Daily Times

Maulavi Mahdi, the ex-military leader of the Shia-dominated Balkhab district of Sar-e Pol, Afghanistan, was killed in an operation on Wednesday by the security forces of the Islamic Emirate as he tried to flee to Iran.

A spokesperson for the Mahdi Militia confirmed that the former ally of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) died in Herat while he was fleeing to Iran, following his exit from the Afghan Taliban.

Mahdi, a former Taliban intelligence chief of Bamyan, had separated ways from the Taliban owing to internal disputes pertaining to power and an issue with conforming to central command orders.

The IEA’s local commanders, as well as the spokesperson for the militia, have confirmed his death on conditions of anonymity and added that an announcement will be made by the minister of defence or Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid. Takht was previously under Mahdi’s control, as he waged war against allied forces but never confronted them. The Taliban had, however, on a number of occasions sent a score of Jirgas to reconcile with Mahdi but he had already turned his guns against the central government. Prior to his killing, Mahdi, an ethnic Hazara of Afghanistan, had reportedly hoped to win back Irani influence.

Mahdi’s appointment as a commander some years ago was touted as an example of the Taliban’s changed on stance on minorities. He was in the spotlight after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in the wake of the pullout of western forces last year.

The defence ministry on Wednesday described Mahdi as a the “leader of the rebels” in a district in the northern province of Sar-e-Pol.

Meanwhile, a huge explosion struck a mosque in Kabul during evening prayers on Wednesday, witnesses and police said, with many feared dead or injured.

Police said there were multiple casualties but did not say how many. One Taliban intelligence official said that as many as 35 people may have been wounded or killed, and the toll could rise further. Al Jazeera quoted an unidentified official as giving a death toll of 20.

Witnesses said the powerful explosion was heard in a northern Kabul neighbourhood, shattering windows in nearby buildings. Ambulances rushed to the spot.

“A blast happened inside a mosque…. the blast has casualties, but the numbers are not clear yet,” Kabul police spokesperson Khalid Zadran said.

The Taliban intelligence official said the explosion occurred in a mosque among worshippers in Khair Khana area of Kabul. The Imam of the mosque was among those killed and the toll could still rise, the source added. Intelligence teams were at blast site and investigations were ongoing. Other officials in the Taliban government did not reply to multiple requests to confirm the number of casualties.