At least 10 Taliban members were killed in heavy fighting between rival factions of the group in Badakhshan province over control of a gold mine, sources told Afghanistan International.
The clashes erupted on Sunday evening in Yalor village, Yaftal district, between Taliban fighters from Helmand and local Taliban members from Badakhshan. According to the sources, eight Helmandi Taliban and two Badakhshani Taliban were killed in the fighting, which reportedly continued into Monday.
Several others were wounded, though the exact number of casualties remains unclear. Local officials said the district’s head of justice and head of traffic departments were among the dead.
One source said the confrontation was initiated by local Taliban fighters. Another claimed that Taliban members from southern provinces, with the backing of Badakhshan’s Taliban governor and police chief, had “seized” the province’s gold mines, cutting local fighters off from any share of the mining revenue.
The Taliban have not yet commented on the reports. Intra-group disputes over the control of mines and local resources have become increasingly common in northern Afghanistan, where Taliban factions compete for economic influence and revenue.
