Both the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIS-K) and the National Resistance Front (NRF) have claimed responsibility for an attack on a Taliban intelligence official in Faizabad, the capital of Badakhshan province. On Sunday, October 4, ISIS announced it had targeted a Taliban intelligence official using a bomb-rigged motorcycle.
In its statement, ISIS claimed that one of the Taliban official's guards was killed in the attack, while the official himself and another guard were injured. The group did not provide further details about the official's identity.
Meanwhile, the National Resistance Front had previously announced that its forces had killed the Taliban's deputy intelligence chief for Badakhshan in a "targeted operation." The NRF claimed that two of the intelligence official's guards also died in their attack.
According to the NRF's press release, their operation took place around 9:30 AM on Sunday, October 4, in the 6th district of Faizabad city. The front also did not provide details on how the attack was conducted.
The conflicting claims from these two anti-Taliban armed groups make it difficult to accurately assess the casualties and the nature of the incident. The Taliban administration has not yet officially commented on the attack or the competing claims.
This is not the first time that ISIS and the NRF have simultaneously claimed responsibility for the same attack. Both groups are active against the Taliban government in various parts of Afghanistan, and each seeks to demonstrate its operational capability and influence.
Badakhshan in northeastern Afghanistan has been an insecure province. Over the past five years, ISIS-K alone has claimed responsibility for attacking and killing four Taliban officials in the province, indicating the group's focus on targeting Taliban authorities in this region.
Source: Media reports
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