Three women were shot dead by unknown gunmen in Mazar-e-Sharif City in the north of Afghanistan, Balkh police confirmed Thursday.

Balkh police spokesman Shirjan Durani said the bodies of the women were taken to Abu Ali Sina Hospital in the city but that the identity of the victims is not known so far.

“We have started the investigation,” Durani told TOLOnews. “We have not identified them so far.”

Hospital officials said the bodies were brought to the facility on Thursday morning.

“They are 20, 25 and 28 years of age. They have been shot in their faces and heads,” Ahmad Shakir Ehsan, an official of Abu Ali Sina Hospital, said.

Balkh residents said crime has increased in the province in the last month.

“People are worried. Their property, lives and jobs are not safe,” a resident of the province Jan Mohammad said.

“There are many problems. There are illegal armed men who create horror among the people in the city,” Raz Mohammad, a resident of the province, claimed.