Battle of Darzab | ||||||||
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Part of the Islamic State–Taliban conflict, War in Afghanistan (2001–2021), and War on Terror | ||||||||
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Belligerents | ||||||||
Taliban | Afghanistan | |||||||
Commanders and leaders | ||||||||
Qari Hekmat [1] Mufti Nemat [1] Mullah Ghanzanfar (WIA) | Faiz Mohammad † Sheikh Hamidullah † Shahzada Mazlomyar † Mohibullah † Haji Nokur (POW) | Abdul Rashid Dostum [1] Col. Abdull Hafiz Khashi [2] Mohammad Reza Ghafori [3] Brig. Gen. Rahmatullah Turkistani [4] Rahmatullah Husher | ||||||
Units involved | ||||||||
Qari Hekmat's network [1] Mufti Nemat's militia [1] | Unknown |
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Strength | ||||||||
Unknown | Unknown | Hundreds [1] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | ||||||||
15 killed, 22 wounded | 93 killed, 58 wounded, and 63 captured (including drug dealers) | 4 killed | ||||||
1 civilian killed |
The Battle of Darzab was to an armed conflict between Taliban soldiers, fighters of Wilayat Khorasan and soldiers of Afghan armed forces in Darzab District of Jowzjan province.
On 9 April, four Afghan soldiers, including a unit commander, were killed in an ambush as they raced to the scene of the recent clashes in Darzab by ISIL fighters. [5] [6] One day after, Taliban, alongside ISIL fighters attacked Alkhani and Moghol villages of Darzab district, leaving 13 Taliban fighters dead, and 10 ISIL fighters wounded, including ISIL commander Mullah Ghanzanfar. Taliban managed to capture Alkhani, but repelled in Moghol. Separately, a Taliban commander, Faiz Mohammad was killed and one of his fighters wounded when they stormed a security post in Qush Tepa District near Darzab. A civilian woman was also killed when a militant rocket struck a home on the outskirts of the district. [7]
On 26 April, ISIL kidnapped 3 drug dealers in Darzab that were to have an opium deal with the Taliban. Taliban repeatedly asked ISIL to release the captives, but the later refused, leading the Taliban to gather forces in Darzab. After that, ISIL attacked the Taliban killing 79 Taliban fighters, wounding another 57, and capturing another 60. Among the dead Taliban fighters were three commanders, Sheikh Hamidullah, the Taliban district chief for Qush Tapa district and Tawakkal, Shahzada Mazlomyar, and Mohibullah. One Taliban commander was also among the captured, named Haji Nokur. Also, 15 ISIL fighter killed, and 12 wounded. ISIL captured most of Darzab from Taliban, along with Qush Tapa during the fighting. [8] [9] [10] [11]
In 2018, the Taliban launched a major operation to take over the Darzab District and the surrounding districts from IS-KP. The battle was fought for 2 weeks and 6 days until following heavy clashes, IS-KP was defeated, with most of the group's forces in Jowzjan Province killed or captured. 3 out of the 4 IS-KP commanders surrendered to the Taliban. They killed Haji Murad, one of the IS-KP commanders at the battle and who was the Islamic State's deputy commander for Jowzjan. [12] [13] Taliban commander Mullah Burjan was executed [14] and Haji Shakir was killed in action. [13] At the end of the battle, more than 200 militants surrendered to the Taliban.[ citation needed ]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (September 2018) |
Jowzjan, sometimes spelled Jawzjan or Jozjan is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the north of the country bordering neighboring Turkmenistan. The province is divided into 11 districts and contains hundreds of villages. It has a population of about 613,481, which is multi-ethnic and mostly agriculturalists. Sheberghan is the capital of Jozjan province.
Mullah Mansoor Dadullah was the Taliban militant commander Mullah Dadullah's younger half-brother who succeeded him as a senior military commander of the Taliban in southern Afghanistan. He came from the Arghandab district of Kandahar province, and belonged to the Kakar Pashtun tribe.
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The Islamic State – Khorasan Province is a regional branch of the Salafi jihadist group Islamic State (IS) active in South-Central Asia, primarily Afghanistan and Pakistan. ISIS–K seeks to destabilize and replace current governments within the historic Khorasan region with the goal of establishing a caliphate across South and Central Asia, governed under a strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law, which they plan to expand beyond the region.
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Events in the year 2017 in Afghanistan.
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Qari Hekmatullah was an Uzbek Islamic militant and commander for the Islamic State in Afghanistan. With his main base of operations in Darzab District and Qush Tepa District of Jowzjan Province, he extended IS influence into Faryab Province and Sar-e Pol Province.
Events in the year 2018 in Afghanistan.
The Battle of Darzab was a major conflict between the Taliban and the Islamic State's Khorasan Province (ISIS–K) who fought each other over control of Jowzjan Province's Darzab District in Afghanistan. Following heavy clashes, ISIS–K was defeated, with most of the group's forces in Jowzjan Province killed or captured.
Battle of Darzab may refer to either of these events in Darzab District, Jowzjan Province, Afghanistan:
Mufti Nemat, also known as Mufti Nematullah Qaweem Persian: نعمت الله قاویم or Mullah Nemat Mufti, is an Afghan militant and Salafist cleric who served as a field commander for the Taliban and later the Islamic State's Khorasan Province (ISIL-K) in northern Afghanistan, particularly Jowzjan Province. While waging an insurgency against the Afghan government, he has been accused of committing several war crimes.
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This article summarizes the history of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021).
The Islamic State–Taliban conflict is an ongoing insurgency by the Islamic State Khorasan Province (IS-KP) against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. The conflict initially began when both operated as rival insurgent groups in Nangarhar; since the formation of the Taliban's state in 2021, IS-KP members have enacted a campaign of terrorism targeting both civilians and assassinating Taliban members using hit-and-run tactics. The group have also caused incidents and attacks across the border in Pakistan.
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In June 2020, insurgents and the Taliban carried out attacks throughout Afghanistan in a continuation of attacks carried out in May.