The Taliban tracked down and killed 4 Afghan counterterrorism agents, in one case pulling out all their fingernails, report says

• Taliban death squads are hunting down Afghan counterterrorism agents, The Sunday Times reported.
• Four victims, trained by US and UK forces, worked for the National Directorate of Security.
• the Taliban's rule in Afghanistan has been characterized by violence.

Elite Taliban death squads have tracked down and killed at least four Afghan counterterrorism agents since August 22, The Sunday Times reported.

The men were members of two units working out of the National Directorate of Security (NDS) and had been trained by British and US forces, the newspaper said.

A brother of one of those killed told The Sunday Times the Taliban came for his brother at their home outside Kabul in August.

"My brother was shot three times in the head and once in the chest and I was shot twice in the left shoulder and arm," the man said, per the newspaper. "I don't know how I survived."

Another of the four men killed had all his fingernails pulled out before he was shot, The Sunday Times said.

A senior manager working at the headquarters of the NDS told The Sunday Times that the Taliban took possession of laptops and paperwork from the headquarters after taking Kabul on August 15.

The manager told the newspaper that the Taliban are using the information to try and track down former NDS agents.

The man added that the Taliban have pretended to be British embassy officials in their efforts to track people down.

News of the deaths comes as little surprise given the Taliban's rule in Afghanistan has been characterized by violence.

The Taliban are accused of murdering a pregnant woman in front of her family on September 4, CNN reported.

On Wednesday, Taliban fighters whipped and beat a group of Afghan women protesting the all-male interim government, CNN reported.

Earlier this month, the Taliban also raped and beat a gay man after they lured him to meet them, ITV reported.

At least four people protesting Taliban rule have been killed by the group, Ravina Shamdasani, the UN's rights spokesperson, said this week.

"We have seen a reaction from the Taliban, which has unfortunately been severe," Shamdasani said.