| Afghanistan |
| Taliban kill HIA commander’s sons in Ghor clash |
| 2018-01-14 |
 [PAJHWOK] Two sons of a former Hezb-i-Islami Afghanistan (HIA) commander have been killed and he injured in a clash with Taliban insurgents in western Ghor province, an official said Saturday. Gunmen loyal to Taliban commander Abdul Hamid...Rest of it's behind the pay wall. |
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| Afghanistan | |
| Tension Reported Between Hizb-e-Islami, Jamiat-e-Islami In Badakhshan | |
| 2016-10-02 | |
 Supporters of Hizb-e-Islami on Friday allegedly attacked supporters of the Jamiat-e-Islami party in Argo district of Badakhshan, leaving two dead and nine wounded, said Maulavi Hamidullah Muslim, a member of Badakhshan's provincial council and supporter of Jamiat-e-Islami.The Afghan Jamaat is distinct from the Pak version. It is mainly Tadjik, and was headed by the assassinated legitimate president of Afghanistan, Barnhanuddin Rabbani. It was "inspired" by the Pak Jamaat, but lost its backing in favor of Hekmatyar's Hezb-i-Islami. Masood, Ismail Khan, and Atta Muhammad Noor were all adherents of the Jamiat. "A number of men related to Hizb-e-Islami on Friday attacked supporters of the Jamiat-e-Islami party and killed two people who were shopkeepers and wounded nine other supporters of Jamiat-e-Islami. Then Akbari's men with his brother attacked on our house and that open fire on us," Muslim said. However, members of Hizb-e-Islami in the province said the attack was not carried out by their supporters.
But he said Hamidullah Muslim, along with his son, Saifullah Muslim a member of parliament had caused problems for Argo residents. "Jamiat-e-Islami and Hizb-e-Islami do not have problems in Badakhshan. Muslim gathered the people and spoke to them over a loud speaker and then attacked the police headquarters. Police reacted to their move and a few people were killed and wounded," Akbari said. "The parties do not have any problems. The clashes happened between irresponsible armed men and the commander of public uprising. After a few hours of firing, police managed to control the situation," said Zahid Mosadiq, district governor of Argo. "Parties do not have problems in Badakhshan, but a number of irresponsible persons used their names. The situation is under control and we are trying to arrest the perpetrators," said Ghulam Sakhi Ghafoori, chief of Badakhshan police. Argo is the biggest and the most secure district of Badakhshan – where Taliban are not active. However, military analysts believe that both parties should call their supporters to order. | |
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| Afghanistan | ||
| Taliban can run for Afghan president: election chief | ||
| 2012-10-31 | ||
| KABUL: The Taliban and other insurgent leaders could stand as candidates in Afghanistan's next presidential election, to be held in April 2014, the country's top poll official said Wednesday. President Hamid Karzai, who is serving his second term as leader of the war-torn nation, is constitutionally barred The vote, scheduled for April 5, 2014, is seen as crucial to Afghan stability after the withdrawal of Nato troops
"We are even prepared to pave the ground for the armed opposition, be it the Taliban or Hezb-i-Islami, to participate in the election, either as voters or candidates," Manawi told a news conference. "There will be no discrimination," the IEC chief added, defending the body in response to a question about its impartiality. Hezb-i-Islami is the faction of former prime minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
Under the IEC timetable, initial results of the election will be announced on April 24 and final results on May 14, with May 28 set aside for any potential run-off vote. | ||
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| Afghanistan |
| Female car bomber kills 12 in Kabul |
| 2012-09-19 |
| KABUL: A female suicide car bomber attacked a van in Kabul yesterday, killing 12 people, including eight South Africans, in an assault insurgents said was revenge for an anti-Islam film made in America. The bombing on a highway leading to Kabul international airport was the second suicide attack in the heavily fortified city in 10 days, reviving questions about stability as NATO accelerates a troop withdrawal and hands over to Afghan forces by the end of 2014. An AFP photographer saw at least six bodies lying among the wreckage of a gutted minivan, and another vehicle destroyed by flames still burning in the middle of the highway, with debris flung all around. At around 6:45 a.m. (0215 GMT) a suicide bomber using a sedan blew himself up along the airport road in District 15. As a result, nine workers of a foreign company and three Afghan civilians are dead, and two police are wounded, police said in a statement. The South African foreign ministry said eight of its citizens working for a private company at the airport were among the dead. The Afghan presidency later confirmed that three Afghans, believed to include the bus driver and an interpreter, and one citizen from Kyrgyzstan were also killed. Eleven other people were wounded, it said in a statement. Afghanistans second largest The bombing was in retaliation for the insult to our Prophet, spokesman Zubair Sidiqi said in a telephone call to AFP from an undisclosed location. It is extremely rare for the faction to claim a suicide attack in Afghanistan. It is also rare for women, few of whom drive in Afghanistan, to carry out suicide attacks. A police investigator said he believed the bomber was female, after finding parts of a womans leg. Womens' legs are covered throughout Afghanistan. How would he know? |
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| Afghanistan |
| Afghan envoy confirms talks with Haqqani network |
| 2012-01-23 |
| The US special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan confirmed a meeting with the Haqqani network, as signs of a dialogue between the United States and This comes after US and the Taliban militants confirmed preliminary talks for opening a liaison office for the Taliban in Doha, the capital of Qatar. After a two day trip to Afghanistan, Grossman said, "I think, from the Afghan prospective anyway, this is an inclusive process but we will have to see what turns out. I am looking forward to the Taliban being clear about breaking ties with international terrorism, denouncing it, distancing themselves from it." Grossman did not say when and where the meeting with the Haqqani network took place. Referring to a Taliban demand to release prisoners held at Gitmo, Grossman said, "We haven't made any decisions and it's no surprise to any of you that this is an issue in the Unites States of law. We have to meet the requirements of our law. No decision has been made about this." On Saturday, President Karzai said that he recently held a meeting with another insurgent faction, Hezb-i-Islami. Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister, Jawid Lodeen, said, "If the United States decides to transfer these detainees to Qatar to the extent to that means these people will be reunited with their families. The Afghan government will support that." |
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| Afghanistan |
| Hizbies deny selling out Taliban |
| 2010-07-11 |
| [Dawn] An Afghan insurgent group rejected on Saturday reports that it was providing intelligence on the Taliban to the government and foreign troops. General Murad Ali Murad, commander of Afghan troops in the north, told Reuters that Hezb-i-Islami fighters had tipped-off government and US forces, revealing locations of key Taliban figures there. "This is part of the propaganda war by the government, foreign troops and those trying to create differences among us," said Haroon Zarghoun, a spokesman for Hezb, which is led by former prime minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. "Anyone doing such work is an apostate and is certainly not a Hezb member," Zarghoun told Reuters by phone from an undisclosed location. Hekmatyar's Hezb is one of three major insurgent groups fighting government and foreign forces in Afghanistan mainly in the east and pockets of the north. STRONGHOLDS The other two, both seen by NATO as bigger threats, are the Taliban, with strongholds in the south, and the Haqqani network, based mainly in the southeast. Ousted in a US led invasion in 2001 the Taliban have re-grouped in their traditional heartlands, but are also now spreading to parts of the north. However the group has lost a number of commanders in the north in operations by Afghan and foreign troops in recent months which senior Afghan officials said were the result of Hezb fighters selling them out. While Hezb shares some of the aims of the Taliban, it has led a largely separate insurgency. Earlier this year, Taliban fighters pushed into Hezb-i-Islami strongholds in the north, leading to clashes between the two groups. Both groups later played down the clashes, but Murad said Hekmatyar's men who came off worse in the fighting were now seeking revenge and were passing on information about their Taliban rivals. Several Taliban commanders, including the deputy shadow governor of Kunduz and a shadow district governor, have been killed in the last three months, NATO has said, some by air strikes as they drove through a remote desert and others as they met in a field. Under NATO rules of engagement, such air strikes would require troops to follow strict procedures for positively identifying the insurgents. This in turn would be heavily dependent on reliable intelligence and could suggest such information came from within the insurgency. Increased localised squabbling could signal divisions in the insurgency after Hezb-i-Islami distanced itself from the Taliban earlier this year when it sent a delegation to Kabul to meet President Hamid Karzai. While the talks ended without breakthrough, Hezb said it would consider negotiating with the government as long as foreign forces withdrew within a specified timeframe. The Taliban have always insisted no talks can take place until all foreign troops leave. |
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| Afghanistan |
| UN Needs Evidence to Delist Taliban Leaders |
| 2010-06-25 |
| [Quqnoos] The UN Security Council is considering removal of the names of Taliban leaders from the UN black list Members of the UN Security Council say that decisions about removing the names will only be made when the Afghan government presents sufficient evidences to prove innocence of the blacklisted ones. The UN Security Council members who are in Kabul to investigate Afghanistan's situation, called their Afghan visit important in a press conference in Kabul, and pledged their firm support for peace and stability in the country. "During our contacts, we have arbitrated the UN Security Council's support and enduring commitment to the people of Afghanistan and its government in furthering peace, development and stability," said a member of the UN Security Council, Urtughal Ipkan. Although, the Afghan government has demanded from the UN Security Council to remove the names of the Taliban leaders from its blacklist, the UN Sanctions Committee said they will soon finish investigating the list of the names. "People who are to be delisted, have to renounce violence, have to lay down arms, break all links with Al-Qaeda and fully accept the Afghan constitution. For any delisting to happen, this requires the consensus of all security members of the UN Security Council. And it is evidently important to have exact information that this criteria has been fulfilled and in this instance, of course the information that can be provided by the Afghan government is of paramount importance," said Chairman of the Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council, Thomas Mayor Herting. The Security Council members said the Afghan government has not handed over any list to them. Of the 500 names on the UN black list, 137 of them are Taliban leaders, including Mullah Omar, the Taliban leader and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the leader of the Islamic Party (Hezb-i-Islami). |
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| Afghanistan |
| Hezb-i-Islami set to meet with UN today |
| 2010-03-26 |
 Representatives of the Hezb-i-Islami, a militant group linked to an infamous Afghan warlord, are hoping to convince UN officials today that the time is right for a peace deal with insurgents.Hezb-i-Islami spokesman Muhammad Daoud Abedi said that the UN asked a delegation for a meeting, which follows talks that the Taliban-linked group had with President Hamid Karzai earlier this week. EU representatives: He said the group also plans to speak with representatives from the European Union, but an official at the EU office said he had no knowledge of any meeting with the delegation. Talk about possible reconciliation with insurgent groups, however, has not reduced violence, especially in southern Afghanistan where a major military operation is under way to rout the Taliban from parts of Helmand province. NATO said two service members were killed on Wednesday in a bombing, and another died as a result of small-arms attack, in the south. It is the first time that high-ranking representatives of the insurgent group, led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, have travelled to Kabul to discuss peace. It's uncertain whether the talks with Hekmatyar's group will lead to an end game in the eight-year war, given the group's demand for a quick exit of foreign forces. Hezb-i-Islami wants international forces to begin withdrawing in July - a year ahead of President Barack Obama's desired deadline to begin a pullout, if conditions allow. But Abedi said the group is flexible on that main point of its 15-point peace offer. "That is a starting point," Abedi said in a telephone interview. "If we start the process, we can be ready by another year or so. If President Obama wants the situation to be right for the withdrawal of the foreign forces from Afghanistan, he should start talking and taking some firm, honest steps to make the situation acceptable for that day. That's why we are putting this proposal on the table, to say 'If you really mean this, then let's work and get this thing done",' he said. US Embassy spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden has said US officials have no plans to meet with representatives of Hekmatyar's group. Abedi said the delegation hoped European officials would persuade the US government to get involved in the negotiations. "The ball is in their court." Abedi said. "If the US government would like to leave in honour and leave something behind that the Afghan people and the international community would be proud and grateful for, it is good for them to expedite the peace process, get involved in the negotiations and bring out their concerns so we could answer them and together we could get this all done and bring this ugly war to an end," he added. |
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| Afghanistan |
| Taliban say not involved in Kabul peace talks |
| 2010-03-24 |
| [Dawn] The Taliban are not involved in peace talks between an insurgent faction and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, and will not agree to talks until Western troops are withdrawn from the country, a spokesman said on Tuesday. Karzai's office said on Monday he had held his first direct talks in Kabul with a senior delegation from Hezb-i-Islami, one of the three main insurgent groups in the country and rivals to the Taliban. The meeting was an unprecedented success in Karzai's efforts to reach out to insurgents this year, a crucial time when Washington is sending a "surge" of extra combat troops before planning to start withdrawing next year. Although the talks appeared to be preliminary, the publicly acknowledged face-to-face meeting was a significant milestone: previous contacts with insurgents have been furtive and conducted through mediators, mostly overseas. The Hezb-i-Islami team, which included the son-in-law of the group's fugitive leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, brought a 15-point peace plan including a call for all foreign troops to withdraw this year, though a spokesman said the demands were negotiable. A separate peace with Hezb-i-Islami could markedly change the balance of power on the ground in the east and northeast of the country where the group is mostly active. But the main prize would be talks with the Taliban themselves, more powerful than at any time since they were driven from Kabul in 2001 by US-backed Afghan militia. A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said his movement, which refers to itself as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the country's name when it ruled from 1996-2001, had not altered its position: that no talks could be held until troops withdraw. "The Islamic Emirate has a clear position. We have said this many, many times. There will be no talks when there are foreign troops on Afghanistan's soil killing innocent Afghans on daily basis," Mujahid said. "If the representatives from Hezb-i-Islami are in Kabul for talks, it's their choice," he added. Taliban encroach on Hezb-i-Islami turf The Taliban, the biggest insurgent group, have their bases in the south, but operate throughout much of the country and have encroached on Hezb-i-Islmai turf in the northeast and east in recent months. Taliban fighters clashed with Hezb-i-Islami militants in the north of the country two weeks ago, which the government said led some Hezb-i-Islami guerrillas to seek its protection. Although direct contacts between the government and senior Taliban officials have been denied by both sides, Western officials say they believe indirect and lower-level contacts have taken place throughout eight years of war. The outgoing UN mission chief in Kabul, Kai Eide, said last week he had held meetings with Taliban representatives over the past year, which ended abruptly this year when Pakistan arrested the number two Taliban leader, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar. Some Afghan officials have said the government had made contact with Baradar, and blame Islamabad for arresting him to ensure that it has leverage over any future talks. Karzai's spokesman has said the government had no "direct" contacts with Baradar, but declined to comment on whether it had had "indirect" contacts. |
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| Afghanistan |
| Hekmatyar Dispatches Peace Brokers to Kabul |
| 2010-03-23 |
| [Quqnoos] A delegation representing Hizb-e Islami of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar is in Kabul for peace talks with the Afghan government, an official said A peace deal between Kabul and Hizb-e Islami, Afghansitan's second-largest insurgent group, possibly mark the biggest split in insurgent ranks since 2001. The five-member delegation of Hezb-i-Islami, a movement led by warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, has already arrived in Kabul, said the group's spokesman Haroon Zarghoon, who is based in Pakistan. The delegates plan to meet President Hamid Karzai, US officials and others "to discuss Hezb-i-Islami's agenda on how to bring durable peace to Afghanistan," Zarghoon told The Wall Street Journal. The delegation was headed by Qutbuddin Helal, a former prime minister and deputy to the group's leader, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the official told WSJ. Hezb-e Islami of Gulbuddin has carried out hunderds of attacks on Afghan and foreing troops over the past eight years from its strongholds in east and northern Afghaistan. |
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| Afghanistan |
| US Killed Al Qaeda's Lashkar Al Zil Commander In Airstrike |
| 2010-01-07 |
| Al Qaeda has confirmed that the US killed the leader of the Lashkar al Zil, or the Shadow Army, the terror group's military organization along the Afghan and Pakistani border. Mustafa Abu Yazid, al Qaeda's leader in Afghanistan, said that Abdullah Said al Libi was killed in a US airstrike in Pakistan. Yazid confirmed that Al Libi was killed in a tape praising the suicide attack on the CIA base in Khost. Yazid also confirmed that Saleh al Somali, al Qaeda's former external operations chief, was also killed in a US attack. Yazid said the suicide attack against the CIA at Combat Outpost Chapman in Khost province on Dec. 30, 2009, was carried out by an al Qaeda operative named Dr. Abu Dujanah al Khurasani. Media reports indicate the attack was carried out by a Jordanian doctor named Humam Khalil Muhammed Abu Mulal al Balawi, who enticed the CIA with promises of being able to produce Ayman al Zawahiri, al Qaeda's second in command. Khurasani and Balawi are indeed the same person. The suicide attack, which killed seven CIA operatives and a Jordanian intelligence official, was designed to "avenge" the death of al Libi, Somali, and former Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, Yazid said, according to a translation of his statement received by The Long War Journal. "[This attack was carried out] to avenge our righteous martyrs, as he [Khurasani/Balawi] (may God have mercy on him) wrote in his will: 'To avenge the leader, Amir Baitullah Mehsud, the leaders Abu Saleh al Somali and Abdullah Said al Libi, and their brothers (may God have mercy on them)." But Abdullah Said al Libi was not listed by US intelligence as being killed during recent strikes. "[Mustafa Abu Yazid's statement] is our first true indication that Abdullah Said al-Libi is dead, which is the subtext for why Ilyas Kashmiri has been listed as the Lashkar al Zil commander in recent media reports," a senior US military intelligence official told The Long War Journal. It is not clear exactly when al Libi was killed. The Lashkar al Zil, or Shadow Army, is the successor to al Qaeda's notorious Brigade 055, the military formation that fought alongside the Taliban in Afghanistan from 1996-2002. The Shadow Army formed from the ashes of 055 Brigade in Pakistan's tribal areas from 2002-2006. The Shadow Army has been expanded to six brigades, and has an estimated 8,000 to 12,000 fighters. In addition to dispatching small teams of embedded trainers to Taliban units, the Shadow Army fights in military formations along the Afghan and Pakistani border region. The Shadow Army occasional fights alongside the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban, Hezb-i-Islami Gulbuddin>Hezb-i-Islami Gulbuddin, and the Haqqani Network, in formations ranging from squad to company level. Evidence of this was seen recently in Swat and Bajaur in Pakistan, where the Pakistani Army met stiff resistance in some battles, as well as during battles in North and South Waziristan in 2007 and 2008. The Shadow Army also played a role in the assaults on joint US and Afghan outposts in Nuristan province last fall, as well as in a series of attacks last year on outposts in the Afghan provinces of Paktika, Paktia, Khost, Kunar, and Nuristan. The most publicized attack took place in July 2008 in Wanat in Nuristan, when nine US soldiers were killed and the base was nearly overrun. The US has targeted the leaders of the Shadow Army during its air campaign in Pakistan's northwest. The US killed Khalid Habib, the former leader of the Shadow Army, during an airstrike in South Waziristan in Pakistan last November. Habib was replaced by Abdullah Said al Libi. The US also killed Zuhaib al Zahib, a senior commander in the Shadow Army during a strike at the end of December. |
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| Afghanistan |
| 16 Afghan Police Killed In Taliban Attacks |
| 2009-12-15 |
 [Quqnoos] At least 16 Afghan policemen have been killed in two attacks on checkpoints in Afghanistan's north and south.The Afghan Interior ministry says an attack at a checkpoint in southern Helmand province Monday killed eight policemen. The ministry says attackers killed another eight policemen during an assault on a major highway in northeastern Baghlan province on Sunday night. Authorities said police killed at least two militants during the attack in Baghlan and blamed the assault on Hezb-i-Islami, a militant group that is allied to the Taliban. Attacks on police in Baghlan are rare. The militant strike was one of the deadliest for the police force in Baghlan province for the past few years. The attacks spark a rise in Taliban-led insurgency after US President Barack Obama authorised the deployment of extra 30,000 troops to turn around the war in Afghanistan. |
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