FAIZABAD: A blast shook a Taliban military base near the airport in Faizabad, the capital of Afghanistan’s northeastern Badakhshan province, but without causing casualties, officials said on Tuesday.

The Taliban official confirmed on condition of anonymity that an explosion had occurred at the base but would not provide further details.

A roadside IED exploded near the base but no one was killed or wounded, Badakhshan police spokesman Ehsanullah Kamgar told AFP.

He said the authorities suspected the IED was not new but rather left over from before the Taliban takeover in 2021.

The explosion was heard some two kilometres (over a mile) away from the airport, local residents said.

The area around the site was cordoned off by authorities.

The base is next to the city’s small airstrip, which is not currently served by commercial airlines.

Published in Dawn, March 6th, 2024