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-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Latest Reports Say Death Toll of Baghlan Flooding Over 170
2024-05-14
[TOLONEWS] The number of victims from the recent floods in the country has nearly reached 180, doctors said, as cited by Mullah Baradar, who visited the disaster-stricken province of Baghlan.

Meanwhile,
...back at the dirigible, Jack stuck the cigar in his mouth, stepped onto the gantry, and asked Got a light, Mac?

Von Schtinken stopped short, lowering the dagger and trying to control his features.

If you light that thing, Herr Armschtröng, he pointed out, his voice tense, we all die!...

on the fourth day of the flooding in Baghlan province, affected families called for immediate aid.

They said that they lack shelter, food supplies, and clean drinking water, and are living in heartbreaking conditions.

Mohammad Alam, 50, who lost six family members in the Friday floods in the Darwazakan area of central Baghlan, said: "I have lost two of my sister-in-laws, my wife, two daughters—one six years old and the other thirteen—and a nephew."

Another group of affected individuals who have lost their possessions are also demanding urgent help from the authorities.

"We need clean water and tents. The foreign aid that has been promised needs to be delivered," said Arbab Gulzada, a flood victim in Baghlan.

"Our request from the Islamic Emirate is to deliver aid to the people affected in Baghlan, especially central Baghlan," said Haqbin Moradi, a flood victim in Baghlan.

At the same time, Alam Majidi, the spokesperson for the governor of Baghlan, said that the process of distributing initial aid from the government and aid organizations to the flood victims is ongoing, and more aid will be distributed to them after assessments are completed.

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, deputy prime minister for economic affairs, who visited the flood-affected areas, said: "They told us the number of casualties is 154 deaders, but doctors have reported up to 170 people."

According to official statistics provided by the authorities in the caretaker government, the corpse count in Baghlan province so far reached nearly 180, and the search and rescue operations are still ongoing.

Link


Iraq
Production fully restored at Khor Mor after attack: Dana Gas
2024-05-10
03-05-2024
[Rudaw] Dana Gas on Friday announced that production at the Kurdistan Region’s Khor Mor gas field has been fully restored, a week after a deadly dronezap that killed four Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of...
i workers.
In case anyone wondered, now we know.
"Dana Gas (PJSC) announces that production at the Khor Mor facility in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq has been restored to normal levels following the recent attack," read a statement from the UAE-based company.

"The resumption of operations follows decisive actions by the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government as well as further firm commitments to significantly enhance security and strengthen defences at the Khor Mor site," it added.

A dronezap on the Khor Mor gas field last Friday killed four Yemeni nationals and injured several others who were repairing a condensate storage tank that had been damaged in a previous attack. Located in Sulaimani province, Khor Mor is a key source of fuel for the Kurdistan Region’s power plants.

Two days after the attack, Dana Gas announced that it had temporarily suspended production at the field.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) described the strike as a "terrorist" attack and called on the federal government to take action to stop such assaults.

KRG Electricity Minister Kamal Mohammad Salih on Thursday told news hounds that Baghdad is responsible for providing aerial protection of Khor Mor. "The KRG has not failed to provide ground protection, but when it comes to aerial protection, that is the responsibility of the federal government," Salih said.

However,
we can't all be heroes. Somebody has to sit on the curb and applaud when they go by...
the Iraqi oil minister said it is not their responsibility to protect the field. "Khor Mor is under the control of the Kurdistan Regional Government and it is their responsibility to protect it," Hayyan Abdul Ghani told news hounds in Baghdad on Thursday.

The field has come under attack multiple times, largely blamed on Iraqi militias affiliated with Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Sturmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Fuhrer or maybe both. They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
taking advantage of the site’s strategic and economic importance for the Kurdistan Region. The attacks have caused major power disruptions and hindered expansion projects at the site.

Production at the field exceeds 500 million standard cubic feet of gas per day, according to Dana Gas. Last week’s strike shut down some two-thirds of the Region’s electricity generation. A drone attack in January similarly brought work at the field to a halt.
Related:
Khor Mor gas field: 2024-04-28 Drone attack on Khor Mor gas field kills four Yemenis, cuts power
Khor Mor gas field: 2024-04-27 Khor Mor attack update: 3 dead; Kurdistan urges Baghdad investigation
Khor Mor gas field: 2024-02-29 Sulaimani security forces arrest 30 ISIS suspects
Link


-Lurid Crime Tales-
Remember that Terror Compound in New Mexico?
2024-03-08
The latest on the denizens of the Amalia, NM jihadi compound.
[KRQE] Six years after the FBI uncovered a terrorist plot at a compound in northern New Mexico, the five people responsible now know their fate.

“Finally, to be able to put this to bed, to give some finality in sentence and some justice, it feels great.” That’s New Mexico’s U.S. Attorney Alexander Uballez satisfied with Wednesday’s sentencing of five people connected to a terrorist plot in northern New Mexico.

“The horrifying events that played out in graphic detail during this three-week trial, radical ideologies to violent extremist beliefs, the banality of everyday life centered around the corpse of a dead child in a fortified compound in rural New Mexico,” Uballez said.

Siraj Wahhaj,
...also known as Siraj Ibn Wahhaj and Sirraj Ibn Wahhaj. Siraj [Jr.] is the son of Siraj Wahhaj [Sr.], a Brooklyn imam whose mother welcomed him into the world as Jeffrey Kearse. Siraj Sr. was an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and a character witness in the trial of convicted terror plotter Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman (“the blind sheikh”), and is connected to the several branches of the Moslem Brotherhood in America. He mentored pussy hat leader Linda Sarsour....
his sisters Hujrah and Subhanah, and Subhanah’s husband Lucas Morton were sentenced to life in prison.

The ring leader of the group, Jany Leveille, took a plea deal. She was sentenced to 15 years in prison. “She took responsibility, she took it early and she took it fully, and here in the United States Justice System we value folks who redeem themselves by taking responsibility for the terrible things that they did,” Uballez said.

It all started after a federal raid uncovered a terrorist training ground in Taos County back in 2018. Documents state the group was plotting and training children to carry out attacks on FBI agents and government institutions. The feds found the five adults and 11 malnourished children on the property. A property that authorities say was heavily militarized. “The sentencing imposed today sent a clear message, the FBI takes its mission of protecting the American public seriously,” Ruben Morales with the FBI said.

The feds claimed the group kidnapped Siraj Wahhaj’s three-year-old son from his mother in Georgia and took him to the property where he was subjected to exorcism rituals. Authorities believe they were planning to use the child as a prop in their plot to kill those who did not convert and follow Leveille. That child later died in 2017. “The heart of this case is a senseless death of three-year-old Abdul Ghani, as a father myself, I offer my deepest condolences,” Uballez said.

Documents state Leveille covered up the death and convinced the group the boy would be resurrected. She was found to have acute schizophrenia that led to hallucinations and says she heard voices that made her believe she was a prophet. Leveille spoke Wednesday in court apologizing for her part and to her co-defendants saying ‘this wouldn’t have happened if I wasn’t sick.’

“While today’s sentencing can not take away the pain or fill the void of the innocent child who was kidnapped and subsequently lost his life, I sincerely hope there’s some comfort in knowing those who committed these terrible crimes have been brought to justice,” Morales said.

A federal jury convicted Wahhaj and Morton on terrorism charges. The two sisters, Hujrah and Subhanah, are also facing kidnapping charges, including kidnapping resulting in death. Leveille pled guilty to conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and being in possession of a firearm while unlawfully in the United States. Once her sentence is complete, she will be deported back to Haiti because she was in the country illegally.
Related:
Siraj Wahhaj: 2023-10-19 Father convicted of terrorism after remains of 3-year-old found in tunnels of New Mexico compound
Siraj Wahhaj: 2020-06-27 Minnesota State Rep: Antifa and Muslim Groups Plan to 'Police Minneapolis Under Muslim Rule'
Siraj Wahhaj: 2019-12-07 Islamist Cover-Up? Media Silent After Imam Fired in Sexual Assault Scandal
Link


-Lurid Crime Tales-
Father convicted of terrorism after remains of 3-year-old found in tunnels of New Mexico compound
2023-10-19
The latest on the denizens of the Amalia, NM jihadi compound, raided when the FBI was looking for Abdul Ghani Wahhaj, the handicapped toddler kidnapped by his dad from his mother in Georgia. Abdul Ghani’s body was later discovered on the grounds. Eleven other children found during the raid on the compound were malnourished but in the process of being trained to be loyal little jihadis.
[FoxNews] Authorities raided a compound in remote Mew Mexico desert in August 2018

A father has been convicted of terrorism after the remains of his 3-year-old son were found in an underground tunnel at a makeshift compound in New Mexico in 2018.

Siraj Ibn Wahhaj
...also known as Siraj Wahhaj and Sirraj Ibn Wahhaj. Siraj [Jr.] is the son of Siraj Wahhaj [Sr.], a Brooklyn imam whose mother welcomed him into the world as Jeffrey Kearse. Siraj Sr. was an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and a character witness in the trial of convicted terror plotter Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman (“the blind sheikh”), and is connected to the several branches of the Moslem Brotherhood in America. He has mentored pussy hat leader Linda Sarsour....
and members of his family had fled from Georgia with the toddler to the remote desert so they could engage in firearms and tactical training to prepare for attacks against the government, prosecutors told jurors Tuesday.

Jurors deliberated for 2½ days after hearing weeks of testimony from children who had lived with their parents at the compound.

The defendants, who are Muslim, argued federal authorities targeted them because of their religion.

Wahhaj’s brother-in-law also was convicted of terrorism charges, conspiracy to commit kidnapping and kidnapping that resulted in the boy’s death. Wahhaj’s sisters were convicted on the kidnapping charges.
That’d be Hujrah Wahhaj, 38, Subhanah Wahhaj, 36. No mention here of Lucas Morton, 41, Siraj Jr’s brother-in-law or Jany Leveille, Siraj Jr’s wife — a Haitian citizen who overstayed her visitor visa two decades ago
The five suspects were arrested by authorities after an Aug. 3, 2018, raid following a months-long inquiry into the disappearance of Abdul-ghani Wahhaj, 3. The boy, who had severe medical issues, disappeared from Georgia in December.

The badly decomposed remains of the boy were eventually found in an underground tunnel at the compound on the outskirts of Amalia near the Colorado state line. An exact cause of death was never determined.

Wahhaj represented himself in court.

"The government portrayed me to look like a monster," he said, describing his family as close-knit and trying to protect his son from evil spirits. He said they used a ritual known as ruqyah in which passages from the Quran are recited.

Wahhaj and the family apparently believed the boy would be resurrected as Jesus Christ and provide instructions.

A sentencing date has yet to be scheduled.
KANW adds:
Jurors have delivered split verdicts in a case that stemmed from the search for a 3-year-old boy who went missing from Georgia. The boy was found dead hundreds of miles away at a squalid compound in northern New Mexico. The boy's father was convicted Tuesday of terrorism related charges, while other family members were convicted of a mix of kidnapping and terrorism charges.

Wahhaj's brother-in-law also was convicted of terrorism charges, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, and kidnapping that resulted in the boy's death. Wahhaj's sisters were convicted on the kidnapping charges.

Siraj Ibn Wahhaj's partner — Jany Leveille, a Haitian national — was initially charged with kidnapping and terrorism-related charges, but instead reached a plea agreement on weapons charges. She did not appear at the trial.

Evidence presented by prosecutors included passages journal from Leveille's journal suggesting she believed she was having prophecies. Prosecutors argued that the group believed she had an ability to receive messages from God.

According to prosecutors, the charges related to kidnapping resulting in death carry a mandatory life sentence. The charges of providing support in preparation for terrorist attacks on U.S. government officials and employees are punishable by up to 15 years in prison, while the charge of conspiracy to kill a government officer or employee carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.

A trip down memory lane from 2018: The New Mexico Muslim Terror Cell Case Keeps Getting Weirder
Related:
Siraj Ibn Wahhaj: 2019-05-13 FBI Discovers Homegrown Islamic Terror Compound In Alabama
Siraj Ibn Wahhaj: 2019-03-15 Federal Grand Jury Returns Superseding Indictment against Five Amalia, New Mexico Compound Defendants
Siraj Ibn Wahhaj: 2018-09-16 New Mexico Jihadist Update: Rift Between Police, Feds Allowed New Mexico Terror Compound To Fester
Link


India-Pakistan
8 terrorists, aides absconding in TADA cases for 3 decades arrested in Doda: SIA
2023-09-06
Cold Case: India.


State Investigation Agency (SIA), the anti-terror arm of the J&K Police, has arrested eight absconding hard boyz and their associates involved in serious crimes of terrorism and disruptive activities.

The SIA on Thursday said that the TADA cases were registered around three decades ago in different Police Stations of district Doda and chargesheeted in the TADA Court, Jammu.

"These absconding hard boyz had managed to escape from the clutches of law for decades by going underground and remaining untraced for sometime and then resurfaced to enjoy normal family life at their native or some distant places. Some of these terrorist absconders have managed to get government services and contracts, others found engaged in private businesses and even working in the court," the SIA officials said here.

The arrested persons include Adil Farooq Faridi son of Abdul Ghani Faridi of House No 230, Sahidi Chowk Jammu (government employee presently posted in JKBOSE, Jammu); Muhammad Iqbal alias Javed, son of Sikander Khan of Asthan Mohalla, Doda; Mujahid Hussain alias Nisar Ahmad, son of Abdul Rasheed Gathwan of Asthan Mohalla, Doda; Tariq Hussain, son of Ghulam Ali Misger of Barshalla, Doda; Ishtiaq Ahmad Dev alias Ajaz, son of Muhammad Ayoub Dev of Sah Mohalla, Doda; Ajaz Ahmad alias Muhammad Iqbal, son of Abdul Rehman of Dandi Bhaderwah; Jameel Ahmad alias Jugnu alias Chika Khan, son of Faiz Ahmad of Kursari, Bhaderwah; and Ishfaq Ahmad, son of Ghulam Ahmad Sheikh of Bun Doda (working as writer in Court Complex Doda).

"They will be produced before the TADA and POTA Court Jammu in pursuance of warrants issued against the aforementioned absconder terrorists," they said.

The SIA officials said that these terrorist absconders were involved in kidnapping for ransom and threat to kill one Ghulam Muhammad Wani of Doda at gunpoint (Case FIR No 158/1992 under Sections 3, 4 of TADA, 364 RPC, 3/25 Arms Act of Police Station Doda), kidnapping for ransom and killing of Muhammad Sadiq and Tariq Hussain of Doda from their home on April 23, 1994 night. Tariq Hussain was later killed and Muhammad Sadiq seriously injured. (Case FIR No 48/1993 under Sections 3 and 4 of TADA, 302 and 307 of Ranbir Penal Code, and 3/25 of the Arms Act, Police Station Doda).

"It also included instigating people by setting false narrative during the prayer of Shab-e-Qadr in Jamia Masjid Doda and other mosques of Doda, atrocities committed on the innocent people of Kashmir
...a disputed territory lying between India and Pakistain. After partition, the Paks grabbed half of it and call it Azad (Free) Kashmir. The remainder they refer to as "Indian Occupied Kashmir". They have fought four wars with India over it, the score currently 4-0 in New Delhi's favor. After 72 years of this nonsense, India cut the Gordian knot in 2019, removing the area's special status, breaking off Ladakh as a separate state, and allowing people from other areas to settle (or in the case of the Pandits, to resettle) there....
and motivated them to observe strike in Doda at the gunpoint by these hard boyz (Case FIR No 58/1991 under Sections 3 and 4 of TADA, 153/194-A of RPC of Police Station Doda), and recovery of huge cache of arms and ammunition on June 22, 1994 concealed by these hard boyz under the ground at Shambaz area (Case FIR No 101/1994 under Sections 3 and 4 of TADA and 3/25 of the Arms Act of Police Station Doda)," they said.

The SIA said that in pursuance of its larger objective and mandate of achieving zero terrorism in J&K, it had initiated a special drive to trace and produce before the concerned court all absconders of terrorism related cases for facing trial under law.
Good job, guys — you are to be congratulated.
"The SIA has so far verified and identified 369 (215 in Jammu and 154 in Kashmir) absconders out of 734 absconders (317 in Jammu and 417 in Kashmir) in 327 TADA and POTA cases. Of the 369 verified absconders, 127 remained untraced, 80 have died and 45 are residing in Pakistain or PoK and other countries abroad and four are lodged in jail," the SIA officials said. "How these absconder hard boyz managed to escape from the law and live normal life at their native place without being traced for so long and other aspects of larger criminal conspiracy and nexus thereof and role of insiders if any will also be investigated by the SIA."
Link


India-Pakistan
Police arrest four terrorist associates, solve Kulgam grenade attack case
2023-07-29


Police along with Army busted grenade throwing module by arresting four terrorist associates in Kulgam thereby solving Yaripora grenade attack case in which several civilians were maimed, a police statement said. Incriminating materials, arms & ammunition have been recovered from their possession.

On 24-05-2022, a grenade was hurled on a police party at Main Chowk Yaripora, however the grenade missed the intended target and went kaboom! in the crowd nearby, in which 13 persons got injured. Accordingly, a case FIR No. 24/2022 under relevant sections of law was registered in Police Station Yaripora and investigation of the case was set into motion.

During the course of investigation, Kulgam Police alongwith Army (1RR), arrested four terrorist associates/conspirators for their involvement in the terror crime case. They have been identified as Nasir Nabi Dar son of Ghulam Nabi Dar, Mohd Abass Dar son of Abdul Ghani Dar, both residents of Gundchahal Frisal, Aaqib Majid Ganie son of Abdul Majid Ganie resident of Badroo, Yaripora and Zahid Ali Bhat son of Ali Mohd Bhat resident of Kokergund Yaripora.

Incriminating materials, arms & ammunition including a pistol, 02 pistol magazines, 14 pistol rounds and a hand grenade were recovered from their possession. Investigation of the case is going on.
Link


Afghanistan
Kazakhstan to Reopen Afghan Embassy, Consulate: Mullah Baradar
2023-04-17
[TOLONEWS] The first deputy of the prime minister, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, said that Serik Zhumangarin, Kazakhstan's deputy prime minister and Minister of Trade and Integration, pledged to reopen the embassy and consulate of the current Afghan government in Kazakhstan.

Baradar said that the Islamic Emirate is working on improving interactions with the world.

"They indicated this ... yesterday, that we will reopen our embassy or consulate in Afghanistan and assured us that we can also reopen our embassy and consulate there," Baradar noted.

A delegation of Kazakhstan, led by the deputy prime minister and minister of trade and integration, visited Kabul on Saturday and had meetings with a number of bigwigs of the Islamic Emirate, including Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.

In order to improve relations, the Islamic Emirate asked this high-ranking Kazakh official to receive the diplomats of the current Afghan government.

Meanwhile,
...back at the wrecked scow, Agent 49 felt gingerly for his head. It was still there. He had been hoping differently...
some analysts said that accepting Islamic Emirate diplomats without also recognizing the current government is a one-way relationship.

"Sending and accepting diplomats without official recognition ... is a one-way relationship and has one-sided benefits," said Noorullah Raghi, former diplomat.

"If in general the international community, US, European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
, Russia, China does not give tecognition, I don’t think other countries will recognize the Islamic Emirate," said Noorullah Raghi, a former diplomat.

Although the Islamic Emirate has diplomatic missions in Tehran, Istanbul, Islamabad, Dubai, Moscow, Beijing, and a number of Arab and African nations, no nation has recognized the Islamic Emirate.

Link


Afghanistan
Six TTP terrorists including prominent commander killed in Afghanistan IED blast
2023-03-05
[SamaaEnglish] At least six bandidos Death Eaters of Tehrik-e-Taliban
...mindless ferocity in a turban...
(TTP) including an important commander were killed and 15 others were maimed in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast in Khost province
... across the border from Miranshah, within commuting distance of Haqqani hangouts such as Datta Khel and probably within sight of Mordor. Khost is populated by six different tribes of Pashtuns, the largest probably being the Khostwal, from which it takes its name...
of Afghanistan.

The attack comes a week after a senior Pak delegation had visited Afghanistan’s capital for talks with Taliban officials.

Pak Defence Minister Khwaja Asif was joined on Wednesday by other brass hats — including Lieutenant General Nadeem Anjum, the director general of Pakistain’s Inter-Services Intelligence
...the Pak military intelligence agency that controls the military -- heads of ISI typically get promoted into the Chief of Army Staff position. It serves as a general command center for favored turban groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad, tries to influence the politix of neighboring countries, and carries out a (usually) low-level war against India in Kashmir...
agency, or ISI — in their meeting with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Afghanistan acting deputy prime minister for economic affairs, in Kabul.

The identities of the slain commanders were revealed to be Abdul Manan, Alam Khan Mudakhel, Kajir, and three others unidentified.

Meanwhile,
...back at the shouting match, a new, even louder, voice was to be heard...
among the injured were named as Commander Fazl Amin, Commander Muhammad alias Tofan, Commander Noor Payo Khan, Faqirullah, Turzai, Sat Kare, Ali Sir Khan, Zubair, Hijratullah, Kamal, Sher Afzal, Bakhtullah, Zubihullah, and two unknown terrorists.

The incidents have also been seen as a clear sign of increasing intelligence ingress within the TTP, according to sources.

Sources said that lower-level TTP bandidos Death Eaters have expressed suspicion about the big shotship of the group.

In a separate incident, Makram Harasani, the in-charge of TTP’s Umar Media Group, was maimed, according to sources.
Link


India-Pakistan
6 TTP Militants Killed in a Special Operation by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police
2023-02-25
[KhaamaPress] Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Counter-Terrorism Department Police killed six alleged murderous Moslems affiliated with the banned Terheek-e-Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
Pakistain (TTP) during a special operation in Lakki Marwat on Thursday.

Lakki Marwat police spokesperson Shahid Hameed said that security personnel conducted an anti-terrorist operation near Dadiwala cop shoppe after they received intelligence that murderous Moslems were planning an attack on the Abbas police check post.

After the fire exchange between the two sides, police officials found the dead bodies of six murderous Moslems in their hideouts, with some loaded arms, ammunition, and grenades, the police spokesperson said.

Hameed stated that four murderous Moslems were identified and the identification of the other two is underway. The murderous Moslems had been declared wanted by the Lakki Marwat police and the CTD for their involvement in attacks on the police, he added.

The terrorist group has conducted several deadly attacks in Lakki Marwat and other areas in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa over the past couple of months. In November last year, the outlawed TTP bandidos Death Eaters opened fire on a police van traveling to the Abbas police check post, resulting in the death of six police personnel.

Terrorism and militancy have unprecedentedly increased in Pakistain since the TTP called off its unilateral ceasefire with the Pak government in November. Since then the Death Eater group has launched several deadly attacks mostly targeting police officials and army personnel in 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...
, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and other major cities of Pakistain.

Following the terror attack in the police headquarter in Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
, which claimed the lives of four police officials, a team of Pakistain delegation headed by Khawaja Asif, the Defense Minister traveled to Kabul and met with the Taliban’s Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Abdul Ghani Bradar. The meeting was aimed at discussing security concerns and ways to jointly combat the threats of terrorism in both countries, according to the statement by Pakistain’s defense ministry.
Link


Afghanistan
Top Taliban Leaders Consider Deposing Supremo Akhundzada Over Afghan Women’s Education
2023-02-01
[News18] First Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Baradar front-runner as issue of women’s education splits Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
, a high-level source tells News18


Senior Taliban functionaries are considering deposing supreme leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, top sources in Afghanistan said, as mounting frustration on the issue of women’s education threatens to rupture the unity of the government.

First Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar is emerging as the person most likely to supplant Akhundzada if the Amir-ul-Momineen is ousted, a high-level source told News18, emphasizing that the discussions are at an early stage.

The decision, in December last year, to ban women from universities, has become a flashpoint in the top echelons of the Taliban. As News18 reported, Interior (Home) Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani
...son of Pashtun warlord Jalaluddin Haqqani, still titular head of the Haqqani Network....
and Defence Minister Mullah Mohammad Yaqub are not in favour of the crackdown by the hardliners and want the government to reverse course.

But their negotiations with the supreme leader have not borne fruit as Akhundzada is insisting that he will not reverse the ban under international pressure. But Haqqani and Yaqub are unwilling to accept this position, arguing that international support is vital for Afghanistan, the sources said.

"This (Akhundzada’s) is not a logical reason," a top source said. "High officials are therefore thinking about a solution and how to change the leader."

The doors of education are shut to women and girls from middle school onwards, and all women in public are required to cover themselves from head to toe in a burqa. Recently, the government also banned women from working in non-governmental organizations which help provide aid in the impoverished country.

Haqqani and Yaqub (the son of Taliban founder Mullah Muhammad Omar), who lead the moderate faction, have been attempting a rapprochement with major foreign powers as they struggle to manage Afghanistan’s shattered economy. Together they control the security forces and hold sway over large swathes of the country.

One of the options that Taliban officials considered was to have Haqqani as the Amir-ul-Momineen but the interior minister is not interested in the position. Besides, he may not enjoy acceptance in the southern region of Kandahar, which is the Taliban’s headquarters. Yaqub was also considered for the job, but his youth (he is thought to be about 33 years old) went against him. This meant that Baradar has emerged as the likeliest contender for the top post in the Taliban.

It will not be easy to depose the Kandahar-based Akhundzada, though, as he enjoys the support of key governors and has loyalists in several branches of the government. The governors of Kandahar and Khost province
... across the border from Miranshah, within commuting distance of Haqqani hangouts such as Datta Khel and probably within sight of Mordor. Khost is populated by six different tribes of Pashtuns, the largest probably being the Khostwal, from which it takes its name...
s are thought to be loyal to Akhundzada, and so also some military commanders.

Afghanistan said it had outlawed university education for women because women were dressing ’improperly’: in the words of the higher education minister, ’as if they going to a wedding instead of college.’

The ban came in the backdrop of a widening political schism between the moderate and Death Eater factions of the Taliban. The moderates, led by Haqqani and Yaqub, are pitted against the supreme leader Akhundzada and his allies in the Taliban heartland of Kandahar.
Link


Afghanistan
Oil deal with Kabul increases China’s strategic interest in Afghanistan: Expert
2023-01-18
[KhaamaPress] Chinese company’s oil deal with the Taliban
...Arabic for students...
government increases the economic and security cooperation between Kabul and Beijing, which "will undermine U.S. interests in the region and the ability to respond.", Analysts say.

Early this month, the Taliban signed the extraction contract of the Amu oil field with the Chinese company- China Petroleum Economics and Information Research Center (CPEIC) in the northern Afghanistan-Amu Darya basin, raising alarm bells in the west.

The signing ceremony took place on January 5 in the presence of Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan Wang Yu, the Acting Minister of Mines and petroleum of Afghanistan, Shahabuddin Delaware, and other senior Taliban figures, including Abdul Ghani Baradar, the acting deputy Prime minister for economic affairs.

The amount of investment will be more than USD 500 million with 20 % of Afghanistan’s share, and the oil extraction capacity is estimated from 200 to 1000 tons a day; expected that 3000 jobs will be created for Afghans inside the country.

This is the first significant energy investment by the Chinese company since the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban in August 2021.

Experts believe that such an agreement and investment by a Chinese company increases the economic and security cooperation between Kabul and Beijing, which "will undermine America’s interests in the region and the ability to respond", wrote Sajoyan, a researcher at the American Foreign Policy Council in Washington, and reported by ANI.

Despite the growing terror threat and the recent attack on Chinese business travelers, Beijing signed the major oil riches field in Afghanistan.

According to a Washington-based analyst, China wants to address the rising demand for crude oil. Meanwhile,
...back at the barn, Bossy had come up with a new idea, one that didn't involve kerosene...
there is a security concern about the several Uyghur separatist movements labelled as terrorist groups by the United Nations
...an organization conceived in the belief that we're just one big happy world, with the sort of results you'd expect from such nonsense...
and the U.S. Department of State.
Link


Afghanistan
Afghanistan: The Taliban's punishment of women is an act of desperation
2023-01-16
A few key paragraphs to give a sense of the essay. Go to the link to read the whole thing.
[MiddleEastEye] Ever since signing a peace deal with the US 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...
in 2020, the Taliban
...Arabic for students...
hoped for formal recognition. But not a single country has recognised them. In July last year, this mistrust reached new heights. The Taliban received their first major blow when al-Qaeda’s top leader, Egyptian Ayman al-Zawahiri
...Formerly second in command of al-Qaeda, now the head cheese, occasionally described as the real brains of the outfit. Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area assuming he's not dead like Mullah Omar. He lost major face when he ordered the nascent Islamic State to cease and desist and merge with the orthodox al-Qaeda spring, al-Nusra...
, a criminal mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, was killed in a US dronezap in Kabul’s high-security zone. He lived with top Taliban leaders as a "state guest"
[love toy?]
in a "safe house".

Zawahiri’s death raised many questions. Who gave on-the-ground intelligence for the US attack? Is Kabul safe anymore? Reportedly, even top Taliban leaders left the capital city for fear of more attacks.

Another side of the Taliban’s challenge is existential. Zawahiri’s death has confirmed the rumours that there are widening gaps in its ranks.

From the start, the militia was divided into two main groups: one led by its deputy prime minister, Abdul Ghani Baradar, called the Kandahari group, which is entrenched in Kandahar, Afghanistan’s second city, near Pakistain’s southern border; the other led by its hardline interior minister, Sirajuddin Haqqani
...son of Pashtun warlord Jalaluddin Haqqani, still titular head of the Haqqani Network....
, with links to the Pakistain military.

The Haqqani group controls Kabul and the provinces leading to Pakistain’s northwestern border and beyond, a strategic advantage it availed during fighting against the US-led NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis....
forces.

This division seems dormant, but the mutual tensions from time to time weaken the Taliban's grip over the country. The barometer of this division is their rival krazed killer group, the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
Khorasan (IS-K). The IS-K’s numbers doubled in 2022, spreading its operations to all of the country’s 34 provinces, targeting with precision the Taliban's interests, including attacks on Chinese, Russian and Pak missions in Kabul.

Without admitting the presence of the IS-K, the Taliban, however, understands that this challenge could not arise without defections in its own ranks. This rising threat can make the IS-K a site of convergence for anti-Taliban groups, including resistance in the country’s northern parts, and especially the Panjshir Valley.

Unleashing the current oppression against women, therefore, also reveals the Taliban leaders’ efforts to make their foot soldiers realise that their ideology of implementing their own violent mostly peaceful brand of sharia is intact, a system in which women are forced to stay at home.
Link



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