The spokesman says the explosion occurred when a police convoy was passing by with the purpose of eradicating the poppy.
- A motorcycle loaded with explosives exploded near a military vehicle.
- Three dead and five other people injured in the explosion.
- Protests shake several districts of Badakhshan province.
KABUL: Three Taliban security personnel were killed when a motorcycle carrying an explosive device exploded near a military vehicle in northern Afghanistan that was being used in opium poppy eradication operations, an Interior Ministry spokesman said on Wednesday. .
Protests have rocked several districts in the northern province of Badakhshan, where farmers oppose attempts by Taliban security forces to end opium cultivation, the backbone of income for many households in impoverished Afghanistan.
“The explosion occurred when the police convoy was passing by with the aim of eradicating the opium poppy,” Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Matin Qaniee said, adding that five other people were injured.
It was unclear who was behind the attack in the provincial capital, Faizabad.
Spokespeople for the national and local Taliban administration had said the previous day that calm had been restored in areas affected by the protests and that teams sent from the national and provincial capitals had held talks with locals.
The protests, which began at the end of last week, have resulted in the death of two people. The Taliban said they were considering offering financial compensation to the victims' families.
The Taliban have said they seek to restore order and security in the war-torn nation after seizing power in 2021 when foreign forces withdrew.
However, attacks have continued and the local branch of the Daesh militant group, as well as resistance groups, have claimed responsibility for attacks against Taliban security forces.
