In Afghanistan, a senior Taliban leader killed in an attack

Mohammad Dawood Muzammil, the Taliban governor of Afghanistan’s Balkh province, was killed in the explosion at his office on March 9, the province’s police spokesman said. He is one of the most senior Taliban leaders to be assassinated since they returned to power in August 2021.

“Two people, including Mohammad Dawood Muzammil, were killed in an explosion this morning at 9am. This is a suicide attack. We have no information on how the suicide bomber reached the governor’s office.”Balkh police spokesman Asif Waziri told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

This senior Taliban official was known for his fight against the jihadists of the Islamic State (IS) group. His death comes a day after he met with senior government officials who came to Balkh province to discuss a major irrigation project in northern Afghanistan, according to a government statement. Mohammad Dawood Muzammil was initially appointed governor of the eastern province of Nangarhar after the Taliban took over. In Nangarhar, he led the fight against IS, before being appointed governor of Balkh last year.

The governor was killed “by the enemies of Islam”has for its part tweeted the government spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid. Journalists were not allowed to take pictures, an AFP correspondent reported from the site of the explosion, where security forces were deployed.

IS fights for a global ‘caliphate’, while the Taliban seek independence for Afghanistan

The return of the Taliban to power ended two decades of war against North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces and the United States, leading to a significant reduction in violence. But the situation has deteriorated since last year, with IS claiming responsibility for several deadly attacks, the biggest security challenge for the government.

On January 11, a suicide attack outside the entrance to the Foreign Ministry in Kabul, claimed by IS, left 10 dead and 53 injured, according to the latest estimate by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (Manua). Less than a month earlier, on December 12, an attack also claimed by IS had been perpetrated by armed men, some of whom had been killed, against a hotel in the Afghan capital housing Chinese businessmen. Five Chinese citizens were injured in the attack. Some customers had jumped out of the windows of the establishment to escape the fire which had broken out during the attack.

In September, an influential pro-Taliban imam working in one of the largest mosques in Herat, in the west of the country, Mujib ur Rahman Ansari, was killed in a huge explosion, in which 17 other people were also killed. In early August, another Taliban cleric and his brother were killed in a suicide bombing at a Koranic school in Kabul, claimed by IS. This cleric, Rahimullah Haqqani, was particularly known for his violent indictments against IS.

The Islamic State in Khorassan (EI-K), a regional branch of IS, has increased attacks against foreigners, religious minorities and government institutions. IS and the Taliban share an austere Sunni Islamist ideology, but the former struggles to establish a “caliphate” world, while the latter want to lead an independent Afghanistan.