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Afghanistan
Islamic Emirate, Pakistani Forces Clash in Khost
2025-01-05
[ToloNews] Military festivities between the forces of the Islamic Emirate and Pakistain 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...
ended this morning (Friday, January 3) after several hours.

According to local residents, the festivities began at 1:30 AM last night and continued until 5:00 AM.

Initially, Pak forces targeted the Alisher district of Khost with rocket attacks, and then the forces of the Islamic Emirate responded to these attacks.

The Islamic Emirate has announced that the festivities caused no casualties.

Some residents of Khost province have also criticized Pakistain’s attack on the Ali Sher district.

"Last night, at 1:30 AM, Pakistain launched rocket attacks, which Afghan forces defended against, and the festivities continued until 5:00 AM," said Hakeemullah, a resident of Khost.

"As a result of these festivities, people face numerous problems. Poor and impoverished individuals cannot afford transportation to the villages," said Dawlat Khan, another resident of Khost.

Verbal tensions and military festivities between Afghanistan and Pakistain are not new and have also occurred in the past.

The issue of Tehrik-e-Taliban
...Arabic for students...
Pakistain (TTP) has often overshadowed relations between the two sides.

Meanwhile,
...back at the argument, Jane reached into her purse for her .38...
political and military analysts believe Pakistain should resolve its issues with Afghanistan through diplomacy rather than confrontation.

"Pakistain is a close neighbor of Afghanistan, and it is necessary for this country to understand Afghanistan's current situation. Issues should be resolved through political, economic, and transit avenues via diplomatic channels," said Hadi Quraishi, a military analyst.

"These acts of violence and attacks yield no good results and bring nothing but hatred between the two nations," said Aziz Maarej, a former diplomat.

It is worth mentioning that on December 25, 2024, Pakistain carried out Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s on parts of the Barmal district in Paktika
...which coincidentally borders North Wazoo and Kurram Agency...
province, which resulted in the deaths of over fifty local residents, including women and kiddies.
Related:
Khost province: 2024-11-28 Islamic Emirate: Eight Million Textbooks to Be Printed
Khost province: 2024-09-29 Taliban Oppression: 80 Arrested, 38 Executed in One Month
Khost province: 2024-09-08 Afghanistan and Pakistan resume fighting in the disputed border area
Related:
Alisher district: 2019-12-01 ‘Drone Attack’ Kills 6 in Khost: Provincial Council
Alisher district: 2019-08-09 Deadly U.S. airstrikes kill 25 Taliban militants, destroy captured Humvee in Ghazni
Alisher district: 2016-04-14 NDS foil major attack plot by Haqqani network in Khost
Related:
Barmal district: 2024-12-28 AFGHANISTAN — Massive deployment of Taliban who have declared war on Pakistan
Barmal district: 2023-06-27 Talibs Clash with Pak Border Guards in Paktika: Two Taliban Gunnies and Five Pak Soldiers Killed
Barmal district: 2022-11-17 Daily Evacuation Brief November 17, 2022
Link


Afghanistan
Islamic Emirate: Eight Million Textbooks to Be Printed
2024-11-28
[ToloNews] Officials from the Ministry of Education have announced the printing of eight million textbooks to address the challenges faced by students in the country.

Habibullah Agha, acting Minister of Education, during a meeting with the head of education and tribal elders of 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...
, stated that the Islamic Emirate is committed to the pursuit of modern sciences.

The acting Minister of Education said that some groups are spreading negative propaganda, claiming that the officials of the Islamic Emirate have neglected the education sector.

He further mentioned efforts to promote balanced education in the country and also spoke about changes to the curriculum.

Habibullah Agha said: "This is enemy propaganda; do not listen to or heed it. You can see for yourselves how we are focused on modern sciences. Modern sciences are essential for our lives."

Meanwhile,
...back at the revival hall, the SWAT team had finally arrived...
some teachers say that to strengthen the curriculum, certain religious and modern science subjects should be added to the syllabus.

"Alongside the addition of religious topics, scientific subjects like biology and other fields have also been expanded, which makes us happy, and we support these efforts," said Homayoun Pazhman, a teacher.
NO! Mo didn't have Modern Science and neither should you!
"If the Islamic Emirate takes responsibility in this regard and strengthens the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, it will help Afghanistan stand on its own feet in all aspects," Mohammad Naeem Sajid, a teacher, told TOLOnews.

Previously, some students from public schools had complained about a shortage of textbooks.
Link


Afghanistan
Taliban Oppression: 80 Arrested, 38 Executed in One Month
2024-09-29
[8am] Despite their promises of a general amnesty, the Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
continue to arrest former military personnel and civilians. In September 2024, they arrested around 81 people across 18 provinces and executed more than 25 individuals in 13 provinces. Some of these killings have been attributed to unidentified gangs. Among those executed, 14 were killed by 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 Province (ISKP) at the Daykundi-Ghor border. The victims included former military personnel and civilians, accused of various offenses. The Taliban detained individuals for spreading critical content, being affiliated with anti-Taliban fronts, shaving their beards, or having ties to ISKP or the "Hizbut Tahrir
...an al-Qaeda recruiting organization banned in most countries. It calls for the reestablishment of the Caliphate...
" group. These figures, based on reports from the Hasht-e Subh Daily, suggest that due to widespread repression and censorship, the actual number of executions and imprisonments may be higher.

In September 2024, 25 people were executed in Takhar, Ghor, Ghazni, Nangarhar
The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country..
, Faryab, Daykundi, Khost, Badakhshan, Nuristan, 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...

, and Balkh provinces. Of these, around 15 killings were attributed to unidentified gangs, but sources and relatives of the victims accused the Taliban of being responsible. Additionally, 13 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...
s from Daykundi were executed near the Ghor border, along with a Sunni resident from Ghor who was passing through the area. ISKP grabbed credit for the attack.

Last week, the Taliban shot six people in Takhar province and displayed their bodies in a market in the Baharak district center. Local sources reported that the Taliban left the bodies on public display in "Qayoom Bazaar" in Baharak district on Friday, September 20, for several hours. The group did not provide details about the victims’ identities, but sources claimed that the Taliban executed them on charges of theft.

Before these six executions, the Taliban killed Amanullah, a former local police commander of the previous government, in Rustaq district, Takhar province. Sources stated that the Taliban shot Amanullah, the leader of former local uprisings, in the village of Sarjoy as he was returning home.

The Taliban’s campaign of civilian killings continues, with reports of them brutally murdering a student in Ghor province. Sources say Kamaluddin Nizami, an accounting student at a university in Shiraz, Iran, had returned to Ferozkoh, the capital of Ghor, for the holidays. Taliban intelligence tortured him for three days before killing him.

In Badakhshan province, sources report that the Taliban’s head of education in Ishkashim district killed a teacher. The victim, Wali Mohammad Mosamim, taught mathematics and was about to be appointed as the district’s head of education. However,
today is that tomorrow you were thinking about yesterday...
a Taliban official killed him in his office, according to sources.

Since the Taliban’s takeover, extrajudicial, serial, and mysterious killings have surged. After many of these incidents, sources and victims’ relatives often accuse the Taliban, though the group frequently blames unidentified gangs while also claiming they have established nationwide security.

In the past month alone, three individuals were killed in Ghor, a former military member in Babaji district, Helmand
...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan...
province, a former security officer in Faryab province, a man and a woman in Shahristan district, Daykundi province, a young man in Mandol district, Nuristan province, another young man in Faryab province, the head of the previous government’s Directorate of Transportation in Nangarhar province, a student 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...
, a teacher in Mazar-e-Sharif, Balkh province, a man in Rashidan district, Ghazni province, a young man in Laghman province, and a driver in Kunduz. The Taliban attribute these attacks to unidentified gangs, but sources accuse the Taliban of being responsible for most of these killings.

ARRESTS OF FORMER MILITARY PERSONNEL AND CIVILIANS BY THE TALIBAN
The Taliban have arrested a former military officer in Baghlan province, two former security forces members in Kabul, and one other individual in Nangarhar province. While the group offers no explanation for these arrests, sources close to the detainees report that the Taliban frequently target former military personnel, often accusing them of being involved in anti-Taliban activities as part of their broader Dire Revenge against those who once opposed them.

In addition to former security forces, the Taliban have arrested civilians and former babus government employees on various charges. Over the past month, they have detained around 65 individuals for reasons ranging from alleged collaboration with the National Resistance® Front of Afghanistan to shaving their beards, clashing with nomads, publishing satirical content, and criticizing the Taliban. Many detainees were coerced into making confessions. The Taliban have also arrested some of their own members on charges of affiliation with Islamic State — Khorasan Province (ISKP), as well as members of the "Hizbut Tahrir" group.

Reports show these arrests took place in Kabul, Takhar, Nangarhar, Ghazni, Herat
...a venerable old Persian-speaking city in western Afghanistan, populated mostly by Tadjiks, which is why it's not as blood-soaked as areas controlled by Pashtuns...
, Panjshir, and Baghlan, and the whereabouts of many detainees remain unknown. Sources confirm that the families of those arrested are unaware of their relatives’ locations, and the Taliban have provided no further information. It has been reported multiple times that the Taliban arrest individuals on various pretexts, demanding money or weapons for their release.

In recent weeks, the Taliban have detained three civilians in Baghlan, four in Takhar, 25 in Ghazni, 17 in Panjshir, 15 in Badghis, and three in Herat. Although the Taliban regime employed some of these individuals after being hired during the previous government, the group has given no reasons for the arrests, which appear arbitrary. Sources claim many detainees have been tortured and coerced into making confessions.

INTERNAL PURGES AND ALLEGATIONS OF ISKP AFFILIATION
The Taliban are grappling with severe internal divisions, leading to multiple festivities among their commanders and fighters across various provinces. These confrontations have escalated into the use of both light and heavy weapons. Amid rising tensions, the Taliban have arrested several of their fighters in some provinces, accusing them of belonging to the Islamic State — Khorasan Province (ISKP).

On Saturday, September 14, sources informed Hasht-e Subh Daily that the Taliban arrested seven of their members on charges of collaborating with ISKP. According to these sources, the arrests targeted individuals within the Taliban’s military ranks, reflecting the group’s ongoing concerns about ISKP infiltrators in their ranks.

Taliban intelligence forces also arrested Amirjan Fouladi, a former military officer, in Bamyan province and transferred him to an undisclosed location. Fouladi’s family has not been informed of his whereabouts. Sources indicate he had recently served as the "Plan and Operations Manager" for the Taliban police command.

For over three years, the Taliban have openly supported commanders and fighters accused of crimes. When a video leaked showing a Taliban commander in Takhar province committing sexual assault, the group arrested the person who filmed the incident, not the perpetrator.

In addition, members of "Hizbut Tahrir," who previously collaborated with the Taliban before their rise to power, have also faced arrests. On Thursday, August 22, Taliban intelligence in Takhar province detained several members of the group in Kalafgan district, rejecting mediation attempts by local elders. The Taliban had previously arrested other members of this ideological group.

Meanwhile,
...back at the cheese factory, all the pieces finally fell together in Fluffy's mind...
the UN Secretary-General recently presented a quarterly report on Afghanistan to the UN Security Council, revealing that between May 14 and July 31, 2,127 security incidents were recorded, marking a 53 percent increase from last year. The report also highlighted the ongoing torture, arrests, and killings of former military personnel, despite the Taliban’s promise of general amnesty. The arrest and killing of former government military personnel continue unchecked.
Link


Afghanistan
Afghanistan and Pakistan resume fighting in the disputed border area
2024-09-08
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Pakistani border troops and members of the Taliban movement (the organization is under UN sanctions for terrorist activities) who seized power in Afghanistan resumed fighting on September 7 in the disputed border area in the Afghan province of Khost. This was reported by the Tolo News TV channel, citing a source.

“On Saturday at approximately 16:00 (14:30. - Ed.) more clashes occurred between Afghan and Pakistani forces along the Durand Line in the Zazi Maidan district of Khost province,” the report said.

According to the TV channel, the fighting continues. The parties are using heavy weapons, among other things. Earlier, clashes on the border were reported on September 4.

The Durand Line is a barbed wire fence that Pakistani authorities began installing on the border with Afghanistan in 2017.
The fence in 2017, yes. The Durand Line was drawn on the map by the British empire generations ago.
Kabul does not recognize the division between the countries. The territorial dispute has been ongoing since the formation of independent Pakistan in 1947.

As reported by the Regnum news agency, there have previously been battles between Afghanistan and Pakistan in border areas, which have resulted in casualties among military personnel.

In November 2022, Kabul and Islamabad tried to negotiate an end to the conflict, but failed to reach an agreement.

Related:
Khost: 2024-06-20 TTP leader 'killed' in Afghanistan's Kunar province
Khost: 2024-04-29 Terrorists involved in target killing, extortion shot dead in DI Khan
Khost: 2024-03-20 Pakistan Bombs Afghanistan, Claiming Taliban Is ‘Actively Patronizing' Terror Across Border
Related:
Durand Line: 2024-07-16 TTP Leader Denies Operating from Afghan Soil, Rejects Al-Qaeda Support
Durand Line: 2024-05-31 'The people who control the country.' How Afghanistan has changed under the Taliban
Durand Line: 2024-05-28 Islamic Emirate Denies Pakistani Claims of TTP Presence in Afghanistan
Related:
Durand Line: 2024-07-16 TTP Leader Denies Operating from Afghan Soil, Rejects Al-Qaeda Support
Durand Line: 2024-05-31 'The people who control the country.' How Afghanistan has changed under the Taliban
Durand Line: 2024-05-28 Islamic Emirate Denies Pakistani Claims of TTP Presence in Afghanistan
Related:
Durand Line: 2024-07-16 TTP Leader Denies Operating from Afghan Soil, Rejects Al-Qaeda Support
Durand Line: 2024-05-31 'The people who control the country.' How Afghanistan has changed under the Taliban
Durand Line: 2024-05-28 Islamic Emirate Denies Pakistani Claims of TTP Presence in Afghanistan
Related:
Durand Line: 2024-07-16 TTP Leader Denies Operating from Afghan Soil, Rejects Al-Qaeda Support
Durand Line: 2024-05-31 'The people who control the country.' How Afghanistan has changed under the Taliban
Durand Line: 2024-05-28 Islamic Emirate Denies Pakistani Claims of TTP Presence in Afghanistan
Link


Afghanistan
Pakistan Bombs Afghanistan, Claiming Taliban Is ‘Actively Patronizing' Terror Across Border
2024-03-20
[Breitbart] The government of Pakistan confirmed the execution of “intelligence-based anti-terrorist operations” within Afghanistan on Monday, outraging the Taliban, which claimed to have responded by bombing Pakistani military bases “with heavy weapons.”

The relationship between Pakistan and the Taliban-controlled Afghanistan has been tense since the terrorists seized Kabul in August 2021, the direct result of leftist American President Joe Biden’s decision to extend the already two-decade-old war in Afghanistan beyond the May 2021 deadline set by predecessor former President Donald Trump. A report published in February 2023 found that Biden left an estimated $7.2 billion in military equipment in Afghanistan, now believed to be under the control of Taliban terrorists and their allies.

Islamabad has blamed the Biden administration’s poorly executed extension of the war and the subsequent abrupt withdrawal of U.S. troops for a “recent resurgence in terrorism” on the Pakistani border. Evidence indicates that the weapons Biden abandoned in Afghanistan have fallen in the hands of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), or the Pakistani Taliban, which is a separate entity from the Afghan Taliban (the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan”) but enjoyed an alliance with the Kabul-based terror organization.

Pakistan has increased its military operations against the TTP and other jihadist elements on the Pakistani-Afghan border, as well as launched a massive campaign to deport nearly 2 million Afghans present in the country illegally. On Monday, the Pakistani Foreign Office confirmed the execution of airstrikes on Afghan soil allegedly targeting the Hafix Gul Bahadur Group, which it claimed was affiliated with the TTP.

The statement from the Foreign Office angrily condemned the Taliban for allowing a threat to Pakistan’s national security to persist on the soil it claims to control. Pakistani officials claimed that they had successfully neutralized a TTP terrorist named Abdullah Shah, but a man claiming to be Shah published a video shortly after the attacks declaring himself alive and active in jihad.

“Pakistan has repeatedly conveyed its serious concerns to the interim Afghan government [the Taliban] over the presence of terror outfits, including TTP, inside Afghanistan,” the Office statement read, according to the Pakistani newspaper Dawn. “These terrorists pose a grave threat to Pakistan’s security and have consistently used Afghan territory to launch terror attacks inside Pakistani territory.”

“Pakistan has great respect for the people of Afghanistan. However, certain elements among those in power in Afghanistan are actively patronising TTP and using them as a proxy against Pakistan,” the Foreign Office statement continued. “Such an approach against a brotherly country, which stood with the people of Afghanistan through thick and thin, manifests shortsightedness. It ignores the support extended by Pakistan to the people of Afghanistan over the last several decades.”

The Taliban’s top spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, confirmed that the Pakistani military had encroached into Afghan territory in a statement published to his Twitter account on Monday. Mujahid claimed that Pakistan “bombed the houses of civilians, as a result, 6 people including 3 women and 3 children were martyred and a house destroyed in Paktika, as well as, two women were martyred due to the collapse of a house in Khost province.”

Mujahid’s statement went on to threaten attacks on Pakistan.

“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan strongly condemns these attacks and calls this reckless action a violation of Afghanistan’s territory,” the spokesman declared. “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, which has a long experience of freedom struggle against the superpowers of the world, does not allow anyone to invade its territory.”

“Pakistan should not blame Afghanistan for the lack of control, incompetence and problems in its own territory. Such incidents can have very bad consequences which will be out Pakistan’s control,” Mujahid added.

Mujahid also claimed that the terrorist Pakistan alleged was the target of the operations, Abdullah Shah, “is in Pakistan.”

Later on Monday, the Taliban “ministry of defense” claimed that it had bombed Pakistani military targets within Pakistan.

“In response to that aggression, the border forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan targeted military bases of Pakistan’s army across the artificial Durand Line with heavy weapons,” Taliban officials announced. Reports at press time have not offered any details on the scope of the damage from the Taliban attacks.

The Afghan broadcaster Tolo News reported on Monday that “a military confrontation between the Islamic Emirate and Pakistani soldiers started this morning (Monday) at seven and is ongoing, according to sources.”

Pakistan announced the mass deportation of 1.73 million Afghans in the country illegally in October, a move the Taliban angrily denounced as “unacceptable.”

Link


Afghanistan
Prominent TTP Commander Assassinated in Airstrike in Nangarhar
2023-08-20
[8am] Local sources in Nangarhar
The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country..
have reported the liquidation of Asad Afridi, a prominent commander of the Tehrik-e-Taliban
...Arabic for students...
Pakistain (TTP), in an aerial attack conducted by Pak forces within the province.
Pakistan, you say? Fascinating!
Sources revealed to Hasht-e Subh on Saturday, August 19, that the Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
occurred around 9:00 AM last Thursday in the Rina Parchaw area of Lalpoor district in Nangarhar, near the Durand border.

The sources further confirmed that Asad Afridi’s guards were also among the casualties of this attack.

Both the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain and the Pak government have yet to issue statements regarding this incident.

However,
death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate...
Pak media outlets have corroborated this development.

Rina Parchaw is situated in the vicinity of the Durand border and remains an active area for TTP fighters.

This incident follows another airstrike by Pak forces in the 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...
approximately six days ago.
Related:
Nangarhar: 2023-08-13 The Territory of the Jihadists: Who Are the Foreign Fighters of ISIS in Afghanistan?
Nangarhar: 2023-08-09 Hand grenade attack kills 2, injures 3 in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar
Nangarhar: 2023-08-09 Daily Evacuation Brief August 9, 2023
Link


Afghanistan
Taliban Imposes Controversial Ban on Machinery for Wheat Harvest in Khost Province, Affecting Farmers’ Productivity
2023-05-23
“The Prophet Mohammed did not need American machines to thresh and harvest, so neither do you.”
[8am] As the wheat harvest season begins in Afghanistan, the Taliban
...mindless ferocity in a turban...
has prohibited the use of machinery for threshing and harvesting wheat 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...
Several farmers in Khost reported on Sunday, May 21, that the Taliban has informed them in the province’s center and districts that they are not allowed to use machinery for wheat harvesting.

According to the farmers, this action by the Taliban has resulted in a prolonged process of wheat collection from the fields.

Farmers state that the extended duration of the wheat collection process, combined with recent hailstorms, has caused damage to their crops.

Thus far, the Taliban has not provided any explanation regarding the reasons for banning the use of machinery for wheat harvesting.

Last year, the Taliban had also declared the prohibition of using machinery for wheat threshing in several provinces, including Ghazni, Herat
...a venerable old Persian-speaking city in western Afghanistan, populated mostly by Tadjiks, which is why it's not as blood-soaked as areas controlled by Pashtuns...
, and Paktika
...which coincidentally borders South Wazoo...
.
Link


Afghanistan
ISIS Hideouts Targeted in Balkh Province, Mujahid Says
2023-03-19
[KhaamaPress] The Islamic Emirate spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid said that Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
security forces targeted ISIS hideouts in the fifth, sixth and eighth areas of Mazar-e-Sharif province, and described it as a substantial strike against Death Eaters.

Mr. Mujahid on Saturday wrote on Twitter that Taliban security forces launched special operations against the ISIS holy warriors in Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital city of Balk province.

The operation continued until late Friday night, as a result several ISIS fighters died and one Islamic Emirate security personnel sustained an injury, Mujahid said.

Additionally, local sources reported a clash between Taliban security forces and anti-government holy warriors in the Dashte Shor area of Mazar-e-Sharif.

With the arrival of spring, ISIS fighters have increased their attack throughout Afghanistan, particularly in northern provinces. Militants of 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 Province (ISIS-K) grabbed credit for the attack on the Tabyan Cultural Center, which resulted in the death and injury of scores of journalists in Mazar-e-Sharif.

Prior to the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul, ISIS presence was only seen in eastern Nangarhar
The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country..
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. However,
there's no worse danger than telling a mother her baby is ugly...
the Death Eater group quite rapidly expanded its operation to different parts of Afghanistan over the past 18 months.

According to 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...
Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), ISIS holy warriors have been behind some brutal attacks in Kabul over the past months, including the attack on the Russian Embassy, the Diplomatic Mission of Pakistain, and a hotel that accommodated Chinese citizens.

Meanwhile,
...back at the buffalo wallow, Standing Buffalo watched the circling Commanches and asked himself What would Geronimo do?...
the Death Eater group has also launched ruthless attacks on educational institutions and even targeted high-ranking Taliban officials in Kabul.
Link


Afghanistan
Teacher Provides Free English Courses for Children in Khost
2023-03-17
[ToloNews] A teacher 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...
cycles several kilometers each day to a village where he has been providing more than twenty children and teenagers free English lessons for the past five months.

Due to a lack of facilities and a suitable location for teaching, the classes take place in the open air. He said that on stormy or rainy days, some locals let him use their guest homes to teach children.

Nazratullah, the teacher in Khost, added that the students use carpets because there aren't any chairs available.

"There are around 20 to 25 children and young people who follow English lessons with us. There are also some young people who are not literate and come here to learn something," Nazrullah noted.

Although the village does not have access to educational facilities, they are grateful that they get the chance to study English there for free.

"I work in a pottery factory. I come here to learn English for free after work’" said Imdadullah, a student.

"We have an English course here and we've learned a lot," said Habibullah, a student.

When it's raining or storming, local resident Ali Marjan offers his home as a place to teach English.

"Sometimes, when there is a storm or rain, I open my house at that time and allow them to continue their studying," said Ali Marjan, a resident of Khost.

It is said that the land Nazaretullah and his students are using as a classroom is disputed territory between two tribes and might be taken from them when the matter is resolved.
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.
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Afghanistan
Commanders among six TTP terrorists killed in IED attack
2023-03-03
[GEO.TV] At least six bully boyz including commanders were killed and 15 others maimed Thursday in an improvised bomb (IED) attack targetting the Tehrik-e-Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
Pakistain (TTP) in Afghanistan’s 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...
Betcha they were key commanders too!
According to sources, the killed forces of Evil were identified as Abdul Manan, Alam Khan Mudakhel, Kajeer while three dead forces of Evil remain unnamed.

Among the injured bully boyz are commander Fazl Amin, commander Muhammad alias Toofan, commander Noor Payo Khan, Faqirullah, Tarozai, Sat Kai, Ali Sur Khan, Zubair, Hijratullah, Kamal, Sher Afzal, Bakhtullah, Zubihullah, and two others.

No group or country has grabbed credit for the attack.

It must be noted that the TTP pledges allegiance to the Afghan Taliban but is not directly a part of the group that rules in Kabul.

On Monday, Taliban forces killed a top ISIS commander who allegedly planned attacks against diplomatic missions in Afghanistan’s capital, a government official said.

The Afghan affiliate of ISIS, known as ISIS Khorasan, after an old name of the region, are enemies of the Taliban. Fighters loyal to ISIS first appeared in eastern Afghanistan in 2014, and later made inroads in other areas.

Violence in Afghanistan dramatically dipped after the Taliban seized power in August 2021.

But in the past year, security has worsened, with a spate of mass casualty attacks claimed by ISIS’s regional chapter.

Taliban forces killed Qari Fateh, the regional ISIS "intelligence and operations chief," during an operation on Sunday night, the Taliban government front man Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement.

Fateh "directly criminal masterminded recent operations in Kabul, including against diplomatic missions, mosques, and other targets," Mujahid said.

One other ISIS member was killed in the operation against the cell, which was based in Kabul’s Khair Khana area, according to the statement.

After Western forces left Afghanistan in August 2021, Pakistain sought a truce with the TTP, resulting in a months-long ceasefire and negotiations brokered by the Afghan Taliban. As part of the effort, many forces of Evil from Afghanistan were resettled in Pakistain.

The TTP ended the ceasefire in November 2022, and regrouped forces of Evil restarted attacks in Pakistain soon after.

Pakistain’s military effectively dismantled the TTP and killed most of its top leadership in a string of operations from 2014 onwards, driving most of the fighters into Afghanistan, where they regrouped.

On January 31, a jacket wallah went kaboom! inside a crowded mosque in a highly fortified security compound in the Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistain's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire...
Police Lines area, killing over 80 people, in the latest in a string of attacks targeting police. The responsibility was taken by outlawed TTP.

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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.
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