Afghan officials say Taliban militants shot and killed five travelers in the country's central province of Ghazni.
Speaking on December 26, Ghazni Provincial Council member Nasir Ahmad Faqiri said the killing occurred late at night on December 25 in the village of Arzo near the provincial capital Ghazni.
Faqiri said the Taliban stopped the travelers' vehicle, forced the passenger out, and shot them dead -- leaving their bodies on the roadside.
He said the identities of the victims were not yet known.
Mohammad Arif Noori, a spokesman for Ghazni's governor, said the victims were traveling to the eastern province of Paktika.
Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi claimed responsibility for the attack.
Ahmadi said the five men who were killed were soldiers from the Afghan National Army.
With reporting by dpa and 1TVnews