The Islamic State claims responsibility for a bombing in Badakhshan that killed several Taliban fighters

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for a May 8 bombing in the city of Faizabad that killed at least three Taliban fighters. This was reported by the Afghan Voice Agency and Aamaj News.

However, as Aamaj News emphasizes, there is another version about the orchestrators of the attack. Thus, Taliban-controlled media and active users of social media write that a local resident is responsible for the attack on the militant convoy. Photos of him are published on the Internet, calling the suspect “Badakhshan Taliban.” Nothing is known about this person’s connections with IS. 

The same sources claim that the Badakhshan native has now been detained and Taliban investigators are working with him.

At the same time, some media reported that against the background of protests in the province of Badakhshan against the mass destruction of poppy fields by the authorities, as well as after the terrorist attack in Faizabad, the Taliban sent additional forces to the region. Dozens of vehicles carrying militants, as well as tanks and ambulances, were reported to have entered the Argo and Daraim districts.

However, just the day before, as Afghanistan International reported, representatives of the radical movement claimed to have resolved the conflict with the residents of Badakhshan. In particular, according to the chief of staff of the Taliban army, Fasihuddin Fitrat, villagers in Argo and Daraim agreed to voluntarily destroy poppy plantations on their lands.