FAIZABAD: After days of protests against the ongoing operation for clearance of poppy cultivation in Badakhshan, three policemen were killed and five others wounded in a bomb attack on a security convoy on Wednesday.

“The bomb exploded while the convoy of police forces was on its way to destroy poppy cultivation,” Taliban Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani posted on X, formerly Twitter.

The ministry officials said a sticky improvised explosive device (IED) was attached to a motorcycle that targeted a convoy of police vehicles in Faizabad, the capital of mountainous Badakhshan province, around 11am.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Taliban-run defence ministry refutes Pakistan military’s claim about Bisham attack

An AFP journalist saw Taliban authorities searching homes and detaining dozens of people near the scene. Images posted on social media but not immediately verified by AFP showed a charred motorcycle and a police truck riddled with holes.

Eyewitness Aminullah, who did not want to give his full name, said he heard a huge explosion and saw that a convoy of Taliban authorities had been hit. “Immediately the security forces cleared the area of people,” he said.

The explosion comes days after Taliban security officials and residents clashed over the violent clearance of poppy crops in two Badakhshan districts, leaving two dead and sparking rare protests.

Afghanistan was the largest producer of opium before poppy cultivation was banned by the Taliban in a decree in 2022. Farmers have been encouraged to plant different crops, but none compete with the financial draw of the poppy, leading some to continue to discreetly cultivate small plots.

The number of bombings and suicide attacks in Afghanistan has fallen since the Taliban ended their insurgency after ousting the US-backed government and returning to power in August 2021.

However, a number of armed groups, including the Islamic State group, remain a threat, with regular reports of explosions that go unconfirmed by authorities.

Taliban reject Afghan’s role in Bisham attack

Separately, the Taliban defence ministry rejected Pakistan military’s claim that Afghans were involved in an attack on Chinese engineers. “Afghans are not involved in such matters,” said Mufti Enayatullah Khorazmim, the spokesperson for Afghanistan’s Taliban-run ministry of national defence.

“Blaming Afghanistan for such incidents is a failed attempt to divert attention from the truth of the matter and we strongly reject it,” he added.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2024