IslamabadcTypeface:> Three policemen were killed and five others were injured in an explosion in Faizabad city, the capital of Afghanistan’s northern province of Badakhshan, officials confirmed on Wednesday.
A bomb hidden on a motorbike was detonated while a police convoy was patrolling to destroy poppy cultivation, according to a statement from the Taliban Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Matin Qani. This attack follows a recent period of tension in the province. On Friday, clashes erupted between residents and Taliban counter-narcotics forces over poppy eradication efforts, resulting in the death of at least one civilian.
A peaceful resolution to the dispute was announced late on Tuesday by the Taliban government chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid. The details of the agreement were not made public, but Mujahid revealed that the protestors pledged to support the government’s counter-narcotic efforts. In return, the Taliban presumably addressed the concerns raised by the residents, though the specific solutions were not disclosed. (DPA)
