Bomb blast claims lives of three policemen in northeastern Afghanistan
Tragedy struck on Wednesday in northeastern Afghanistan as three policemen lost their lives and five others sustained injuries when a sticky bomb was detonated beside a security convoy responsible for removing illegal poppy crops, reported the interior ministry.
An improvised explosive device (IED) planted on a motorcycle was detonated targeting a convoy of police vehicles in the picturesque city of Faizabad, the capital of the mountainous Badakhshan province, at approximately 11 am local time (0630 GMT).
Abdul Mateen Qani, the spokesman for the Taliban’s Interior Ministry, shared on social media platform X (previously known as Twitter) that a bomb detonated as a police convoy was en route to eliminate poppy fields.
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 in a decree by the Taliban supreme leader in April 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.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the 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 told AFP.
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.
