By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi January 11, 2026 A deadly confrontation at a gold mine in northern Afghanistan has cast new light on the Taliban’s push to expand gold extraction, raising questions about the largely unregulated operations and their foreign — mostly Chinese — backing. The latest incident comes as the Interior Ministry of the Taliban
Afghanistan International: The latest incident occurred on Thursday evening in Faizabad, the capital of Badakhshan, where armed men shot and killed Mohammad Shah, an Ismaili resident originally from Shighnan district. Shah, who worked for a private office in the province, was attacked in the Dasht-e-Qargh area while returning home from a bakery, according to eyewitnesses.
8am: According to the sources, his decapitated body was later found in the Yaftal district. The sources added that Naser had served in the previous government within the police headquarters of Takhar and Badakhshan provinces. The sources did not specify who or which group was responsible for the killing. According to Hasht-e Subh Daily findings,
8am: The Taliban started replacing their Tajik-origin fighters with Pashtun-origin ones after militants from the group killed five Chinese citizens in Tajikistan. Sources reveal that the group decided to transfer and disarm some Tajik-origin fighters. At the same time, they stripped local Taliban members of duties like collecting mine revenues and distributing land for extraction.
8am: Sources in Badakhshan say Taliban forces and their affiliated mining operatives deliberately targeted the five Chinese citizens who were killed last week on Tajikistan’s soil. According to these sources, clashes erupted between Taliban fighters and Tajik border guards, during which gunfire killed two of the victims. A separate, coordinated drone attack carried out by
8am: Several shopkeepers in Mina Bazaar in the city of Fayzabad, the center of Badakhshan province, say the Taliban, after renovating their shops, are now reselling them back to them at exorbitant prices. These shopkeepers add that they purchased their shops years ago and hold official ownership documents, but the Taliban-run municipality in Fayzabad does
Afghanistan International: Local sources reported renewed clashes early Wednesday in the Shahr-e-Buzurg district between Taliban units and fighters loyal to Abdul Rahman Ammar, the group’s former provincial head of mining. The clashes, which have continued for several days, pit Ammar’s forces against those of Shafiqullah Hafizi, the Taliban’s current head of mining in Badakhshan, in
8am: Local sources in Badakhshan province say that clashes over control of a gold mine in the Shahri Buzurg district have resulted in casualties. Sources told the Hasht-e Subh Daily on Monday, October 27, that the fighting broke out between forces loyal to Emar, a local Taliban commander in Shahri Buzurg, and the group’s director
8am: According to the sources, the arrest took place after recent tensions and clashes between Pashtun and Uzbek Taliban fighters in the district. They added that Karimi was detained for allegedly mocking Tajik members of the Taliban. Ethnic and factional disputes among Taliban fighters in Badakhshan have intensified in recent months and, in some cases,
8am: Local sources in Badakhshan province reveal the existence of an extensive and organized network for the plunder of gold mines and other natural resources by influential figures affiliated with the Taliban. According to sources, this process is carried out systematically using force, corruption, and collusion with some Taliban leaders. Sources also report the involvement