An Afghan interpreter who was on the Dutch evacuation list but was left behind in Kabul has been murdered, broadcaster NOS said on Thursday.

The claim has been made by the man’s family and supported by several sources within the Dutch government, NOS said.

According to the family, a representative of the Tabiban went to the house where he was staying and asked him to confirm his identity. ‘They started shooting at him with an AK47 and we lost him,’ the family member is quoted as saying.

Although it is difficult to get independent confirmation of the murder, NOS said its Dutch sources are assuming the reports to be true because if the man lied about his death, it would scupper his chances of being evacuated.

Acting foreign minister Ben Knapen said that the report had not yet been confirmed but if true ‘it would of course be a tragedy’.

It is, however, impossible to better protect people on the evacuation list because ‘we have no embassy, no people on the ground,’ he said. ‘In that sense, we are reasonably powerless.’

The Netherlands has drawn up a list of some 2,000 people whom it still plans to evacuate from Afghanistan, including interpreters and their families.