Afghanistan: Three police personnel killed, five injured in blast targeting convoy

Three police personnel were killed and five others were injured after a blast rocked Faizabad city, the provincial capital of north Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province, said the spokesperson for Taliban’s interior minister, Abdul Mateen Qani, on Wednesday (May 8).

What we know about the blast

“Unfortunately a sticky bomb placed in a motorbike targeted a convoy of counter-narcotics police,” said Qani in a statement, on X.

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The incident took place around 11:00 am (local time) and based on “preliminary information three police personnel were martyred and five others injured,” he added.

The blast is being investigated by the police, said Qani. According to the spokesman, the convoy of police forces that was targeted was carrying poppythat is used to make opium, in a bid to destroy it before their vehicle was attacked.

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Earlier, sources had told WION thatsix people had been killed and eight others wereinjured after a blast in anexplosives-laden motorcycle when a military convoy was passing through an area inFaizabad city.

A report by Afghanistan International citing residents in the city said that the blast destroyed at least one Taliban ranger vehicle.

Taliban faces rare protests over ban on poppy cultivation

The blast comes a day after the Taliban said they have managed to quell rare protests over security forces’ attempts to eradicate poppy cultivation in the province, which generates income for many impoverished farmers across Afghanistan.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said officials were holding meetings in the Badakhshan province amid the ongoing protests.

The unrest erupted last week after Taliban’s anti-narcotics forces began destroying poppy fields in Badakhshan province which led to unprecedented violent protests.

According to reports, Taliban security forces used firearms to disperse the demonstrators and killed two people during the two-day protest.

On Tuesday (May 7), the Afghan Taliban said that they had quelled protests in a rare official acknowledgement of civil disturbance since the group returned to power in 2021.

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Zabihullah Amiri, head of the Taliban-run provincial government’s media department, said that an official delegation from Faizabad city had travelled to the two districts, held meetings and that the areas were now “under control”.

“They accepted the legitimate demands of the people, at the moment, there are no issues in Argo and Darayim districts,” he said.

He added, “The people and area are under the control of security forces, and the latest update is that people have committed to cooperating with security forces to eradicate poppy cultivation.”

(With inputs from agencies)