At least 30 Taliban terrorists were killed when a bomb detonated during a bomb-making class at a mosque in the Balkh province of Afghanistan. The mosque is situated in a village in Dowlatabad district, where the group had gathered to be trained in making bombs and improvised explosive devices (IED).
According to intelligence, among the dead were 24 Afghani while the other six are reportedly foreigners who are expert mine-makers and as such facilitating the training of the locals.
The explosion also destroyed a large cache of explosives the group had assembled in a mosque. In the past, the Taliban would only have suffered losses of less than 10 jihadists while either planting a bomb or making a mine, but this is the first time they suffered such heavy losses.
The presence of such a huge number of jihadist training to make bombs poses a major threat to the security of the province that has been relatively secure for years until recently. The presence has increased partly due to the reduction of US-led troops in the past few years as well as the infighting among government leaders.
