The Taliban`s director of information and culture in Afghanistan`s northeastern Badakhshan province was killed in a shooting on Tuesday, Taliban officials and a source told Amu TV, in the latest sign of deteriorating security in a province that has seen weeks of unrest. 

A source familiar with the incident said Zabihullah Amiri was traveling on the road between Faizabad, the provincial capital, and Baharak district when armed men on motorcycles opened fire on his vehicle, killing him.

The Taliban`s police command in Badakhshan said one of the assailants was killed during the incident and another was arrested. They did not identify the attackers or say who they believed was responsible.

The killing comes after weeks of escalating violence in Badakhshan, where anti-Taliban armed groups have stepped up operations in several districts.

The Afghanistan Freedom Front said its forces clashed overnight with Taliban forces in Zebak district after the Taliban launched what it described as multiple attacks on its positions. The front claimed it repelled the assaults and inflicted casualties on Taliban forces.

However, sources within the Taliban`s intelligence service told Amu that Taliban carried out airstrikes late Monday in Pakistan`s Chitral district, targeting what they described as positions of armed opposition groups in the Shah Salim area.

Daoud Naji, head of the Freedom Front`s political committee, dismissed the Taliban`s account, calling it propaganda. He told Amu that their forces remain stationed in Zebak.

Taliban have acknowledged recent fighting in Badakhshan but say armed opponents entered the province from neighboring Pakistan. Anti-Taliban groups deny the allegation.

The violence marks a shift in the security situation in Badakhshan, where armed opposition groups had previously relied largely on guerrilla attacks. The United Nations has documented dozens of such attacks since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.

In recent weeks, however, anti-Taliban groups have reported larger-scale operations in several districts, including Yaftal-e Paeen, Zebak and Darayem, underscoring an apparent increase in the intensity of the conflict.