KABUL: Faizabad Mayor Habibur Rahman Mansour was killed along with his security guard in a bomb blast in Afghanistan’s northeastern Badakhshan province on Thursday, according to Afghan authorities.
The blast occurred near the municipal office in Faizabad as the mayor was leaving in an official vehicle accompanied by guards. The vehicle was destroyed in the explosion.
Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry confirmed Mansour’s death but did not provide details about the type of explosion or those behind the attack.
Some media reports claimed that a magnetic explosive device was used, but the claim has not been independently verified.
The Taliban-opposing National Resistance Front (NRF) claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the mayor was targeted because of his association with the Taliban administration.
The killing comes amid a series of attacks targeting Taliban officials in Badakhshan.
Around two weeks earlier, the province’s Information and Culture Director Zabihullah Amiri was killed in an armed attack while travelling from a district towards Faizabad.
Badakhshan remains a sensitive security region, with activity by Taliban opponents and militant groups, including Islamic State Khorasan.
In 2023, Taliban deputy governor Nisar Ahmad Ahmadi was also killed in a car bombing in Faizabad, an attack later claimed by IS-K.
The latest incident comes as the Taliban prepares to mark five years since it returned to power following the withdrawal of US and NATO forces from Afghanistan in August 2021.
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