Sources said the Taliban has stationed nearly 3,000 soldiers in Balkhab and its surroundings to suppress commander Mahdi.

Muzaffari served as Sar-e-Pul governor and commander of Taliban corps in Herat after the fall of Kabul.

Sources said Qari Waqas has three villages under his control and at least 300 armed men under his command.

Almost all the victims of the incident are the residents of Barmal and Gayan districts of Paktika.

The quake was also felt in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, and across the northern part of Pakistan.

Qari Waqas, a former Taliban commander, has announced his allegiance to the NRF forces by replacing Taliban flags in areas.

A local official said that at least 50 schools have remained closed in Kunduz province over the last two years.

The blast targeted a vehicle carrying the head of the public hospital in the Ghanikhil district of Nangarhar.

The outpost that NRF claims to have attacked is located in Ghafarkhil village in Hese Dowom-e-Kohistan district.

A source from Helmand said the arrest of the journalist was a plot against him to “keep media workers under.