Suffered Three Fatalities & Five Injuries in Faizabad Explosion, Announces Taliban

Abdul Mateen Qani, the spokesperson for the Taliban’s Ministry of Interior, announced that an explosion in Faizabad city led to the deaths of three of their security personnel and injuries to five others.

According to Qani, the explosion occurred when the Taliban police personnel were conducting an operation to eradicate poppy cultivation.

He provided details on the social media platform X on Wednesday, stating that the group is currently investigating the incident.

Qani reported that "at around 11am today, a sticky bomb previously attached to a motorcycle detonated in the Jozgun area of Faizabad, Badakhshan”. Subsequently, sources at the Badakhshan provincial hospital confirmed to Afghanistan International that at least six bodies and fourteen injured individuals were admitted following the explosion. This incident occurred against the backdrop of widespread anti-Taliban protests in several districts of Badakhshan, including Argo and Darayim. So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Sources previously told Afghanistan International that explosives mounted on a motorcycle exploded within a Taliban military convoy, destroying at least one ranger vehicle.

Protesters have voiced concerns that Taliban forces deployed from southern provinces, who are unfamiliar with the local language, are mistreating residents. They are calling for the removal of these "non-native" Taliban forces from Badakhshan. Additionally, some sources indicated that in the explosion on Wednesday in the Pul-e Jozgun area, specifically Taliban forces of Pashtun descent had been targeted.