Recent Appearances...

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Recent Appearances...

Afghanistan

Explosion rocks a New Kabul Bank branch in Kandahar, injuring 8

2024-03-22

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.

[Regnum] An explosion occurred on March 21 at a branch of New Kabul Bank in the Afghan city of Kandahar. Eight people were injured, crisis24 portal reported. garda.com.

The department is located near the city police building.

According to the police, the explosion was aimed at people who came to the bank to collect their salaries. All of them are members of the Taliban (an organization whose activities are banned in the Russian Federation).

So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the explosion.

As Regnum reported, in early February, an explosion occurred near the headquarters of a political party in the Pakistani province of Balochistan. Eight people died.

The incident occurred the day before the parliamentary elections.

Link

Afghanistan

The National Resistance Council for the Salvation of Afghanistan: The Taliban have killed 17 Hazaras in Uruzgan Province in the Last Two Years

2023-09-25

[8am] Following the recent killing of two Hazara
...a grouping of Dari-speaking people of Sino-Tibetan descent inhabiting Afghanistan and Pakistain. They are predominantly Shia Moslems and not particularly warlike, which makes them favored targets...
individuals in the Khas Uruzgan district of Uruzgan province, the National Resistance® Council for the Salvation of Afghanistan has asserted that, in the past two years, the Taliban
Taliban

...Arabic for students...
have been responsible for the deaths of 17 Hazara residents.

The National Resistance® Council for the Salvation of Afghanistan issued a statement on Saturday night, September 23, denouncing this act by the Taliban as a "systematic massacre" of Shia and Hazara people.

The statement by this council reads: "In the recent incident, two individuals named Haji Hassan and Ali Khan, who were father and son, were brutally martyred and beheaded in the Tangi Mami area of Joye- Naw region in Khas Uruzgan district of the province. Prior to that, on September 12, a person named Sayed Amir Alawi suspiciously lost his life in the Joye- Naw region."

According to this statement, armed local individuals, with Taliban support, have set farms, and houses on fire, cut down trees, and looted the belongings of the people in this region.

The National Resistance® Council for the Salvation of Afghanistan continues to remind that Taliban members are also engaged in suppressing residents in Panjshir province, and the Andarab districts of Baghlan province.

This council calls for investigations into the committed crimes and immediate actions to prevent similar events in Afghanistan by international bodies, especially the United Nations
...an organization which on balance has done more bad than good, with the good not done well and the bad done thoroughly...
Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) office in Kabul.

This comes as two days ago, Muhammad Mohaqiq, the leader of the People’s Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan, claimed that Talibs had killed a father and son in the province of Uruzgan.

The Taliban have not made any statements regarding this matter yet.

Link

Down Under

Australia's Most Decorated War Veteran 'Responsible for Murder': Judge

2023-06-06

[ToloNews] Australia's most decorated soldier was "complicit in and responsible for the murder" of three Afghan men on deployment, a judge said, elaborating on his finding against the former SAS special forces corporal in a blockbuster defamation trial.

Ben Roberts-Smith, holder of the Victoria Cross and other top military honours, was also "not an honest and reliable witness in ... many areas" and a bully toward other Australian soldiers, Federal Court Judge Anthony Besanko said in his full judgement released on Monday.

Besanko on Thursday threw out Roberts-Smith's defamation case against three Australian newspapers which had accused him of unlawful killings in Afghanistan. Besanko said the media outlets had proven substantial truth in their reporting, ending a case which lifted the veil of secrecy over the elite SAS.

Australian civil courts require a lower threshold to prove accusations than criminal courts do. Roberts-Smith has not been charged with any offences and has not commented since the ruling. His lawyer was not immediately available for comment.
"I can say no more!"
Roberts-Smith has since quit his job as a television executive.

Besanko delayed releasing reasons for his judgement until Monday to allow the Australian government time to ensure it did not inadvertently divulge national security secrets.

"I have found that the applicant (Roberts-Smith) was complicit in and responsible for the murder of EKIA56 ... in 2009 and the murder of Ali Jan at Darwan on 11 September 2012 and the murder of the Afghan male at Chinartu on 12 October 2012," Besanko said in his 736-page civil court judgment.

Roberts-Smith was accused by the newspapers of ordering a lower-ranking soldier to shoot dead an "older Afghan male", identified in the case as EKIA56, to "blood the rookie", he said.

In addition, Besanko said: "I find that in a compound in Chinartu ... the applicant, through an interpreter ordered (an un-named person) to shoot an Afghan male who was under detention".

A soldier who was there "shot the Afghan male in circumstances amounting to murder. The applicant (Roberts-Smith) was complicit in and responsible for murder," the judgment said.

Besanko found Roberts-Smith engaged in a "campaign of bullying" against another Australian soldier, including what he called a "death threat" when Roberts-Smith said: "if your performance doesn't improve on our next patrol, you're going to get a bullet in the back of the head."

He also said Roberts-Smith was not a reliable witness in one of the country's longest-running defamation cases and had reasons to lie.

"The applicant has motives to lie, being a financial motive to support his claim for damages in these proceedings, a motive to restore his reputation which he contends has been destroyed by the publication of the articles and significantly, a motive to resist findings against him which may affect whether further action is taken against him," Besanko said wrote.

"I find that the applicant was not an honest and reliable witness in ... many areas," he added.

Roberts-Smith, 44, was seen as a national hero, with his portrait hanging in the Australian War Memorial, for his actions during six tours of Afghanistan from 2006 to 2012 and military citations. A 2020 report found credible evidence that members of Australia's Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) killed dozens of unarmed prisoners in the lengthy Afghan war. Only one soldier has been charged.

The Australian government is looking for "a way forward" to compensate families of victims of alleged war crimes in Afghanistan, the defense minister told legal advocates, the Guardian reported.

Officials continue to warn about the complexity of the compensation issue, one of the key outstanding recommendations from the Brereton inquiry into alleged war crimes by Australian special forces soldiers, according to the Guardian.

TOLOnews reached out to some family members of the victims in Uruzgan provinces, where the Australian soldiers were settled under the command of ISAF/Resolute Support forces.

The residents claim that hundreds of people were either killed or maimed in night raids being conducted by Australian forces in Uruzgan.

Link

Down Under

Australian soldier loses war crimes defamation case

2023-06-02

[DW] In 2018, media reports alleged decorated SAS veteran Ben Roberts-Smith was involved in the murder of six unarmed prisoners in Afghanistan.

A contentious trial filled with allegations of murder, domestic violence, witness intimidation and war crimes saw one of Australia's most decorated soldiers lose a landmark defamation case against major newspapers on Thursday.

Ben Roberts-Smith, a former member of Australia's elite Special Air Services (SAS) regiment, had sued three newspapers — the Sydney Morning Herald, the Age, and the Canberra Times — over reports published in 2018 that alleged his involvement in the unlawful killing of six unarmed prisoners in Afghanistan.

The reports had painted the former special forces corporal as someone who violated the moral and legal rules of military engagement, he claimed.

The Australian court dismissed the case saying the newspapers had substantiated many of their allegations as "substantially true."
For varying degrees of "substantially" and "true", including "none"
The Taliban
Taliban

...Arabic for students...
group, the Islamist de facto ruler of Afghanistan before the 2001 US invasion as well as since August 2021, said the incidents investigated by the Australian court were all but a "small part" of the many alleged crimes which took place during the 20-year war.

The group's administration front man Bilal Karimi was cited by the Rooters news agency as saying foreign forces had committed "uncountable crimes" throughout the war. He added that the group did not trust any court globally to follow up all crimes.

AUTHORITIES LOOK INTO ILLEGAL CONDUCT BY SOLDIERS
In March, Australian police charged the first veteran in connection with an alleged killing in Afghanistan, following the Brereton investigation that identified potential illegal conduct by 19 Australian special forces soldiers during the conflict.

Oliver Schulz, a former SAS trooper, faced a murder charge for the death of an Afghan individual shot in the Uruzgan province in 2012.

The Australian police, in collaboration with the Office of the Special Investigator established in 2021, are actively working to build cases against elite SAS and Commando Regiment troops who served in Afghanistan from 2005 to 2016.

Over the course of 20 years, more than 39,000 Australian military personnel served in Afghanistan until the withdrawal in 2021, with 41 casualties suffered during the mission.

US FEAR SAS 'TAINTED'
The United States had previously cautioned that allegations of war crimes against Australian soldiers in Afghanistan could hinder cooperation with Australia's Special Air Service Regiment.

General Angus Campbell, Australia's defense force chief, revealed that he had received a letter in March 2021 from the US defense attaché in Canberra, suggesting that the elite SAS may have been "tainted" by the war crime allegations highlighted in the Brereton report.

The report contained "credible information" indicating that Australian soldiers had unlawfully killed 39 Afghan prisoners and civilians, the letter said.

It also warned that these allegations could trigger a US law that prohibits military collaboration with units associated with grave human rights
One man's rights are another man's existential threat.
violations.

Link

Afghanistan

US Has Suspended Assistance Operations in Ghor: Miller

2023-05-27

[ToloNews] The US Department of State spokesperson said that Washington has suspended operations in Ghor province following "evidence of continued attempts by the Taliban
Taliban

...Arabic for students...
" to divert assistance.

I’m shocked. Not that the Taliban would steal it, but that the Biden administration would actually show some spine.

Speaking to news hounds in Washington D.C., the US State Department’s Spokesman Mathew Miller also said that the World Food Program halted distribution in two districts of Ghazni province from January to April, when local officials attempted to interfere in distribution.

"In April, another US government partner suspended activities in Uruzgan province after the Taliban issued demands to provide transportation support to Taliban representatives ... We have been very clear. We don’t provide funding for the Taliban and we have a very strict monitoring and compliance process in place for the partner with which we do work," he said.

"The Islamic Emirate has the control of the whole country. And there is no doubt that they also have access to this money," said Seyar Qureshi, an economist.

Miller said that the State Department and US Agency for International and Development (USAID) worked with all partners to provide basic needs assistance to the people of Afghanistan.

"The State Department and USAID continue to work with the World Bank, with the UN, with NGOs and other implementing partners and like-minded governments to provide humanitarian basic needs assistance to the people of Afghanistan. Not to the Taliban," Miller said.

This comes as the Ministry of Economy (MoE) said that the suspension of some aid by the US will damage Afghanistan.

"The suspension of aid will damage the people of Afghanistan and it will cause livelihood challenges and so we demand that the US release the money of the people of Afghanistan," said Abdul Latif Nazari, the deputy Minister of Economy.

"The reduction of aid by the US is kind of a pressure tactic on the Taliban and it can also be because of the lack of a formation of an inclusive government which is in favor of the US and West," said Sayed Masoud, an economist.

Earlier, speaking to the US House Oversight Committee, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconciliation (SIGAR) John Sopko testified that he cannot say whether the US assistance is currently not "funding the Taliban."

Link

Down Under

Former Australian Soldier Charged for War Crimes in Afghanistan

2023-03-21

[KhaamaPress] Based on the results of a murder investigation into alleged war crimes in Afghanistan, a former Australian Special Air Service (SAS) member was charged with murder on Monday.

According to a statement released by the Australian Federal Police, a 41-year-old man has been arrested in New South Wales and charged with the war crime of murder.

"It will be alleged he murdered an Afghan man while deployed to Afghanistan", the statement said. The probe, carried out by the Office of the Special Investigator (OSI), was set up in 2021 to investigate the alleged war crimes.

The report said that 19 current and former members of the SAS and Commando Regiments who served in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016 are the subject of criminal investigations. The investigation has led to several arrests, but Schulz is the first.

According to the statement, the maximum sentence for the crime is life imprisonment. The man has been arrested and placed in jail until his court date.

An alleged helmet cam footage of Schulz, identified as Soldier C, shooting an Afghan man in a wheat field in Uruzgan province in 2012 was aired by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in its documentary Four Corners in 2020.

Almost 30,000 Australian military soldiers served in Afghanistan during the country’s 20-year tenure until the withdrawal two years ago. At least 41 Australian soldiers have bit the dust while fighting in the US against hard boy organizations.

The Australian Defense Force (ADF) has stated that an unrestrained "warrior culture" among the soldiers is to blame for these crimes.

Update from the BBC at 11:30 a.m. ET:

Oliver Schulz, 41, is the first Australian serviceman or veteran to be charged with a war crime under Australian law.

There’s a nice photo of Sgt. Schulz at the link from back in the day, showing him firmly squared away.

The offence carries a maximum sentence of life in jail.

He was arrested on Monday in New South Wales (NSW) and has been remanded in custody.

The investigation was carried out by the Office of the Special Investigator (OSI), the body set up to investigate alleged war crimes following a four-year inquiry led by an Army Reserve major general and NSW Supreme Court judge Paul Brereton.

The Brereton Report - released in 2020 - found there was "credible evidence" that Australian elite soldiers unlawfully killed 39 people during the Afghan war.

It said 19 current or ex-special forces soldiers should be investigated by police over killings of "prisoners, farmers or civilians" from 2009 to 2013.

This is believed to be the first arrest linked to that inquiry.

Link

Afghanistan

Daily Evacuation Brief January 27, 2023

2023-01-27

[AfghanDigest] LAST 24 HOURS

THREE MONTHS AFTER ANNOUNCING A LARGE-SCALE AFGHAN REFUGEE INITIATIVE, GERMANY HAS YET TO RECEIVE PEOPLE – After making several public announcements about the new program in the Fall of 2022, German authorities were forced to admit that no Afghans had yet been processed under the new program. At the time of the announcement, Germany had successfully transported nearly 1,000 Afghan refugees a month but things have slowed to a crawl since October 2022. It is not clear when a resumption is expected.

GREAT BRITAIN ANNOUNCES CHANGES TO AFGHAN REFUGEE PROGRAM – Parliament announced a few changes to the UK immigration routes for Afghan nationals. The changes have added special immigration provisions for Afghan civilians who the government had employed. Scroll down to the International News section to find the article and a link to the report.

UZBEKISTAN POWER EXPORTS HAVE YET TO RESUME – Several cities, including the capital, remain without power as another technical issue appears to have caused a delay in the resumption of electricity transmissions from Uzbekistan. Residents in Kabul expressed their outrage over the lack of current and have lost the means to communicate as cellular services have been affected as well.

JUST OVER A YEAR AFTER JAILS WERE EMPTIED, THE TALIBAN HAVE FILLED THEM BACK UP – Most of Afghanistan’s jails were emptied after the Taliban swept back into power in 2021. However, Taliban officials have been busy filling them back up in the intervening period. The Taliban claim to be holding 14,000 prisoners across its jail system and has said that nearly 30,000 were confined at one point in 2022. They say that most are not political prisoners and are being held for crimes punishable under Sharia law. Conditions in jails are a concern to human rights organizations. The suspension of aid is thought to have worsened the plight of many prisoners. ICRC and UNAMA do have periodic access to the facilities.

SEVERAL PROTESTS STAGED IN CITIES TO PROTEST BURNING OF QURAN IN SWEDEN – Several thousand people took part in the protests aimed at criticizing Sweden’s failure to act when a far-right Danish politician publicly burned the Muslim holy book outside of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm. Demonstrations in Logar, Kunar, and Uruzgan provinces drew roughly 3,000 protestors to city centers. Sweden has come under fire from many in the international community for failing to ban the act.

NEXT 24 HOURS
THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL MEETING ON AFGHANISTAN TODAY – The meeting will include a briefing from several UN officials who have just returned from Afghanistan. The report is expected to be negative. While no resolutions are on the table, it is believed that a tougher line is being sought from many on the council with the Taliban and discussions may hint at additional steps to isolate the group.

Link

Afghanistan

Dutch Airstrike of Afghanistan in 2007 Ruled 'Unlawful' by Court in the Netherlands

2022-11-25

More on this story from yesterday.

[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A Dutch court found on Wednesday that the bombing of a civilian complex in the central Afghan province of Uruzgan by Dutch forces in June 2007 was "unlawful" and that the Netherlands should compensate for the victims’ losses.

In response to a report from a war veteran raising concerns about the legality of this action in the Chora valley of Uruzgan province, the Dutch Defense Ministry requested prosecutors look into this bombardment, which resulted in the deaths of numerous civilians.

In response to the incident that occurred during battle between multinational forces and the Taliban
Taliban

...mindless ferocity in a turban...
in the province of Uruzgan in central Afghanistan, four Afghans who were not identified in court documents reportedly sued the Dutch government.

Early on June 17, 2007, Dutch F-16 military aircraft launched 28 guided bombs in the region, 18 of which landed on "qalas," or fortified compounds, close to the major town of Chora, the evaluated.

According to Dutch court records, the wife, two daughters, three sons, and a daughter-in-law of one of the people who complained to the court were among the victims of this horrific bombing.

According to the court, Dutch soldiers had not made a proper distinction between military and civilian objectives.

The court further stated that the precise sum of compensation to be given to the attack victims will be determined at a later time, and the Dutch Defense Ministry said it will consider the court decision.

Link

India-Pakistan

Former Afghan Police Commander Assassinated in Pakistan

2022-10-11

[Khaama (Afghanistan)] Abdul Samad Achakzai, a former commander of the Afghan police, was assassinated by unidentified gunnies in Quetta, the placid provincial capital of Pakistain’s Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
, said local sources.

According to local sources, the incident that resulted in the death of an Afghan national who was also a former police commander took place on Sunday, October 9.

A former military man, who confirmed the death of former commander Achakzai, also said that he escaped to Pakistain to save his life after the republic regime collapsed to the Taliban
Taliban

...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
The former military member praised Achakzai as a brave commander and claimed that he was heavily involved in the conflict in the southern provinces, defending the country.

The security officials of the government of Pakistain have not yet responded to the incident.

Abdul Samad Achakzai was a former commander of the local police for Uruzgan province in the center of Afghanistan, who also served as the police chief for the Panjwayi district of Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan.

Previously, in a video message, Samad Khan Achakzai allegedly denounced the attack on the Kaaj education center in the west of Kabul, the Afghan capital, and said that he was determined to serve the country as long as he lived.

Update from Dawn at 1:00 p.m. ET:

Police officials said the incident took place on Sunday in The Eastern Bypass area.

The button men on a cycle of violence opened fire on Abdul Samad Achakzai who was riding a cycle of violence

along with his brother.

"Abdul Samad Achakzai suffered multiple bullet injuries and went titzup, while his brother remained unhurt. However,
those who apply themselves too closely to little things often become incapable of great things...
one passerby suffered a bullet injury," Manzoor Ahmed, a police brass hat of the area, said, adding that soon after the incident police reached the area and took the body and the injured to Civil Hospital.

A former adviser to former Afghan president Ghani on public affairs, Akhtar Muhammad Badezai, on his Facebook page confirmed that Achakzai was a police commander and served as deputy commander in Panjvai district of Kandahar province till the Afghan Taliban captured Kabul in August last year.

Achakzai also served as police commander in Urazgan province. He was a close relative of General Abdul Raziq Achakzai, who was the chief of Kandahar border police.

The former Afghan police officer, after the fall of the Ghani government, beat feet from Kandahar and moved to Quetta. According to police, his brother has an Afghan refugee card, but Achakzai was living with him illegally as he had no residency documents.

Link

Afghanistan

Taliban’s caretaker cabinet to last for six months, more about key members

2021-09-10

[KhaamaPress] Former officials of the Taliban
Taliban

...Arabic for students...
believe that the newly announced cabinet of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan will last for six months and then the official cabinet will be announced.

The former official has said that the official cabinet will be announced based on the votes and willingness of the Afghan people and will include all classes.

A 33-member all-men caretaker cabinet which was announced on Tuesday, September 7 has triggered mixed reactions inside Afghanistan.

A number of Afghan leaders who are in exile have reacted to the cabinet as being monopolized by a single ethnic group (Pashtoon) and have asked the international community not to recognize as the Taliban will threaten the region and world.

Son of the slain Ahmad Shah Masoud, Ahmad Masoud has called the cabinet illegal and said that they will declare a parallel government which will be transitional and democratic.

On the other hand, political analysts in Afghanistan believe the cabinet to be much required in the current situation in order for the lives of people to come to normal.

They believe that the Taliban want to assess their capacity and see what the possible international and internal reactions are to the caretaker cabinet.

Former Taliban officials believe that the official cabinet of the Taliban will include women, experts and will be all-inclusive.

More about the interim government

[ToloNews] The Taliban
...Arabic for students...
's new government in Afghanistan will be led by the Taliban leader Mullah pkesman for the Taliban, said that the group will reject foreigners’ intervention over the name and structure of the next government.

"We will not allow anyone to interfere in Afghanistan’s affairs. The government name, its type, and form belong to the Afghans and they will decide," Mujahid said.

The Taliban also said the new government is the "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan."

"The new government in Afghanistan has officially started its work under the name of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan," said Anaamullah Samangani, a member of the Taliban’s cultural commission.

In the new cabinet announced on Tuesday, Mullah Hassan Akhundzada was appointed as the head of state (prime minister), with Mullah Baradar and Mawlawi Hannafi as his deputies.

A short biography of the key members:

Among those named for the new cabinet are members of the Taliban negotiating team in Qatar
...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi...
and some who were imprisoned in the US's Guantanamo detention center.

Mullah Hassan Akhundzada, 65, who is the Prime Minister (head of state) is originally from Shah Walikot district of Kandahar province. Akhundzada held various posts during the first Taliban regime--lasting between 1996 and 2001--such as foreign minister, governor of Kandahar and as a military official in the north of Afghanistan.

Abdul Ghani Barader, 45, a co-founder of the Taliban led by Mullah Mohammad Blinky Omar

...a minor Pashtun commander in the war against the Soviets who made good as leader of the Taliban. As ruler of Afghanistan, he took the title Leader of the Faithful. The imposition of Pashtunkhwa on the nation institutionalized ignorance and brutality in a country already notable for its own fair share of ignorance and brutality. Died of an unspecified ailment in a Pak hospital...
, is from Dehrawood district of Uruzgan province. He graduated from a religious madrasa.

Mawlawi Mohammad Yaqoob, acting minister for the Defense Ministry, is the son of Taliban founder Mullah Mohammad Omar. He is 25 years old and from Dehrawood district in Uruzgan.

The acting Director of Intelligence is Abdul Haq Wasiq, 49, from Khogyani district in Ghazni. He graduated from a madrasa in Quetta, Pakistain. Wasiq was in the US's Guantanamo detention center for 13 years and worked as deputy director of intelligence in the previous Taliban regime.

The acting minister of interior, Serajuddin Haqqani, is the son of the late Jalaluddin Haqqani
...founder and until he pegged out titular head of the Haqqani Network. Jalaluddin was one of the few Pashtun warlords who was worth spit...
, who led the Haqqani Network.

Mullah Amir Khan Mutaqi, acting minister for foreign affairs, is from Zurmat district of Paktia province. He was working as minister of information and culture in the first Taliban regime.

The acting minister of information and culture, Mullah Khairullah Khairkhah, 53, is from Kandahar province. He spent 12 years in Guantanamo.

The acting minister of justice, Mawllawi Abdul Hakim Haqqani, 53, is from Maiwand district of Kandahar. He graduated from a Pak madrasa and worked in judicial organizations.

The acting minister of borders and tribal affairs, Mullah Noorullah Noori, 53, is from Zabul Province. He was governor of Balkh and Laghman
...Afghan province with a population of about 445,600, which is multi-ethnic and mostly a rural society. During the invasions of Alexander the Great, the area was known as Lampaka, wich is apparently Olde Macedonian for Laghman.The city of Mihtarlam serves as the bucolic capital of the province. The population is half Pashtun, the remainder Tadjik and Pashai. It had a repution for great wealth until it was conquered in the tenth century by Abu Mansur Sabuktigin.

He conquered it and set fire to the places in its vicinity which were inhabited by infidels, and demolishing the idol-temples, he established Islam in them, He marched and captured other cities and killed the polluted wretches, destroying the idolatrous and gratifying the Musulmans. After wounding and killing beyond all measure, his hands and those of his friends became cold in counting the value of the plundered property.

After that it was mostly notable for the production of dirt, rocks, and holy men...
provinces in the first Taliban regime. He spent 13 years in Guantanamo.

Al Ahram adds:

A Taliban interim government, drawn exclusively from loyalist ranks, formally began work this week with established hardliners in all key posts and no women -- despite previous promises of an inclusive administration for all Afghans.

All the top positions have been handed to key leaders from the movement and in particular the Haqqani network -- the most violent Taliban faction, known for devastating attacks.

The dreaded Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice -- previously responsible for arresting and punishing people for failing to follow the movement's restrictive interpretation of sharia -- is being reinstated.

Link

Afghanistan

Residents ‘Concerned’ as Clashes Continue in Kandahar

2021-05-01

[ToloNews] The continuation of festivities between Afghan forces and the Taliban
Taliban

...Arabic for students...
in at least six districts of Kandahar has changed into a big concern for residents of the province who say the group is trying to transfer its hubs from Pakistain to the southern province by mounting their attacks on government forces.

Heavy festivities have continued in Kandahar between government forces and Taliban over the last few months. According to local officials, of 17 districts, Maiwand, Shah Wali Kot, Afghanistan, Zherai, and Panjwai are faced with a high level of threats.

"People cannot visit their farms. People cannot look after their property due to the conflicts," said Ataullah, a resident of Zherai district in Kandahar.

"We cannot go to our areas. Children cannot go to schools due to the conflicts," said Ali Ahmad, a resident of Zherai district.

"The Taliban is trying hard to choose Kandahar as their hub. Previously, their key commanders were in Helmand
...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan...
," said Karim Atal, an MP from Kandahar.

According to local officials, the security of Shah Wali Kot district of Kandahar is mostly under threat from Uruzgan and Zabul province while security in Zherai district is faced with security threats from Zabul and Uruzgan provinces.

The Afghan National Army special forces commander in Kandahar, Brigadier Gen. Haibatullah Alizai, said the Taliban is trying to change the southern provinces into their hub, but they will not be allowed by Afghan forces.

"There is an environment for their recruitment in south and southwest where they are supported financially by drug trafficking and it is their biggest interest," Alizai said.

"They (Taliban) are helped from another side of the (Durand) line, that’s why they did a try, but they were heavily defeated," the acting minister of defense, Gen. Yasin Zia, said.

The Afghan government has said that at least 1,100 Taliban were killed only in Arghandab district in Kandahar in recent festivities.

Link

Afghanistan

3 Security Forces Killed in Uruzgan Attack

2021-04-28

[ToloNews] Three security forces members were killed and another was maimed in a Taliban
Taliban

...Arabic for students...
attack in Deh Rawood district of Uruzgan province, Mohammad Omar Sherzad, provincial governor said, adding that "another soldier is missing."

The Taliban has not yet commented on this attack.

Link

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