An investigation was launched after Turkish police found the bodies of five Afghan nationals with stab wounds in a house in the capital Ankara on Thursday.

The five bodies were found after family members contacted police and reported the five to be missing, Anadolu Agency said.

The Afghans appeared to have died of knife wounds a week ago, HaberTürk television reported, quoting unnamed police officers. It said prosecutors have launched an investigation into the deaths.

There was no immediate information on the victims' identities.

The Ankara governor's office said on Twitter an investigation was underway into the death of five people considered foreign nationals, with no cause yet determined.

The five were found dead in Ankara’s low-income Altındağ district, which is home to migrants from Syria and Afghanistan. Violence erupted in the district last year, as an angry mob vandalized Syrian businesses and homes in response to a fatal stabbing of a Turkish teenager.

Türkiye has been a key transit point for asylum-seekers who want to cross into Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution. There has been an increase in refugees from Afghanistan following Taliban's takeover.

The country, which hosts around 4 million refugees, is currently building new security measures on its eastern border. Afghans are believed to be the second-largest refugee community after Syrians.