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The Taliban have stepped up their search for people who worked for Nato forces or the previous Afghan government, a UN document has warned. It said the militants have been going door-to-door to find targets and threaten their family members.

The hardline Islamist group has tried to reassure Afghans since seizing power in a lightning offensive, promising there would be "no revenge". But there are growing fears of a gap between what they say and what they do.

The warning the group were targeting "collaborators" came in a confidential document by the RHIPTO Norwegian Center for Global Analyses, which provides intelligence to the UN. Dr Christian Nellemann is their executive director.

"Currently what we are seeing is the Taliban have organised a list of individuals that they are targeting... typically people in the intelligence services, former members of the Afghan special forces unit but also individuals in the police and other agencies."

"Many people are saying that the Taliban that we see today is different from the one that we saw 20 years ago and that is definitely true. In the extent, not that they have become a sweeter organisation, but they are more well organised, better financial structure and they have a much more advanced intelligence system."

Photo: A Taliban fighter patrolling the streets. Credit: EPA

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