TALIBAN OPEN DOORS TO AZERBAIJAN, ANNOUNCE THEY ARE READY TO OPEN DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS – The main Taliban spokesman announced that Kabul wants Azerbaijan to open its embassy as soon as possible. Presumably, the announcement was made after the Taliban opted to support Azerbaijan recently in its border dispute with Iran. From a foreign policy perspective, the move illustrates growing competence in the conduct of international affairs. Clearly, some in the regime are learning lessons from the past two years. It is not clear if Azerbaijan will accept Kabul’s offer.
BRITISH AID WORKER HELD BY THE TALIBAN NEARLY RELEASED ON TWO OCCASIONS – A British news outlet has reported that Kevin Cornwell, a British aid worker and medic who was arrested by the Taliban and who is seriously ill was told on two previous occasions that he would be released. Cornwell was arrested for allegedly possessing an illegal firearm and the details of the charges against him are murky and contested by his wife and co-workers. According to the Daily Mail, Mr. Cornwell was scheduled to have been released in both July and August but in both cases, his release was halted by the Supreme Leader. Cornwell suffers from kidney problems and has lost a significant amount of weight and his family and friends fear that he could develop additional medical issues or perish if he is not transported to a location with healthcare facilities capable of treating his condition. The Taliban released a video yesterday touting the new security situation in the country and which specifically said that foreigners would not be captured and held for ransom. The timing of the media/marketing push appears to be in conflict with what some are experiencing in the country.
KABUL POWER OUTAGES INCREASING IN FREQUENCY AND DURATION – Residents in Kabul say that electricity outages are now occurring more often and seem to last longer than during the summer months. The national power authority says the outages are normal and that citizens have been warned in advance that the ‘load shedding’ was necessary to deal with problems in the transmission system. The problem has affected access to water as most pumping stations are having difficulty with the on-again, off-again routine.
[8am] Local sources in Faryab province report that the bodyguard of the Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... governor’s bodyguard in Kohistan ...a backwoods district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa distinguished by being even more rustic than is the norm among the local Pashtuns.... at district has been apprehended for attempted sexual assault. According to reports supported by video footage, the incident occurred when Qari Hemad, the bodyguard of the district governor in Kohistanat, entered a residential house with the intent of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl on the night of Wednesday, September 13, around 11:00 PM.
Following his arrest and subsequent restraint by local citizens, Hemad was handed over to the Taliban. However, there's more than one way to stuff a chicken... sources suggest that he has since been released. Residents of the area rushed to the scene upon hearing the cries for help from the girl’s mother and ultimately detained the accused individual.
Up to this point, local Taliban officials have not commented on this incident.
Recently, cases of sexual assault involving Taliban members have garnered increased attention. Over the past month, several instances of sexual misconduct committed by members of this group have come to light.
Previously, in the provinces of Kunduz, Takhar, Baghlan, and Badakhshan, individuals have detained Taliban fighters during attempted sexual assaults, with the Taliban mayor of Burka district of Baghlan province among those apprehended.
Reports indicate that residents in certain districts in Sar-e-Pul ...a city and eponymous province in northern Afghanistan, population about 500,000. Demographically it is majority Tadjik and Uzbek. There are small Pashtun, Arab, and Hazara communities, of which the Hazaras mostly don't bother anyone... , Jawzjan, and Faryab provinces have resorted to nighttime vigilance to prevent Taliban members from entering residential homes. These actions are taken as precautionary measures to protect their communities from potential intruders.
[Dawn] Afghanistan’s Taliban ...Arabic for students... authorities have arrested at least 18 staff of an international NGO, including an American woman, accusing them of carrying out Christian missionary work, the country’s leaders said Saturday.
The International Assistance Mission (IAM) confirmed its staffers were picked up from its office in Ghor province, central Afghanistan, and taken to Kabul.
Security and intelligence forces had been observing the group for some time, Abdul Wahid Hamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood, Ghori, a government front man for the province, told AFP.
"Documents and audios were obtained that showed they were inviting people to join Christianity," he said, without providing further details.
He said 21 people were arrested, including an American woman.
IAM said in a statement earlier that 18 people, including a "foreigner", were being held and that it had no information about the nature of the allegations. The American woman and two Afghan staff were the first to be detained on September 3, followed by 15 more Afghan employees on Wednesday.
"Should any charges be lodged against our organization or any individual staff member, we will independently review any evidence presented," it added.
IAM’s website says the organization is founded on Christian values, but that it does not provide aid according to political or religious belief.
"We value and respect local customs and cultures," the Swiss-registered group said in a statement on Saturday.
IAM has operated in Afghanistan since 1966 — through previous royal, communist and Taliban governments — when it specialised in eye care, later branching out into other areas of health and education.
In 2010, 10 IAM medics, including eight foreigners, were rubbed out in an attack in remote northern Afghanistan. At the time, competing theories emerged over the motive for the attack, with police saying it was likely a robbery. However, Caliphornia hasn't yet slid into the ocean, no matter how hard it's tried... two krazed killer groups grabbed credit, including Taliban leaders who said the medics were Christian missionaries and accused them of working as military spies.
Dozens of foreigners — including several Westerners — have been detained by the Taliban authorities since the group’s return to power in August 2021.
The Taliban rulers have imposed sweeping restrictions on the population they say are in line with their strict interpretation of Islamic Sharia law — including barring women from working for NGOs and the United Nations ...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships... Teenage girls and women are also banned from schools and universities, and excluded from many other formers of public social life.
An airstrike was reported in the El-la-Helay area within the Galgadud region following an Al-Shabaab attack against a Somali army base, officials said. https://t.co/vC7tlDa167
An Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... was reported in the El-la-Helay area within the Galgadud region following an al-Shabaab ...... the personification of Somali state failure... attack against a Somali army base, officials said.
The suspected US dronezap was carried out in support of the Somali troops battling to repel the attack in the village, which lies in the vicinity of Elbur town key al-Shabaab base.
The details of the casualty figures remain unverified as the situation was tense and both sides were engaging in a battle that began after al-Shabaab raided the SNA in the morning.
Shabelle Radio was unable to reach officials at Galmudug ...a semiautonomous region in central Somalia, bordering Puntland on the north. Galmudug is not trying to obtain international recognition as a separate nation, but rather considers itself autonomous within the larger Somali federalism, for what that's worth... state at the time of the attack.
It is unclear which country belongs to the fighter jets that carried out the airstrike. The United States maintains a small troop presence in Somalia to support Somali military forces.
BREAKING: POLICE in Mogadishu intercept a Landcruiser loaded with explosives. Police Spokesman Sadik Duudishe said the vehicle was seized in Daru Salaam area in the outskirts of Mogadishu as it headed to the city for an attack. pic.twitter.com/0PxbtjA353
[Garowe] Yusuf Sheikh Hassan who has been an al-Shabaab ...... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord... member for 12 years, surrendered to the govt forces in the Bakool region, Friday according to the state media. Reports say Hassan was a medical worker for al-Shabaab fighters within Bakool in the Bay region of Somalia.
Recently, the government offered amnesty to defecting al-Shabaab krazed killers, with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud saying they will soon get integrated into the community. Hundreds of people have defected from the group and are helping the government to counter violent mostly peaceful extremism.
[OneIndia] The Jammu and 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.... Police foiled a major infiltration bid by killing three snuffies along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Uri town of Baramulla district.
Brigadier PMS Dhillon, commander of the Pir Panjal Brigade, on Saturday while addressing a presser said while bodies of two snuffies were recovered, the retrieval of the body of the third terrorist was interfered with by the firing from a Pak post.
"Based on specific inputs, in a joint operation launched by the Indian Army and Jammu and Kashmir Police, an infiltration bid was foiled today in Baramulla. Three snuffies tried to infiltrate and were engaged by alert troops. Two snuffies were eliminated and their bodies were recovered, the third terrorist was killed but the retrieval of the body was interfered with by the firing from a Pak post in the vicinity. Search operations are underway," the brigadier was quoted saying at a media conference.
According to the police officials, the operation started in the Hathlanga forward area in Uri sector of the north Kashmir district.
Meanwhile the shootout in Anantnag continues to enter fourth day on Saturday. As per officials, two-three snuffies are still hidden in the hilly terrain of Anantnag district.
Vijay Kumar, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Kashmir, the Kashmir Zone Police took to platform X, formerly Twitter on Friday, "Rtd Police/Army officers should avoid 'Ambush Hypothesis'. It is a specific input based ops. Ops is in progress and all 2-3 trapped snuffies will be neutralised."
The Army has maintained a tight cordon-off in the area. However, those who apply themselves too closely to little things often become incapable of great things... according to the officials, the soldier who was reported missing on Thursday lost his life in the ongoing encounter.
An Army colonel in the Rashtriya Rifles lost his life in the ongoing shootout in the Anantnag district. An Army major and a deputy superintendent of the Jammu and Kashmir Police also fell to enemy fire in the Kokernag area. The senior officers were identified as Colonel Manpreet Singh, Major Ashish Dhonak, and DSP Humayun Bhat.
[Dawn] The CTD killed two alleged forces of Evil of the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army during an operation in Khuzdar on Friday night.
A CTD front man said Amir Bakhsh alias Mazar Baloch and Ejaz Ahmed alias Aftab, close aides to BLA commander Siraj Bhattar, had been tasked with carrying out terrorist activities in Khuzdar.
He said the forces of Evil had left Shore-Parody camp on a cycle of violence, adding that after getting the information, a CTD team set up a temporary blockade in the Jaffarabad area to check the suspicious cycle of violence’s movement.
During the course of action, two suspicious motorcyclists with their faces muffled were signalled to stop, but the rider and his accomplice started indiscriminate firing.
The CTD personnel returned fire, resulting in the killing of both terrorists, the front man said.
[Rudaw] Ottoman Turkish defence ministry on Saturday announced that it had targeted over 30 alleged Kurdistan Workers’ Party’s (PKK) positions inside the Kurdistan Region in recent days, causing many casualties.
The ministry said in a statement that "a total of 31 targets, including caves, bunkers, shelters and warehouses," of the PKK on Mount Gara were "destroyed" when its air forces hit the Kurdish gang on Wednesday and Friday.
"Many murderous Moslems were neutralised," claimed the ministry.
The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire... uses the term neutralised to denote adversaries captured, maimed, or killed.
Mount Gara is located in Duhok province where Turkey's code-named Operation Claw-Lock continues. The offensive was launched in April last year.
Locals told Rudaw on Tuesday that the Ottoman Turkish air forces had been bombarding mountainous areas in Duhok for three successive nights.
Turkey has recently upped its attacks against the PKK in the Kurdistan Region. It has also intensified its targeting of Kurdish fighters in northern Syria due to their alleged ties with the PKK.
The PKK is an gang that struggles for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey. It is designated a terrorist organization by Ankara, which has launched numerous operations against the group and its alleged offshoots in the Kurdistan Region and Syria.
[IsraelTimes] IRGC claims man held ’several smartphones and dollars of significant value’; second nationality of detainee unclear
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said Saturday they arrested a man with dual citizenship on allegations of "attempted rioting and to cause disruptions" in the city of Karaj, west of the capital Tehran.
The suspect was found to be in possession of "several smartphones and dollars of significant value," the IRGC said, according to a report by the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
It was unclear which nationality aside from Iranian the suspect held. Several capitals have accused 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 Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... of practicing "hostage diplomacy" — arresting Western nationals to obtain concessions such as the release of detained Iranians abroad.
Iran has upped security and conducted a wave of arrests in the country’s Kurdish region on suspicion of "planning to create chaos" and producing content to serve "hostile media" on the anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini.
The 22-year-old Iranian Kurd died a few days after her arrest by inquisitors religious police for allegedly violating the strict dress code for women in force since shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Her family says she died from a blow to the head but this is disputed by Iranian authorities.
Anger over her death rapidly expanded into weeks of taboo-breaking protests which saw women tearing off their mandatory headscarves in an open challenge to the Islamic Theocratic Republic’s system of government under Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ...the very aged actual dictator of Iran, successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini...
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[GEO.TV] Mahsa Amini's father was briefly detained on Saturday, according to human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... organizations, in the midst of a heavy security force presence on the first anniversary of his daughter's passing while in Iranian police custody.
Before being freed, Amjad Amini received a warning not to commemorate the passing of his daughter, according to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network.
Amjad Amini was neither imprisoned nor issued a warning, according to the official Iranian news agency IRNA, which also disputed that he had been arrested.
Earlier, social media and reports by rights groups spoke of security forces taking up positions around Amini's home in Saqez, in western Iran, Rooters reported.
The death of a 22-year-old Kurdish woman in jug for allegedly violating the country's dress code led to months of protests, marking the largest show of opposition to authorities in years.
Amini's parents, despite government warnings, announced a "traditional and religious anniversary ceremony" at her grave in Saqez.
Human rights groups reported widespread strikes in multiple cities in Iran's Kurdistan region, indicating a significant security force presence was deployed in anticipation of unrest.
[Rudaw] On Saturday, the anniversary of the death of Zhina Mahsa Amini, shopkeepers shuttered their doors in protest in cities across Kurdish areas of 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 Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... where security forces have been deployed in an attempt to prevent a renewal of last year’s demonstrations that rocked the Islamic republic.
"In response to a prior request from Kurdistan parties, organizations, and civic activists, marketers and workers in at least 18 cities embarked on a massive strike by closing their stores on the anniversary of Jina Amini's state murder and the beginning of the "Jin, Jiyan, Azadi" movement," reported Hengaw Organization for Human Rights.
Strikes have been reported in cities including Mariwan, Mahabad, Sanandaj, and Amini’s hometown of Saqqez.
Twenty-two-year-old Kurdish woman Amini died while in police custody on September 16, 2022. She had been arrested for allegedly wearing a lax hijab. Her death sparked nationwide protests that posed the biggest threat to the Iranian regime in 40 years. Protesters chanting "Jin Jiyan Azadi" (Woman Life Freedom) began by calling for greater freedoms, the movement grew into an anti-government revolution as the authorities responded with violence. Hundreds of people were killed and thousands arrested.
For weeks in the lead up to the anniversary of Amini’s death, scores of family members of protesters who were killed were arrested or warned not to hold any commemoration event, and security forces have been deployed across restive provinces.
Not far from Aichi cemetery where Amini is buried, a young Kurdish man named Fardin Jafari was shot in the head by Iranian forces on Saturday, according to Hengaw. He is at death's door in hospital.
In a televised interview last week, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi warned people not to protest. "Those who intend to abuse Mahsa Amini’s name under this pretext, to be an agent of foreigners, to create this instability in the country, we know what will happen to them," he said.
Helicopters are patrolling the skies over Aichi cemetery and snipers have been positioned on bridges, according to human rights One man's rights are another man's existential threat. monitors.
The protests sparked by Amini’s death lost momentum after several months in the face of a crackdown that saw security forces kill 551 protesters, according to IHR, and arrest more than 22,000, according to Amnesia Amnesty International.
Iranian authorities say dozens of security personnel were also killed in what they describe as "riots" incited by foreign governments and hostile media.
Seven men have been executed after being convicted in protest-related cases.
‘TAKE BACK IRAN’
Witnesses in Tehran meanwhile said there was a heavy security presence, with anti-riot police and security vehicles on the main streets and squares.
Persian-language channels based outside Iran, including Iran International, broadcast footage of residents shouting "Death to the dictator" and the main protest slogan of "Woman, Life, Freedom" from apartment blocks in Tehran and its satellite city of Karaj overnight.
Monitory 1500tasvir posted footage of dozens of people staging a daylight protest on Saturday on a street in the Gohardasht district of Karaj shouting "we will take Iran back!" and other slogans.
Similar gatherings were also reported in the central city of Isfahan and the southern city of Shiraz.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[AfghanDigest] LAST 24 HOURS
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
...Arabic for 
...
...... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord....jpg "Kashmir")
...a disputed territory lying between India and Pakistain. After partition, the Paks grabbed half of it and call it 
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire...
...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 
...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 
