Influential figures from the Kohdaman region, which encompasses seven districts of Kabul province all north of the city, report the presence of Taliban and Daesh militants in their area and attribute this to recent security incidents. Concern is growing among the people about safety, the elders said.

They said that the government’s inattention to the security of the Kohdaman region has made the area unsafe. 

Seven districts of Kabul, including Mir Bacha Kot, Kalakan, Qara Bagh, Istalif, Guldara,  Farza and Shakar Dara are known as the Kohdaman region. 

The elders said that the Friday’s blast at a mosque in Shakardara, attacks on buses and trucks that travel on the Kabul-North highway, attacks on power pylons and an explosion that targeted a bus carrying health workers have sparked rising concerns. Also, dozens of tankers were burned in fires in the Qala-e-Murad Bek area of Shakar Dara district this month. 

They said the government's inattention to the area has allowed such activities by terrorist groups. 

“We asked the central government many times, but it did not pay attention to the Kohdaman region,” said Lotfullah, a former mujahedeen leader in Kohdaman. 

“Bodies were found here. Their heads were chopped off. Journalists are the witnesses. We see that the government has ignored the north,” said Mawlagul Rasikh, head of the Kabul youth council. 

The residents of the region said that following the May 15 attack on a mosque in Shakar Dara district they started efforts to cooperate with security forces in arresting perpetrators. They said that after their mobilization, three people were arrested from the area by security forces on charges of ties with Daesh. 

“So far we have not received reports about whether it has been done by Daesh, Talib or the Haqqani network,” said Mohammad Gawhar Baburi, the district governor of Shakar Dara. 

Security agencies confirmed to TOLOnews the presence of Taliban and Daesh and other "destructive" groups in the region, but some sources say other groups have been activated in Shakar Dara and Guldara districts where they only focus on destroying and damaging electricity pylons. 

“Some irresponsible people misuse the situation to destroy power pylons,” said Mir Naeem Haidari, a close aide to former mujahedeen leader Mir Amanullah Guzar.  

“Some groups might be behind this (power pylon destruction). Some elders from Kohdaman or those who have an interest in such violence might have a hand in such matters,” said Sayed Fakhruddin Hashimi, a resident of the Kohdaman region.

Areas north of Kabul were the most secure in recent years, but in less than a month the area has witnessed attacks on two passengers’ buses, many targeted attacks, two attacks on fuel truck tankers, a blast at a mosque and the destruction of at least 10 power pylons.