1998 Iranian diplomats murder in Afghanistan

Coordinates: 36°42′0″N 67°7′1.2″E / 36.7°N 67.117°E / 36.7; 67.117

The 1998 Iranian diplomats assassination in Afghanistan refers to the siege of Iranian consulate in Mazari Sharif, Afghanistan during the capture of Mazari Sharif by Taliban forces. Initially death of 8 Iranian diplomats was reported, but later two other diplomats and one journalist were also confirmed to be killed. The killings of the Diplomats however had been carried out by Sipah-e-Sahaba a Pakistani Sunni group with close ties to the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence.^[1][2]

The Massacre Events

On August 8, 1998 Taliban forces captured Mazari Sharif city in northern Afghanistan. After this incident, 11 Iranian diplomats and 1 Iran's state news agency (IRNA) correspondent disappeared. Unofficial reports from the city indicated that all these men were killed. Later it was confirmed that 8 of the Iranian diplomats and the IRNA correspondent were killed by the Taliban militia attacking the consulate. The Taliban spokesmen said the Iranians had been killed by renegade forces who had acted without orders.^[3] It was also reported that some of the personnel of the consulate were taken hostage by the invaders, but they were later released.

Background

Before this incident, Iran was supportive of the "rebel alliance", and the city of Mazari Sharif was one of the headquarters of the alliance. After the capture of the city, hundreds Hazara, Tajiks and Uzbeks were killed. UN Human Rights reports indicate that after the fall of the city, "Taliban forces carried out a systematic search for male members of the ethnic Hazara, Tajik, and Uzbek communities in the city. The Hazaras, a Persian-speaking Shi’a ethnic group, were particularly targeted, in part because of their religious identity. During the house-to-house searches, scores and perhaps hundreds of Hazara men and boys were summarily executed, apparently to ensure that they would be unable to mount any resistance to the Taliban." ^[4]

Aftermath

This incident caused furious public reactions in Iran, and many observers were worried Iran would be involved in a military response to the attack. At the time more than 70,000 Iranian troops were deployed along the Afghan border.^[5][6] The mediation by the United Nations defused the situation and all the hostages were eventually released. Later in February 1999 Iran and Taliban held talks, but Iran-Taliban relation did not improve.^[7]

August 8 is named Reporters' Day in Iran, in memory of Mahmoud Saremi, the IRNA correspondent killed in this attack.

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