Clashes between Taliban and Mehdi Mojahed in Balkhab

Taliban attacks on Balkhab district to arrest Mahdi Mojahed have started in the evening of June 23 in Dozdan Darreh, Qom Kotal and Abi Kalan areas. Forces loyal to Mehdi Mojahedi have claimed to have destroyed two Humvee vehicles and killed more than 43 Taliban members in the clashes.

Official Taliban news sources have not yet released a clear report on the clashes.

Local sources also confirmed the killing of “Mohammad Qomandan”, the commander of forces affiliated to Mehdi Mojahed, in the Qom Kotal area and the occupation of this area by the Taliban.

According to ISWNEWS source in Afghanistan, most of the clashes between the Taliban and Mehdi Mojahed’s militants have been sporadic. No city or military zone is under the control of Mehdi Mojahed’s militants, and the Taliban governor and the militants under his command have entered the city of Tarkhoj and the Balkhab governorate after occupying the Qom Kotal region.

Read more: The shadow of Taliban internal conflict on Balkhab; Who is Mehdi Mojahed and what does he want?

Clashes between the Taliban and supporters of Mehdi Mojahed have been reported in other areas, such as Bamyan, Dara-e-Suf Bala and Yakawlang, but their nature is unclear.

The Council of Shiite Ulema and other prominent Shiite figures in Afghanistan, such as the head of the Tebyan Cultural Center, Seyyed Issa Hosseini Mazari, have called on people to stay away from the war and warn them against supporting Mehdi Mojahed.

As mentioned earlier, Mehdi Mojahid’s tension with the Taliban is an internal conflict within the Taliban, and the people of Sar-e-Pul and Bamyan provinces, from Shiites to Hazaras and Tajiks, have nothing to do with it.