The United States has condemned the apparent execution-style killing of Afghan commandos by the Taliban, in what State Department spokesman Ned Price called an "atrocious" act.
Price said on July 14 that the United States had no reason to doubt the authenticity of a video showing Taliban militants shooting dead 22 Afghan commandos as they surrendered.
CNN has reported, citing footage it verified, that the massacre occurred in June against an Afghan special forces unit in the town of Dawlat Abad in Faryab Province, near the border with Turkmenistan.
The video shows the commandos surrendering after a battle for the town. They are then gunned down and their bodies are shown strewn on the ground.