The Taliban has confirmed that a suicide bomber ripped through the office of a provincial governor, killing him and two others. The attack in Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital city of northern Balkh province that occurred on Thursday also left dozens other wounded.
“Mohammad Dawood Muzmmil, the governor of Balkh has been killed in the blast,” said Taliban police spokesman Asif Waziri.
The cause of the explosion was not immediately known, and some local reports also suggested that over 30 people with heavy and minor injuries were evacuated to the hospital.
“Muzmmil was martyred in the blast carried out by the enemies of Islam,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said.
An investigation has been opened on the incident, according to Mujahid who restrained to provid more information.
It is worth mentioning that Muzammil is one of the highest-ranking Taliban officials that have been killed since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
IS claimed responsibility
The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Daesh terrorist group which emerged as the Taliban’s main rival in the war-hit country, has claimed responsibility for Muzammils’ killing.
CCTV footage shows that the Daesh bomber entered the governor’s office confidently without any security check and reached Muzammil office. It seems the bomber was familiar with the building and entered without any hesitation or fear.
In the past two years, Daesh claimed responsibility for several deadly attacks targeting Taliban officials as well as foreign missions.
Bombing inside mosques in Balkh and Kunduz provinces, and targeting students inside class in Kabul, and foreign ministry officials in front of their ministry were among the most targets carried out by the Daesh.
The group also conducted suicide bombing against Taliban members near Kabul airport. The hotel attack in Kabul famous for Chinese guests as well as attacks on Pakistan and Russian embassies are another major attacks claimed by Daesh.
Taliban killed senior Daesh member
The Taliban also claimed they have killed two senior Daesh members last month. On 27 February, Taliban security forces raided a home in which killed Qari Fateh, the regional Daesh intelligence and operations chief and one another Daesh member in Kabul.
Previously, Taliban said they killed another senior Daesh leader Ijaz Amin Ahingar again in a raid in Kabul.
Before taking over the governor office in Balkh, Muzammil served in the same position in eastern Nangarhar province, where he coordinated a comprehensive crackdown against the Daesh group.
Though violence across Afghanistan dramatically dropped since the Taliban seized control, Daesh remained one of the most security threats and the security situation deteriorated as the group claimed responsibility for several deadly attacks.
During the Republic government backed by the Western countries, the leadership used the same terms like “the enemies of Islam, and humanity” carried the attack after similar suicide bombings and now the Taliban also using the same terms, apparently both have been unable to prevent such attacks.
Killing of Muzammil in Balkh, a geographic, historical and economically important province, had sent a clear and forceful message to the Taliban.
One day before on Wednesday, Muzammil met with two deputy prime ministers and other senior officials visiting Balkh, where they discussed several development projects including a major irrigation project in the province.
Daesh is undeniable
It is important for the Taliban to understand that Daesh is now a big threat. This is not good for the Taliban to ignore the existence of Daesh and downplay the threat, said an expert on war affairs.
Speaking to Harici, the expert in conditions of anonymity said that the “Taliban must wake up and see the ground reality. “Daesh is gaining a foothold and the Taliban are unable to deal with it. The Taliban must improve the security situation and more importantly change its security tactics, otherwise Daesh will grow further.”
He said that Taliban are thinking that they are able to deal with Daesh, but forgetting that Daesh is a new project of western countries, especially the USA. “Daesh could not be defeated so easily, because it has US support and will use it against the Taliban as a pressure toll,” he said.
Indeed, the Taliban brought security across Afghanistan, but Daesh is now posing a different kind of threat. “Daesh wants to carry out high-profile attacks to target top Taliban officials instead of fighting on the ground to engage in intensive war with foot soldiers,” he said.
It is not the stop point as Daesh already made its mind and targeted several diplomatic missions just to show that Taliban are incompetent to maintain security, he added.
