Bomb attacks; Will Badakhshan become a safe haven for terrorists?

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Article translated from Dari appeared in 8am.media on June 10, 2023

During the past week, two senior Taliban commanders were killed in Badakhshan province as a result of suicide attacks. Following these events, 14 people were killed and 43 others were injured. Most of the dead and wounded in these events are civilians. These attacks have provoked reactions. The United States, Iran, and the United Nations have condemned the attack on civilians during the funeral ceremony of a Taliban official in the city of Faizabad. A number of media activists and politicians describe these events as part of the process of turning Badakhshan into a safe haven for terrorists. It should be mentioned that the Daesh group has taken responsibility for these events.

Badakhshan province in the northeast of the country witnessed a suicide attack last week, as a result of which Maulvi Nisar Ahmad Ahmadi, the deputy governor of the Taliban for Badakhshan, was killed. Two days after that, the city of Faizabad, the capital of this province, once again witnessed a bloody explosion. According to sources, a suicide attack took place around 11:00 a.m. before dawn on Thursday, 18th of Juza, in the Prophet’s Mosque in New City of Faizabad, during the Fatiha ceremony of Nisar Ahmad Ahmadi. Health sources reported 11 dead and 33 injured. According to the sources, 16 of the wounded, who were in critical condition, were transferred to Kabul. Later, one of them died in the hospital of Sardar Mohammad Dawood Khan. In this way, including Maulvi Safiullah Samim, the former commander of this group for Baghlan province, 12 people were killed in this incident. In total, both attacks killed 14 people, including two Taliban commanders, and injured 43 others. Health sources in Badakhshan confirmed this statistic to 8sobh newspaper, but local sources believe that the number of victims and wounded in these events is higher than this.

Informative sources confirm to 8sobh newspaper that the nature of the incident at the Prophet’s Mosque in Badakhshan was a “suicide attack”. According to the sources, the Fatiha ceremony started around 8:00 AM and ended around 11:00 AM. “It was a suicide attack,” a source said. The suicide bomber had planned the time so that the program was about to end and the officials would gather and possibly give a speech. When Maulvi Safiullah and other people wanted to leave, since he was a well-known person and an official of the Taliban, people wanted to greet Alik. At the same time, the suicide bomber reached and detonated. Maulvi Safiullah was killed there.”

This source clarified that no security measures were taken during the Fatiha ceremony. “Security measures were definitely not taken,” he says. Even though they understood that praying was for their position. Barsukh people share, but they did not take special measures. There was no effort and these chats. When the explosion happened, their intelligence forces were distracted and fired. “A number of fairs were suspicious because the gate was closed after the explosion.”

This source stated that a number of civilians were injured due to the firing of Taliban fighters. Earlier, a child who was injured as a result of a car bomb attack on the deputy governor of this group was transferred to Kabul. The source added: “Molawi Safi’s people were emotional and a number of other Taliban people are also firing.” A number have been injured. Their hands and feet are hit by bullets.”

In the second suicide attack, Safiullah Samim, the former Taliban commander in Baghlan province, and Haji Akram Khan, another local Taliban official, were killed. In addition to the Taliban, some former jihadi commanders who were members of Jamiat-e-Islami have also been killed. Mohammad Osman, known as Ziaul Haq Abu Dhar, one of the commanders of Jamiat-e-Islami in Badakhshan, was seriously injured in this incident. He died after being transferred to Kabul. This Jamiat-e-Islami commander had served as the Badakhshan security commander during the “Islamic State” led by Burhanuddin Rabbani, the former president of Afghanistan. Faizullah Amaj, the local commander of the Taliban, Basir Khan Khalid, a member of Jamiat-e-Islami, and Maulvi Jamil, the head of the court of this group in Badakhshan province, are among the injured in this incident.

It should be noted that the responsibility for both events has been taken by the Daesh group. Sources also consider these attacks to be the result of local and inter-group differences of the Taliban, which has provided the ground for the infiltration by the Daesh group. Meanwhile, according to the sources, disgruntled members of the Taliban who are in contact with the Daesh group can carry out such targeted attacks using information.

America and Iran called the attacks on Taliban commanders “terrorist”.

The bomb attacks in Badakhshan have resulted in the reactions of a number of politicians and officials of the previous government. Hamid Karzai, the former president, and Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the Supreme Reconciliation Council of the previous government, have condemned these attacks, which resulted in civilian casualties. Also, Salahuddin Rabbani, the head of Jamiat-e-Islami Party, has described the recent events in Badakhshan as “the continuation of the hostility within the Taliban group”. On Thursday, 18th of Jawza [June 8], he issued a statement saying that terrorism and extremism in all its forms and types are condemned and that any act that targets civilians is cruel, un-Islamic and inhumane. The statement said: “The recent incidents in Badakhshan Province, which are purposefully and projectively attributed to Daesh, are the continuation of the Taliban intra-group hostilities to maintain power.”

Meanwhile, the National Resistance Front published a statement on Friday, the 19th of Jawza [June 9], saying that it is monitoring the situation in Badakhshan. This front stated that it was affected by the casualties inflicted on ordinary citizens in recent incidents and expressed its sympathy with the families of civilians. This front has called suicide attacks and mine-laying on mosques, mosques and pulpits as a legacy of the Taliban. It should be noted that according to the resistance front’s claim, “the recent incidents in Badakhshan are rooted in the inter-group war and the Taliban’s efforts to provide a safe and permanent base and shelter for regional terrorists.”

At the same time as these events occurred, a number of social media users have reminded of past Taliban attacks for which they assumed responsibility. These users said: “What they sow, they reap.” It should be mentioned that in the past, the responsibility of most of the suicide attacks was taken by the Taliban.

The recent attacks in Badakhshan have also resulted in the reactions of countries and international organizations. The Office of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has condemned the suicide attack in Badakhshan. UNAMA said: “Reports of civilian deaths and injuries in today’s attack on a mosque in Faizabad are deeply disturbing. UNAMA unequivocally condemns this attack and the recent spate of horrific and indiscriminate attacks that show a complete disregard for the lives of civilians.”

After the suicide attack on the Prophet’s Mosque in Faizabad city, Tom West, the US special representative for Afghanistan affairs, called this attack “terrorist” by publishing a tweet in Farsi. Mr. West wrote: “There are reports that a large number of Afghan civilians have been killed and injured in a horrific terrorist attack on a mosque in Badakhshan. “The United States strongly condemns this heinous crime in a sacred place of worship.”

On the other hand, Nasser Kanani, the spokesman of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, also described this attack as “terrorist”. While condemning this incident, this country has expressed its condolences to the relatives of the victims. Kanani clarified: “Terrorist and blind attacks on ordinary people and innocent citizens, especially in religious places, have nothing to do with the teachings of Islam and are condemned.”

The Taliban have also condemned the attack on the Fatiha reading ceremony of the deputy of this group for Badakhshan province. Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman of the Taliban, published a series of tweets and said that 11 people were killed and 30 people were injured in this attack. He emphasized that the perpetrators of these events are being investigated. However, he has not officially accused any group of being involved in the attack.

Meanwhile, a number of media activists call the recent attacks in Badakhshan a sign that this province has become a safe haven for terrorists. According to them, fighters from different groups are present in this province and the Taliban have also made efforts in this direction by transferring a part of jihadists there.

It should be mentioned that Badakhshan is one of the important centers of mineral resources in Afghanistan and one of the main routes of drug trafficking to Central Asia. In the past, the local competitions of a number of representatives of the previous parliament and some officials from Kabul had added to the insecurity of this province. Currently, political analysts claim that groups within the Taliban are trying to make the presence of foreign fighters more and more secure in this province by eliminating the figures who are somehow popular among the people.