3. Biodata:
Sher Mohammad Ghazanfar is a local strongman and a resident of the Sayad district. He allegedly announced allegiance to the Islamic State group after escaping from prison.(20150115)

Background:
Dozens of Taliban and allegedly IS group fighters under the command of Sher Mohammad Ghazanfar, a local Taliban commander who allegedly pledged allegiance to IS, launched a co-ordinated attack  on predominately Shia village of Mirzawalang village and killed more than 50 men, women and children. Mohammad Noor Rahmani, head of Sar-e-Pul's provincial council, said 44 of the 50 victims were believed to be civilians, with the ALP militia also suffering casualties. (20170803) Sayad district, in northern Sar-e-Pul province, had put up a fierce defense over the past two years against attacks by insurgents as other parts of the province seemed to be buckling under Taliban pressure. Several local officials say the Taliban joined forces with Sher Mohammed Ghazanfar, to overrun the Mirza Olang area. Those who were killed in Mirza Olang were Shiites, belonging to Afghanistan’s Hazara ethnic group.Then he turned to blocking local militiamen, as well as civilians, from fleeing. Mirza Olang had served as a buffer for the provincial capital, Sar-e-Pul city, and that now it would be under threat.
With Salafist influences and sympathies for Daesh spreading among some limited religious circles and younger fighters, or due to funding and supply issues, local commanders might find it opportune to signal readiness to ally to Daesh, or at least explore the option. This seems to have been the case with commander Ghazanfar. His case and research quoted above also show that the Taleban are still able to reign in such commanders in most cases. In this light, to interpret the Sayad attack as a joint ‘Taleban-Daesh’ operation stretches the facts too far.