Afghanistan: Taliban infighting leaves dozens of militants dead
Afghan officials say clashes between two Taliban factions have killed dozens of militants in the country’s west, underlying divisions in the militant group that has waged a deadly 17-year insurgency against the Western-backed government in Kabul.
Jilani Farhad, the spokesman for the governor of Herat Province, said at least 28 Taliban fighters were killed and 25 wounded in the Shindand district, near the border with Iran, on November 30.
Hekmatullah Hekmat, the district’s head, said the clashes pitted fighters loyal to Taliban leader Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada against forces allied with Mullah Mohammad Rasul, a former militant commander who leads a breakaway faction in western Afghanistan.
Mullah Rasul’s faction has been engaged in deadly clashes with fighters from the mainstream Taliban in southern and western Afghanistan since 2015, leaving scores dead on both sides.