KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF) has claimed that its forces killed the Taliban’s deputy intelligence chief in Faizabad, the capital of northeastern Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province, along with two of his guards in a targeted attack.
The NRF said in a statement that the attack was carried out at around 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, October 4, in the sixth district of Faizabad. The group described the incident as a “targeted operation” but did not provide details about how the attack was conducted.
The claim came after local reports of an explosion in the sixth district of Faizabad earlier on Sunday. Initial reports from local sources said a motorcycle loaded with explosives had detonated as Taliban intelligence personnel were passing through the area. Those reports said one guard was killed and a Taliban intelligence figure, identified by some sources as Safiullah Motawakkil, was seriously wounded.
The discrepancy between the initial reports and the NRF’s later claim could not immediately be independently verified. The NRF did not identify the intelligence official by name in its statement, and it remains unclear whether the official referred to by the group was the same person identified by local sources as Safiullah Motawakkil.
The Taliban has not issued an official statement on the explosion, the reported casualties or the NRF’s claim.
The incident comes amid renewed reports of security incidents in Badakhshan in recent days. On Saturday, October 3, the NRF claimed responsibility for an attack on a Taliban checkpoint in Kuran wa Munjan district of Badakhshan, saying that one Taliban member was killed and two others were wounded. Local reports also described other attacks and security incidents in and around Faizabad in recent days.
The latest attack also occurred hours after Taliban officials in Badakhshan publicly emphasized the security situation in the province. On Sunday, Taliban-appointed Badakhshan governor Rahmatullah Najib said there were no security problems in the province and warned that anyone opposing the Taliban would face severe consequences. His remarks came as reports of explosions and clashes were emerging from Faizabad.
Badakhshan has remained one of the areas where anti-Taliban armed groups have claimed operations against Taliban forces and officials since the group returned to power in August 2021. The NRF has repeatedly announced targeted attacks against Taliban personnel in different parts of Afghanistan, although many of its battlefield claims are difficult to independently verify.
The latest incident highlights the continuing gap between Taliban claims of nationwide security and reports of attacks targeting Taliban personnel in parts of the country. Independent verification of such incidents remains difficult because access to information and independent reporting in Afghanistan is restricted, particularly in areas where security forces and armed opposition groups are involved.
