KABUL, Afghanistan — The Afghan war takes about five dozen lives a day.

Sometimes, the bodies have just one bullet hole. Other times, after intense explosions, there is no body left at all. In between, families receive pieces of flesh and bones in a sealed coffin — something to help them find closure.

Every once in a while, the dead turn up alive.

Last Monday, on the edges of a crowded Kabul cemetery, friends dug a grave for Ahmad Tameem, 22, a police officer, as about 200 mourners took cover from the snow under a tent. Officer Tameem’s relatives shouldered his sealed coffin up a winding, muddy lane for a brief final audience with his mother, then lowered him to rest near his father’s grave.

At home, loved ones prepared for the rituals of moving on. Someone opened the door of a cage to set Officer Tameem’s two pet parrots free. Large, grainy pictures of him were printed with “Martyr Ahmad Tameem” in red ink. Notices for a memorial service were sent out.

Mohammed Qaseem, Officer Tameem’s cousin, was buying groceries for a meal after the memorial service when he received a call.