Operatives of the National Directorate of Security (NDS), Afghanistan intelligence agency, have arrested Taliban’s military official for Karokh district of the western Herat, Qari Shafi also known as Hafiz Omari, the NDS said in a statement.
The intelligence operatives have also detained Mullah Rawat, the group’s health official for four other districts of the province.
NDS operatives have arrested the two Taliban officials in separate operations on Friday, May 22, in Herat province.
As per the NDS statement, the Taliban military official was riding a vehicle of the Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) bound for Shindand district of Herat province to carry out some destructive attacks on Pashdan dam of the district.
After Salma dam, Pashdan is the second largest water dam in Herat which is currently under construction in Shindand district.
The US and Afghan officials have repeatedly accused Iran of providing financial and military supports for the Taliban in recent years. Iran, however, have rejected the accusation while acknowledging some communication-level relationship with the militant for the sake of its own security.
Iranian officials have repeatedly raised the issue of building water and power dams in western provinces of Afghanistan as a matter of the country’s concerns in recent years. At times, the issue has caused tension in relations between the two neighboring countries.
