Content Advisory

Khthon
War Crimes
Documentation

Khthon documents mass graves, atrocity crimes, and forensic evidence from conflict zones worldwide. Our work is strictly humanitarian and apolitical.

This site may contain imagery and descriptions of deceased individuals, violent injuries, and human remains gathered in the course of active investigations. Content is presented for accountability and documentation purposes only.

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Sheberghan

In November 2001, U.S.-allied Afghan forces transported a group of surrendered Taliban fighters and others, estimated at up to 2,000 people, to prison in container trucks. During the journey, the prisoners are believed to have been killed, either shot or suffocated. Their remains are believed to have been subsequently buried in a mass grave at Dasht-e-Leili, just west of Sheberghan, the capital of Jowzjan Province in northern Afghanistan. The existence of the mass grave was confirmed through a forensic investigation conducted in 2002, and the case has been documented and reported on by several sources, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), and the United Nations. While a full excavation of the site was never completed (PHR's 2002 investigation exhumed only 15 remains and performed autopsies on 3) witness testimony and U.S. government documents obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests have suggested a death toll of up to 2,000 people.