Background:
Jabha-ye Qariha (Front of the Qaris, a religious rank) considers itself to be the military wing of Jundullah in Dasht-e Archi District. Qari Aminullah Tayeb, who is originally from Rustaq district in neighbouring Takhar province, initially established Jundullah’s Archi faction. He came to the district in 2013 to serve as a preacher in a mosque. According to locals, Qari Tayeb mostly targets young Uzbek boys, encouraging them to attend his madrasa in Qarloq village, where he spreads a radical interpretation of Islamic ideology and is mobilising them against the government.

Since 2013, Qari Tayeb has been regularly sending groups of boys to Gor Tepa, a large area on the border between Archi and Khwaja Ghar district of Takhar, to receive military training. The front consists of 50 to 60 fighters and a few local commanders such as Qari Asad, Sadam and Nur Muhammad – all Uzbeks from Kunduz province. Several local sources mentioned that this faction is well trained, ready for operations and ideologically hardened; most of the men were ready to kill themselves targeting the government. Jabha-ye Qariha is primarily based in Shahrwan, an area about 15 kilometres northwest of Archi district centre. This area is also known as a safe haven for the Jundullah group, where they maintain a high degree of influence and also some training camps.(20160201)