Taliban music ban raid at Afghan wedding leaves one dead in Badakhshan

A Taliban raid to stop music at a wedding in Afghanistan's northeastern Badakhshan province turned deadly when a gunfight broke out, killing one Taliban official and wounding at least four other people, local sources said Sunday.

The Taliban's morality police entered a wedding ceremony in the village of Wandian in the Shahr-e Bozorg district on Saturday night to halt music and celebratory gunfire, according to sources who spoke to Afghanistan International. Qari Abdul Hadi, the Taliban police chief for counter-terrorism in the district, was killed in the ensuing clash, while two other Taliban members and at least two local residents were seriously wounded.

Residents said Taliban forces opened fire on villagers first, and that at least 25 people were detained afterward as house-to-house searches and harassment continued in the area. The Taliban has not confirmed the incident. Since seizing Kabul in August 2021, the group has banned all production, publication and playing of music across Afghanistan.