Taliban assassins have murdered at least ten Afghans who helped the West in the days since the Government revealed data of thousands who worked for the UK had been leaked.
Four were killed in one execution this weekend, their bodies dumped in a ditch in a field, while another four have been killed separately after being forced out of Iran where they had been hiding.
It is unclear if any of the dead were among the 100,000 ‘at risk of death’ impacted by the data breach but the executions mark a dramatic increase in killings.
Campaigners were checking reports the four killed in Badakhshan, some 200-miles north of the capital Kabul, were ex-Afghan Special Forces who had fought beside the UK and its allies in the 20-years of war with the Taliban.
If correct, they say, one or more may have applied for relocation under the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP) – meaning their details could have been among those leaked.
Meanwhile, concerned British lawyers for Afghans hiding in Iran while their cases go through the courts in London or awaiting a decision from ARAP were urgently trying to verify if their clients are among those killed after being sent back to Afghanistan.
Among the harrowing stories coming out on Sunday was the shooting on a crowded street in Kandahar.
A bleeding man was filmed making a phone call naming his Taliban killer. He died soon afterwards.
Hours later, a former military commander, who served beside US forces, was also shot dead taking the known total of killings in recent days to ten.
On Saturday, the Mail revealed how vengeful warlords have embarked on a killing spree.
One of the victims was the brother of a former Afghan soldier, who fled to Britain and is said to be on the dataset.
His family believe the killing was linked directly to the soldier’s work for the UK.
It is not known if the Taliban actually has the database, which contains the details of those who worked for the UK.
Defence sources say it also exposes members of the British intelligence community and Special Forces.
The Taliban has been quoted as claiming to have obtained it, since the data leak was revealed last Tuesday when the High Court lifted a super-injunction which had placed a two-year news blackout on the scandal.
Former interpreter Faiz, 39, who spent five years on the frontlines beside UK forces, said: ‘Everyone is terrified.
‘Arrests and killings have increased, it is as if the Taliban is taunting us… surely, the escalation in executions is linked to what has emerged in the UK.’
Faiz, who is in hiding with his wife and children, said he had narrowly escaped arrest on Saturday when four heavily armed Taliban fighters came to search the house where he is hiding.
He has confirmed his details are on the leaked database and said: ‘I am a marked man and will be killed if I am found.
‘If the Taliban have the dataset, it will help them find me because of the specific details contained.
‘In 2017, I was the translator for British Forces when they questioned a commander.
‘He is now free and has posted my details on Facebook demanding I be handed over for “punishment”.
‘I hope the UK will rescue me before it is too late.’
Former translator Rafi Hottak, who was blown-up on the frontlines and now campaigns for those left behind, said: ‘The increased killings are linked to the admission by Britain it has lost the dataset.
‘We do not know for sure if the Taliban has the data from the leak but we do know some of those named have been executed.’