KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — No Taliban militants died in the month of March, marking the first such event since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s, insurgent officials said.

It is only the fourth such month no Afghan died violently since 330 BCE, when the Macedonians defeated Darius III and briefly occupied the mountain region.

Taliban sources were quick to point out honor killings, beheadings, and other executions weren't considered combat-related deaths since those who sought to harm the interests of the Islamic world pretty much deserved it.