Recent Appearances...

Warning: Undefined array key "rbname" in /data/rantburg.com/www/rantburg/pgrecentorg.php on line 14
Hello !
Recent Appearances...

Haji Mohammad Omar	Haji Mohammad Omar	al-Qaeda	Afghanistan/South Asia	20040709	Link
Mulla Mohammad Omar	Mulla Mohammad Omar	Taliban	Afghanistan/South Asia	20050706
Mullah Mohammad Omar	Mullah Mohammad Omar	Taliban	Afghanistan/South Asia	20020223

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

IDF kills 2 Palestinians, including Hamas commander, in northern West Bank clashes

2024-04-13

[IsraelTimes] Army says Mohammad Omar Daraghmeh was a ’central Hamas
Hamas

...a regional Iranian catspaw,...
operative’ in the Tubas area, was planning ’significant terror acts’ against Israel

Two Paleostinian button men were killed early Friday in confrontations with Israeli forces in the West Bank, Paleostinian medics and the army said, with the Islamic terror group Hamas later acknowledging one of those killed was a local commander in its military wing.

The Paleostine Red Islamic Thingy Society said another three people were maimed, including one who sustained serious injuries, during the festivities in the northern West Bank town of Tubas and the adjacent refugee camp of al-Faraa. The area around Tubas is a stronghold of Paleostinian gangs and the frequent target of Israeli military incursions.

Mohammad Omar Daraghmeh, the head of a local Hamas infrastructure in Tubas, was killed during an exchange of fire with troops, the Israel Defense Forces said.

Amid the overnight incident, Daraghmeh shot at troops from a vehicle, who then returned fire, killing him. Several firearms and other military equipment were seized from his car.

Daraghmeh was a "central Hamas operative" in the Tubas area and in recent months was working on "advancing significant terror acts against Israel," according to the IDF.

Hamas confirmed Daraghmeh’s death and that he was a member of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.

The IDF said the second Paleostinian man, named by Paleostinian media as Mohammad Shahmawi, was killed when troops opened fire on Paleostinians who were shooting and throwing bombs at them.

Hamas said it mourned Shahmawi’s death, but did not claim him as a member of the terror group.

Since October 7, troops have arrested some 3,700 wanted Paleostinians across the West Bank, including more than 1,600 affiliated with Hamas. According to the Paleostinian Authority health ministry, more than 450 West Bank Paleostinians have been killed in that time. The IDF says the vast majority of them were button men or Lions of Islam carrying out attacks.

Link

Afghanistan

Southern Afghan City Becomes De Facto Capital As Taliban Chief Tightens Grip On Power

2023-04-19

[RFERL] Afghanistan’s southern city of Kandahar is the historical birthplace and the political base of the Taliban
Taliban

...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
. Now, the country’s second-largest city appears to be becoming the de facto capital under the murderous Moslem group’s rule.

Several officials have recently been transferred from the capital, Kabul, to Kandahar. Taliban Supreme Leader Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada
...Former deputy to Taliban supremo Mullah Akhtar Mansour, now The Big Man Himself...
lives in the city and rarely leaves the Pashtun heartland in southern Afghanistan.

Experts say Akhundzada’s decision to relocate the offices of two Taliban spokesmen to Kandahar is part of efforts to tighten his grip on power. The move comes amid growing reports of infighting between key Taliban ministers based in Kabul and a powerful group of holy mans led by Akhundzada in Kandahar.

"It looks like political power is being transferred from Kabul to Kandahar," Sami Yousafzai, a veteran Afghan journalist and commentator who has tracked the Taliban since its emergence in the 1990s, told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi. "[Akhundzada] is creating a parallel administration to the one in Kabul."

In recent months, senior Taliban officials have appeared to criticize Akhundzada, accusing him of monopolizing power and empowering ultraconservative holy mans who share his bully boy views.

Akhundzada’s repressive policies have alienated Afghans and isolated the Taliban's unrecognized government internationally. Under his leadership, the Taliban has severely curtailed women’s rights, stamped out the free press, and committed human rights
When they're defined by the state or an NGO they don't mean much...
abuses.

Akhundzada, a hard-line holy man and former chief justice, has the ultimate say on all important matters under the Taliban’s holy manal system.

'APPOINTING LOYALISTS EVERYWHERE'
After the Taliban seized power in 2021, ministers carried out the day-to-day administration of the Taliban government. But in recent months, Akhundzada has sought to micromanage the affairs of the state, said Yousufzai.

"He is now involved in appointing district commanders, administrators, and the directors of various government departments," Yousufzai told Radio Azadi. "He is appointing loyalists everywhere."

Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s chief front man, relocated his office from Kabul to Kandahar on April 6, according to Abdul Mateen Qani, a front man for the Ministry of Information and Culture.

Innamullah Samangani, another key government front man and head of the Taliban’s Media and Information Center, was also recently transferred to Kandahar.

Kandahar, a historically important political center, briefly served as the capital of Afghanistan, which was founded in 1747. Many of the kings that ruled the country until the monarchy was tossed in 1973 hailed from the broader Kandahar region.

The Taliban first emerged in Kandahar during the civil war in Afghanistan in the mid-1990s. Its founder, Mullah Mohammad Omar, kept Kandahar as the de facto capital even after the Taliban seized control of Kabul in 1996. The hard-line Islamist group was ousted from power by the U.S.-led invasion in 2001.

Andrew Watkins, a senior Afghanistan expert at the United States Institute of Peace think tank in Washington, says Mujahid’s transfer is one of the most public signs of a trend in which Akhundzada appears to be strengthening his influence.

Watkins said Akhundzada wants control over "public messaging," which he says has "long been a priority for the Taliban."

The Taliban has denied that the decision to relocate bigwigs to Kandahar is part of a power struggle.

Mujahid said part of his office has moved to Kandahar in order to report more closely on the meetings and other activities of the Taliban chief. "The recent move doesn't amount to transferring the capital to Kandahar," Mujahid told Radio Azadi.

But observers are not convinced.

"There are factions within the Taliban that want more power," Tariq Farhadi, an Afghan political analyst based in Europe, told Radio Azadi. "It paints an overall worrying picture for the future of the Taliban."

Link

Afghanistan

Taliban Members Secretly Send Daughters To School Amid Supreme Leader's Ban: Report

2023-03-23

[IB Times] Some Taliban members secretly send their daughters to underground schools in Afghanistan or to foreign schools to continue their studies after the Taliban's supreme leader reinstated the group's signature policy prohibiting Afghan women and girls from attending high school, according to a new report.

Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada revived the ban from the '90s after the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021, more than two decades after their ouster by a United States-led military coalition. The controversial move makes it the only country that bars girls from getting a secondary education.

However, the Wall Street Journal reported that a number of families, including "a small minority of the Taliban," are sending their daughters and other female relatives to secret schools, often in houses, in Afghanistan or to countries such as Pakistan to study.

Some high-ranking Taliban officials have hinted at their opposition to the ban on girls' education in speeches, saying that they don't want to be harsh on Afghan people, despite the hardships faced by women amid their grip on power.

"If yesterday we were harsh against the enemy, today we are soft towards our people," Taliban's Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani said in a speech in February. "It is not our aim to be a dictator and rule the people in such a way that they suffer under us."

Taliban Defense Minister Mullah Yaqoob Mujahid, the son of the group's founder Mullah Mohammad Omar, appeared to echo Haqqani's sentiments in the same month.

"We should always listen to the legitimate demands of the people," Mujahid said.

Taliban Justice Minister Abdul Hakim Sharayi, a close ally of the group's supreme leader, confirmed that the government's cabinet of ministers did not agree with suspending girls' education. Sharayi said some Taliban officials preferred gradual changes to Afghanistan's education system.

However, Sharayi said that the ban was needed because of the U.S.' "ideological invasion," claiming that the Americans attempted to change their culture and "morally
destroy" their society.

Taliban ministers have traveled multiple times to Kandahar to privately urge their leader to reverse the policy banning girls from receiving secondary education, some officials and foreign ministers familiar with the matter told WSJ.

On the ground, many underground schools have been put up across the country to help Afghan girls continue their studies and evade being prosecuted by the Taliban, the outlet reported.

One such school is being hosted in a two-room house in Afghanistan's capital Kabul. One of the 40 girls getting secondary education there, 13-year-old Yalda, told WSJ in English that she attends the underground school because of her dream of becoming an engineer. However, Yalda expressed her sadness that she could not decide on her own future because of the ban.

In northern Afghanistan, residents there connived with local Taliban officials to keep girls' high schools open, according to the report.

A 25-year-old Afghan woman told the publication that the Taliban's intelligence service took no action when they visited one of her secret schools.

Meanwhile, Radio Begum, a Kabul-based radio station, has changed its programming to accommodate Afghan girls who want to learn by including six hours of school classes daily. The Afghan radio station also trained teachers to make their voices more compelling and brought a few girls into their studio to participate in the production and respond to the teachers.

Some Afghan teachers resorted to online teaching to accommodate girls who have internet access.

Homeira Qadiri, an Afghan teacher of an online class, said the students are being provided with PDF files of some popular books, including George Orwell's "1984" and Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale."

Despite this, Qadiri said educating students in physical schools remains the best approach.

Data from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) revealed that 80% of school-aged Afghan girls and young women – 2.5 million people – remain out of school due to the Taliban's education policy.

In December, the Taliban expanded the ban to the college level, affecting 100,000 Afghan female students attending government and private higher education institutions.

Link

Afghanistan

Islamic Emirate Member Mutasim Agha Jan Returns to Afghanistan

2022-12-16

[ToloNews] A famous member of the Islamic Emirate, Mutasim Agha Jan, who was working as finance minister during the first rule of the Islamic Emirate, has returned to Afghanistan.

Agha Jan returned with acting Minister of Defense Mawlawi Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid, who was on an official visit to the UAE.

During the former government, Mutasim Afgha Jan was considered the head of the political committee of the Islamic Emirate. Agha Jan was also engaged in talks between the Islamic Emirate and the former republican government.

"I was a Taliban
Taliban

...mindless ferocity in a turban...
, I am a Taliban and I will be a Taliban," he said.

Agha Jan worked as finance minister in the first round of the Islamic Emirate’s rule and was one of the senior members of the Quetta Shura
...Taliban's command center, located in Quetta, that the Pak govt hasn't been able to find since its establishment in November, 2001. Honest...
of the Taliban’s leadership until 2010.

Agha Jan has been living in the UAE.

Aha Jan is from Kandahar province and was one of the close figures to the founder of the Islamic Emirate, Mullah Mohammad Omar Mujahid.

"May Allah give us brotherhood and intimacy to give our hands to each other and be supportive of each other instead of being enemies," Agha Jan said.

"His return will strengthen unity among the Taliban. If he is provided with a professional mission or post, he has good capability and ability," said Asif Nang, a political analyst.

"He (Agha Jan) has faced disputes and was forced to leave the front. He is still now an influential figure and the Taliban leaders respect him. I believe his return will benefit the Afghans, the Islamic Emirate and the country," said Hassan Haqyar, a political analyst.

Link

Afghanistan

Panjshir Residents Urge Islamic Emirate to Assess Relatives’ Cases Fairly

2022-10-18

[ToloNews] Some residents of the central province of Panjshir called on the Islamic Emirate to assess the cases of their relatives in jug in a fair way.

The residents said that some of their relatives have been detained in Kabul.

"Their crime is not clear for us. No one tells us what crime they committed. We went to the governor, to the council of Ulema. No one told us what they are accused of," said Mohammad Omar, a relative of a detainee.

"My mom is worried. My father went out to look for them. A letter from the intelligence department arrived to say that this person is innocent," said Mirza Shah, a relative of a detainee.

This comes as the Kabul governor’s office said that a committee comprised of six officials has been formed to investigate the cases of the detainees. The committee was formed after some residents of Panjshir met with the Kabul governor.

"Those residents of Panjshir who are living in Kabul and are currently in jail, and who are innocent and committed few crimes, their cases have been sent to the Prime Minister's Office. A decision will be made about their release," said Ziaullah Hashimi, a front man for the Kabul governor’s office.

This comes as the UN Assistant Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) also called for an investigation into the detentions in Panjshir.

Link

Afghanistan

Blast Near Mosque in Kabul Caused Fatalities: Intl Hospital

2022-05-26

[ToloNews] A blast took place near a mosque in PD 4 of capital Kabul on Wednesday evening, security officials confirmed.
Islam's Natural State™. Not our problem
The department of Kabul security put the number of casualties at two maimed, but Emergency Hospital tweeted they have received 22 victims from the mosque blast, 5 of whom were dead on arrival.

"We were around here, when a sound happened, I lost consciousness," said Mohammad Omar, a resident of Kabul.

The witnesses said the earth-shattering kaboom happened after the worshipers finished prayers at Hazara
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...
t Zarkaria mosque in Charai Traffic area of PD 4.

Hazara? That’ll be an ISIS-K initiative, then.

"We hadn’t finished the prayer when a loud sound was heard. I received a call to ask if I was ok. When we went to the mosque, we saw dead bodies lying on the ground and the maimed also," said Mohammad Luqman, a witness.

"It was night, we were just done with the prayer when the blast happened. The people went to the mosque, the people on the two front lines suffered casualties," said Mohammad Zahir, a resident of Kabul.

This comes as three back-to-back blasts hit several parts of Mazar-e-Sharif also on Wednesday.

The cause of the blast has yet to be clarified and it has not been claimed by anyone.

Link

Afghanistan

Officials: Taliban blocked unaccompanied women from flights

2022-03-27

[AlAhram] Afghanistan's Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
rulers refused to allow dozens of women to board several flights, including some overseas, because they were traveling without a male guardian, two Afghan airline officials said Saturday.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions from the Taliban, said dozens of women who arrived at Kabul's international airport Friday to board domestic and international flights were told they couldn't do so without a male guardian.

Some of the women were dual nationals returning to their homes overseas, including some from Canada, according to one of the officials. Women were denied boarding on flights to Islamabad, Dubai and ~~The Sick Man of Europe~~ Turkey
...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor...
on Kam Air and the state-owned Ariana Airline, said the officials.

The order came from the Taliban leadership, said one official.

By Saturday, some women traveling alone were given permission to board an Ariana Airlines flight to western 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...
province, the official said. However,
a hangover is the wrath of grapes...
by the time the permission was granted they had missed their flight, he said.

The airport's president and police chief, both from the Taliban movement and both Islamic holy mans, were meeting Saturday with airline officials.

It was still unclear whether the Taliban would exempt air travel from an order issued months ago requiring women traveling more than 45 miles (72 kilometers) to be accompanied by a male relative. Taliban officials contacted by The News Agency that Dare Not be Named did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Since taking power last August, the Taliban leadership have been squabbling among themselves as they struggle to transition from war to governing. It has pit hard-liners _ like acting Prime Minister Mullah Hasan Akhund, who is deeply rooted in the old guard _ against the more pragmatic among them, like Sirajuddin Haqqani

...son of Pashtun warlord Jalaluddin Haqqani, still titular head of the Haqqani Network....
. He took over leadership of the powerful Haqqani network
...a branch of the Afghan Taliban, based in Pakistain. The network is a family business founded by the later Jalaluddin Haqqani...
from his father Jalaluddin Haqanni. The elder Haqqani, who died several years ago, is from Akhund's generation, who ruled Afghanistan under the strict and unchallenged leadership of Mullah Mohammad Omar.

Link

Afghanistan

It’s general amnesty, don’t defame IEA: Taliban’s acting defense minister to his fighters

2021-09-24

[KhaamaPress] The acting defense minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob called on foot soldiers that general amnesty has been announced and no one should defame the IEA with their arbitrary actions.

The acting defense minister has asked his foot soldiers to seriously implement general amnesty and does not mistreat people.

A statement released by Yaqoob reads that some Taliban
Taliban

...mindless ferocity in a turban...
members have been seen in different provinces carrying out reprisal and have killed those who had worked for the previous government, which is not the policy of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

"Behave well with people, do not defame IEA with your arbitrary actions, stop taking unnecessary photos and videos, and do not enter to government administrations unless you need to." The statement addressed Taliban fighters.

The son of the founder of the Taliban further added that some commanders of the Taliban have recruited ill-bred people to expand their ranks which in opposition to the IEA and the culprits will be given punishment.

The call comes after some Taliban fighters have reportedly been entering houses of the officials of the previous government by night and kill and kidnap them.

Link

Afghanistan

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

2021-09-10

[KhaamaPress] Former officials of the Taliban
Taliban

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

More about the interim government

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

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

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

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

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

A short biography of the key members:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Al Ahram adds:

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

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

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

Link

Afghanistan

Mullah Yaqoob in a audio message instructs Taliban fighters ‘’No one has the right to go to anyone’s home. No one has the right to take weapons’’

2021-08-18

See what they do, not what is said.

[PUBLISH.TWITTER]

Mullah Yaqoob in a audio message instructs Taliban fighters “No one has the right to go to anyone’s home. No one has the right to take weapons of vehicles from homes of former officials. Protect public property.” pic.twitter.com/0Qy36JKeru
— BILAL SARWARY (@bsarwary) August 17, 2021

Mullah Yaqoob, more fully Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, who has been acting as interim Taliban commander, is the elder son of Mullah Mohammad “Blinky” Omar. Blinky was the “Leader of the Faithful” during the Talib Emirate, v.1.

Link

Afghanistan

Taliban’s Military Advance 'Temporary': MoI

2021-06-24

[ToloNews] Reports indicate that the Taliban
Taliban

...Arabic for students...
have taken over the centers of Dand-e-Pathan and Janikhel districts in Paktia province, Shamalzai in Zabul province and Khash in Badakhshan province in the past 24 hours.

Meanwhile,
...back at the abandoned silver mine, a triangular dorsal fin appeared in the water. Then another...
sources confirm that eight district centers have fallen into Taliban control in the past 24 hours: Five districts (Said Karam, Ahmad Aba, Rohani Baba, Jani Khel and Dand-e Patan) in Paktia province, Khenjan in Baghlan, Shamalzai in Zabul and Khash in Badakhshan.

Meanwhile,
...back at the abandoned silver mine, a triangular dorsal fin appeared in the water. Then another...
footage on social media shows the Taliban claiming to have taken over Sher Khan Bandar port in the Imam Sahib district of Kunduz province.

The Afghan Ministry of Interior (MoI), however, has said that the Taliban’s recent military advance is temporary, and they will be pushed back soon by security forces.

"How have they gotten this much strength within a month's time and moved toward Mazar-e-Sharif, toward Faryab and Takhar? This is propaganda, it is a temporary thing, even the Taliban themselves do not believe that they have reached these regions," said Naqibullah Fayeq, deputy minister of interior for security and strategy.

Meanwhile,
...back at the abandoned silver mine, a triangular dorsal fin appeared in the water. Then another...
Tajikistan’s media reported that over 130 Afghan border police who were deployed in Sher Khan Bandar port have fled to Tajikistan after facing Taliban attacks.

Security authorities in Kunduz province have said that the security forces are determined to retake lost territories from the Taliban.

"Our security forces show a strong spirit to resist, and have the courage to retake the district. God willing, we assure you that the enemy will never be able to takeover Ali Abad district," said Mohammad Haikal, Ali Abad district governor.

"We retook Ali Abad region, we are now ready to move toward Khan Abad," said Mohammad Omar Pakhsaparan, Aqtash district governor in Kunduz.

There are also reports that the Taliban has taken over Khash district.

In the past 48 hours, the Taliban also attacked Ab Band district in Ghazni and managed to take over a security checkpoint.

The Afghan government on Tuesday said that the Afghan National Security and Defense Forces (ANDSF) recaptured three strategic districts from the Taliban: Balkh district in Balkh, Dushi district in Baghlan and Ali Abad district in Kunduz.

Link

Afghanistan

Aliabad district in northern Kunduz province falls in the hands of the Taliban fighters

2021-06-14

[KhaamaPress] Local officials said that Aliabad district in Kunduz province had fallen to the Taliban
Taliban

...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
on Saturday night.

Haji Mohammad Omar Khan, a parliamentarian from Kunduz province, confirmed to Khaama Press that the Taliban carried offensive attacks in the center of Aliabad district of Kunduz Province on Saturday.

He also added that the Taliban captured the center of Aliabad district and a military base after hours of fighting with government forces.

Omar Khan stated that security forces abandoned their bases days before and yet it is not clear whether the withdrawal was a tactical retreat or defeat.

So far, the Security forces have not yet commented on the matter.

Aliabad was the third district to fall to the Taliban since Friday night, two districts in Ghor and Balkh provinces were seized by the Taliban late on Friday.

Link

Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$T in /data/rantburg.com/www/rantburg/pgrecentorg.php on line 132
-12 More