan Mujahideen side); 281+ killed and 363+ wounded (Soviet and Afghanistan/DRA side)Specific numbers: First battle: 106 killed and 321 wounded (Afghan Mujahideen side); Unknown but expected heavy fatalities for Soviet and Afghanistan side; Second battle: 530 captured, 78 executed and 24 helicopters destroyed (Afghan Mujahideen side); 28 killed and 363 wounded (Soviet and Afghanistan side).Battle of Jaji – June 13, 1987Paktia province2+ killed (Soviet and Afghanistan side); 120+ killed (Afghan Mujahideen side)Osama Bin Laden wounded.Battle of Arghandab (1987) – Late June, 1987Arghandab District, Kandahar Province60+ killed (Afghan Mujahideen side)500 killed and wounded; 1200 captured (Afghanistan/DRA side).Operation Magistral-January 10, 1988Paktia provinceSoviet: 24 killed and 56 wounded; Afghanistan/DRA: 300 killed and 700 woundedOn the Haqqani Network side 150 to 300 killed.Battle for Hill 3234–8, 1988Paktia Province, near the Afghanistan–Pakistan border6 killed and 28 wounded (Soviet side); 200–250 killed (Afghan mujahideen side).Two of the Soviet soldiers, Vyacheslav Aleksandrov and Andrey Melnikov, posthumously awarded the Gold Star of the Hero."Клятва тридцати девяти". A. Oliynik. Krasnaya Zvezda, October 29, 1988. "Афганистан: бой у высоты 3234". D. Meshchaninov. Operation Arrow-November 7, 1988Laghman Province18 killed and 53 wounded (Afghan Mujahideen side); 500 killed and wounded, and 223 captured (Afghanistan/ DRA side)This was a military offensive by Mjuahideen.Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan – February 15, 1989Democratic Republic of Afghanistan523 killed (Soviet side) Unknown fatalities (Afghan Mujahideen side).

Civil war NameDateLocationDeaths, Wounded and CapturesNotesMass bombardment of Kabul by Hezb-i Islami1992–1993Kabul50,000Afshar massacre by Sayyaf's Ittihad-e-Islami–11, 1993Kabul570–7504,000–6,000 deaths in total700–750 kidnapped by Ittihad and presumed deadMass bombardment of Kabul by Hezb-i IslamiKabul24,000Mass bombardment of Kabul by the Taliban1995Kabul800–4,0001995 attack on the Embassy of Pakistan in KabulKabul1 killed and 26 wounded15 massacre campaigns by the Taliban and Al-Qaeda1996–2 001Northern, central and western Afghanistan +15,000 United Nations: "These are the same type of war crimes as were committed in Bosnia and should be prosecuted in national courts". See some campaigns listed below. The Hazara claim the Taliban executed 15,000 of their people in their campaign through northern and central Afghanistan. Mazar-i-Sharif massacre by Junbish and July 1997Mazar-i-SharifUp to 3,000Junbish general Abdul Malik Pahlawan "is widely believed to have been responsible for the brutal massacre of up to 3,000 Taliban prisoners after inviting them into Mazar-i-Sharif."Battles of Mazar-i-Sharif (1997–1998)-August 14, 1998Near Mazar-i-Sharif, Northern AfghanistanMay to July 1997: about 3000 killed or wounded; September to December 1997: 86 civilians killed; 8 August 1998: 1400 soldiers from the Hazara army and additional 8000+ noncombatant killedAnti-Hazara massacre in Mazar-i-Sharif–10, 1998Mazar-i-Sharif2,000 to 20,000Taliban starvation of refugees1998Northern AfghanistanThousandsDenial of UN emergency food supplies to 160,000 starving refugees by the TalibanIstalif campaign by the Taliban and Al-Qaeda1999IstalifUnknownNity with 45,000 homes razed completelyGosfandi massacre by the Taliban1999Gosfandi District, Sar-e Pol96The Taliban were accused of committing five massacres in the Gosfandi district in the 1990s.Deliberate destruction of civilian livelihood1999Shomali PlainHundreds of thousandsCivilians killing, torture, mass rape and other atrocities reportedRobatak Pass killingspass connecting the settlements of Tashkurgan and Pule Khumri31Taliban perpetrated the mass murders. 26 of the victims were Ismaili Hazara from Baghlan provinceCivilian killings by the TalibanYakawlang250–3000

War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)

Note: According to the United Nations, 75–80% of civilian casualties in the War in Afghanistan were caused by the Taliban and other "resistance" groups from 2009 to 2011. This list is incomplete and does not represent these official figures properly.