Taliban governor killed in his Afghanistan office blast – Mohammad Dawood Muzammil dead
Mohammad Dawood Muzammil – the governor of Afghanistan’s northern Balkh province, has been killed in a blast that happened in his office, making him the highest-ranking official to be killed since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021.
Despite a significant decrease in violence, targeted attacks on prominent pro-Taliban figures have continued, with many claimed by the Islamic State.
The cause of the blast remains unclear, and no one has yet claimed responsibility for it.
However, a Taliban spokesman stated on Twitter that the governor had been “martyred in an explosion by the enemies of Islam.”
An investigation is currently underway.
Muzammil was previously governor of the eastern province of Nangarhar, where he led the fight against Islamic State militants. He was transferred to Balkh in October 2021.
According to local police, the explosion occurred on the second floor of the governor’s office, killing at least one other person and injuring several others. Unconfirmed reports suggest that it may have been a suicide attack.
The Taliban yesterday claimed it had killed eight “rebels and kidnappers” in Mazar-e Sharif, the capital of Balkh, but did not specify which group the eight individuals belonged to.
Since regaining power, the Taliban has faced a series of deadly bombings, mostly targeting mosques and minority groups, many of which have been claimed by the regional affiliate of the Islamic State group (IS-K), who are the Taliban’s bitter rivals.