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Mohammad Yousuf Ahmadi Mohammad Yousuf Ahmadi Taliban Afghanistan 20051231 Link
Qari Yousuf Ahmadi Qari Yousuf Ahmadi Taliban Afghanistan 20060217 Link
Yousuf Ahmadi Yousuf Ahmadi Taliban Afghanistan Afghan At Large 20060430 Link

Afghanistan
'6 Taliban Commanders' Killed In Herat Airstrike: Officials
2020-07-23
[ToloNews] At least six Taliban
...Arabic for students...
 local commanders were killed on Wednesday in an Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
 in 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, local officials said.

Jelani Farhad, the governor's front man, said that the strike was conducted in "Zeyart Kham" area of Guzara district of Herat province and several other commanders were maimed.

Based on preliminary information, those reported killed: "Abdullah Akbari, Mawolavi Haidar, Mullah Rahmatullah, Zabiullah Akbari, Mullah Mohammad--known as Idres--and Mullah Abdulhaq--known us Osama," were the Taliban local commanders for Guzara, Adraksan, Pashton Zarghon districts of Herat province.

According to Farhad, the commanders were gathered and making plans to attack government installations and to conduct attacks in Herat city, when they were targeted in the airstrike.

Several other Taliban were also maimed in the strike and also their weapon caches were destroyed, Farhad said.

Meanwhile,
...back at the the conspirators' cleverly concealed hideout the long-awaited message arrived. They quickly got to work with their decoder rings...
 the residents claim that at least eight non-combatants were killed and nearly 20 others were maimed in the airstrike attack, which they say targeted a wedding party.
Where is it written that a jihadi attack cannot be planned at a Taliban-adjacent wedding?
A number of witnesses and maimed in the incident say that aircraft also targeted those who were fleeing the area after bombing the wedding ceremony.

Women and children are also among dead and maimed, residents said.

Officials at the Herat District Hospital say that five people injured in the airstrike have been transferred to the hospital, and that so far a woman is reported to be at death's door.

The Taliban said in a statement that civilians have been killed in the attack.

At the same time, a car carrying civilians was reportedly hit by a Taliban mine planted in the Osto village, on the border between Guzara and Adraskan districts, killing or injuring a number of civilians.

Several maimed were transferred to health centers, Farhad said.
The Jerusalem Post reports 45 dead from two airstrikes, at least eight of whom were civilians, with more wounded, adding:
A front man for U.S. forces in Afghanistan said they had not taken part in Wednesday's Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s.

Qari Muhammad Yousuf Ahmadi, a Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
 front man, said in a statement that two airstrikes in Heart had killed eight civilians and maimed 12.

Two local officials confirmed there had been two rounds of airstrikes.
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Afghanistan
Recent Blasts Call Kabul Security Strategy Into Question
2020-07-12
[ToloNews] Kabul residents and a number of military commentators on Saturday strongly criticized the Afghan intelligence agencies and the security institutions for their failure to provide security for the people in the capital city, saying Kabul witnessed 14 IED blasts over the past ten days targeting government vehicles.

In the latest incident, a top officer of the Ministry of Defense and his driver were maimed after an IED hit their vehicle in PD16 of Kabul city.

"The honorable officer has experienced some shock. His driver and other colleagues who were maimed have been shifted to a 400-bed hospital," said Yousuf Ahmadi, a relative of the officer.

"We are being destroyed, everyone who dies their families become devastated," said Gula Jan, a resident in Kabul.

"When there is negligence, there are more tragedies," said Sherzai, a resident in Kabul.

"There are vacuums within the security institutions and these vacuums undermine the prevention of these blasts, there are circles who do not want the people to live in peace," said Hussain Ahmad, a resident in Kabul.

Last week a similar blast targeted government vehicles in PD11 and an attack on an NDS vehicle in PD16 resulted in injuries to at least ten military personnel and civilians.

"The fundamental aspect behind the recent blasts in Kabul, insecurities and IED blasts is rooted in the poor management and in the lack of a working strategy in Afghanistan’s security agencies," said military expert Jawed Kohistan
...a backwoods district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa distinguished by being even more rustic than is the norm among the local Pashtuns....
i.

The parliament has summoned the security officials to speak to the fragile security situation in Kabul, but the security officials have failed to appear before the politicians four times over the past few weeks.
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Afghanistan
Taliban: Claims about death of Al Qaeda leader in Helmand are false
2019-10-09
Does he mean Asim Umar, chief of Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) whose death was reported yesterday, or someone else?
[ALEMARAHENGLISH] Officials of the stooge Kabul administration claimed to have killed a leader associated with Al Qaeda organization during the raid and bombing of a wedding in Musa Kala district, Helmand
...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan...
We categorically reject this claim by Kabul officials and consider it a part of enemy fabricated propaganda.

Truth of the matter remains that the said operation in Musa Kala district only caused heavy civilian losses and tens of ordinary civilian Afghans including those participating in a wedding ceremony were martyred and maimed.

The enemy is trying to use such claims to conceal the crime it perpetrated in Musa Kala.

Spokesman of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan

Qari Muhammad Yousuf Ahmadi

Related:
Al Qaeda: 2019-10-05 US offers reward for Islamic State leader linked to Niger ambush
Al Qaeda: 2019-10-03 Arrested HujiB leader met Osama bin Laden
Al Qaeda: 2019-10-02 UK: Gang of 16 knife wielders single-out white victims in Londonistan
Related:
Helmand: 2019-10-07 Afghan MoI Summary: 25 Taliban Terrorists Killed In Badghis
Helmand: 2019-10-05 Kidnapped Teachers, Health Workers Rescued In Helmand
Helmand: 2019-10-04 Airstrikes kill 18 Taliban militants in 6 provinces, destroy stolen Humvee
Link


Afghanistan
Taliban militants detonate 4 car bombs, loses 25 fighters in failed attack in Kandahar
2019-07-01
[KhaamaPress] The Afghan cops killed 25 bully boyz during an intense battle in Maruf district of Kandahar on Saturday night.

The Ministry of Interior in a statement said the Talibs launched a major offensive on Maruf district compound by detonating four boom-mobiles.

However,
the hip bone's connected to the leg bone...
 the interior ministry said the security forces effectively responded to the assault and killed 25 bully boyz during an intense shootout.

Meanwhile,
...back at the palazzo, Count Guido had been cornered by the banditti...
 the Kandahar Police Chief Gen. Tadin Khan Achakzai confirmed that Talibs detonated boom-mobiles during an attack on Maruf district compound.

Gen. Tadin Khan further added that some security personnel also bit the dust during the attack.

Ghani Slams Taliban Attack That Killed Eight Civilians

[ToloNews] President Ashraf Ghani
...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money...
 in a statement on Sunday condemned the Taliban’s bombings in the southern province of Kandahar that killed at least 11 people, eight of them the employees of the provincial office of the Independent Election Commission.

The attack was carried out by four attackers who drove explosive-laden Humvees, targeting the district governor’s compound in Maroof district of Kandahar province, the provincial police chief Gen. Tadeen Khan said.

Khan said the attack was carried out at early 2 am on Sunday. It was followed by few hours of clashes between other attackers and the security forces, he added.

Hours after the attack, the provincial police spokesman Jamal Barikzai said that the attack left 11 dead and 27 others wounded.

He said that 17 Taliban fighters were killed in the attack.

Ghani said in the statement that attacking a civilian institution which is working for institutionalizing democracy in the country, is an inhuman and unforgivable act. However, he did not mention the Taliban in his statement.

“Terrorists are targeting civilians and public institutions to hide their defeat on the battlefields,” Ghani said, adding that “but they should know that they will not reach their notorious ends by such acts.”

Maroof is a remote and the most insecure district in Kandahar and more parts of it are under Taliban’s influence.
Al Ahram adds:
Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman said the fighters killed election commission employees and 57 members of the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces (ANDSF). They also captured 11 others with five vehicles and a large cache of weapons during the attack at the district centre.

But Afghan government officials said the Taliban had exaggerated the casualty figures.
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Afghanistan
Taliban storm security posts in west Afghanistan, kill 21
2019-01-07
KABUL (Reuters) - Taliban insurgents have stormed security posts in west Afghanistan, killing 21 police and pro-government militia members, officials said on Monday, the latest in a surge of attacks that has cast doubt on tentative steps toward talks.

The Taliban attacked the checkpoints in two different parts of Badghis province, which is on the border with Turkmenistan, late on Sunday, provincial officials said.

Abdul Aziz Bek, head of the Badghis provincial council, said 14 policemen and seven members of pro-government militias were killed, while nine were injured.

A second government official, Jamshid Shahabi, a spokesman for the Badghis provincial governor, said more than 15 Taliban militants were killed and 10 wounded in the clashes.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attacks, among the most deadly in the province in many months.

Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, said in statement they killed 34 members of the security forces and pro-government militias and seized many weapons and ammunition.

Leaders of the hardline Islamist group and the U.S. officials are scheduled to meet this month to discuss the withdrawal of foreign forces and a possible ceasefire.
Link


Afghanistan
Taliban blow up Afghan army outpost in Kandahar, killing five soldiers, police say
2019-01-03
Taliban
...Arabic for students...
 fighters detonated explosives planted in a tunnel below an Afghan military outpost, killing five soldiers, a police official said on Wednesday.
Six soldiers were maimed in the attack on Tuesday in the Maiwand district of the southern province of Kandahar, police front man Mohammad Ashraf Watandost said.

A Taliban front man, Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, said the krazed killers, fighting to overthrow the government and reimpose strict Islamic law after their 2001 ouster, had killed or maimed 35 soldiers and destroyed a large cache of weapons and ammunition.

Afghan border security forces separately thwarted an attack on Italian military advisers at a paramilitary base in the western province of 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...
 on Wednesday.

Noorullah Qadri, the commander of 207 Zafar military corps, said two attackers who had infiltrated the border security forces tried to kill the Italians.

"The Italian nationals escaped uninjured. One attacker was bumped off immediately and the other was tossed in the clink
Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try!
," said Qadri.

The Italian forces are part of the NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all....
-led Resolute Support Mission focused on training, advising and assisting the Afghan forces in four western provinces. Italia has 895 soldiers attached to Resolute Support.

Officials at the Italian embassy in Kabul were not immediately available for comment.
Link


Afghanistan
Taliban horse-trade for body of police chief killer
2018-11-06
[DAWN] The Taliban
...mindless ferocity in a turban...
 is demanding the body of an assassin who rubbed out a powerful Afghan police chief, in return for the remains of 13 people killed in an army helicopter crash in territory controlled by the turbans.

Tribal elders in the restive western province of Farah bordering Iran have been handling negotiations for the exchange of bodies for nearly a week.

So far only 12 of the 25 people killed in the helicopter accident in Taliban-controlled Anar Dara district on October 31 have been given to Afghan authorities.

Officials blamed bad weather for the crash, but the Taliban claimed its fighters brought down the aircraft.

"We want to hand over the bodies from the helicopter crash to their respective families via the International Committee for the Red Thingy, but on condition that the enemy hand over the body of martyred fighter Zabihullah Abu Dajana, who killed Commander Abdul Raziq, to his family," Taliban front man Qari Yousuf Ahmadi said in WhatsApp message.

Among the bodies returned were those of provincial councillor Jamila Amini, civilians and businessmen, Farah governor front man Nasir Mehri told AFP.

"No military officials have been recovered yet," Mehri said.

Farah police front man Mohibullah Mohib confirmed that 12 bodies had been recovered thanks to the efforts of tribal elders.

"The rest of them are still with the enemy," he added.

The bodies still in Taliban hands include those of the deputy army corps commander for western Afghanistan and the head of the Farah provincial council.

Link


India-Pakistan
Pakistan rejects Afghanistan's 'baseless' allegations on Kandahar attack
2018-10-25
[DAWN] Pakistain on Wednesday rejected Kabul's "baseless" and "unfounded allegations" regarding a recent attack in Kandahar, in which three top Afghan officials were killed when their own guards opened fire on them.

The FO's comments come a day after Afghanistan's Caped President Ashraf Ghani
...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. ..
 alleged that the attack on slain Kandahar police commander Gen Abdul Raziq was planned in Pakistain, Tolo News reported.

"I want to say that this conspiracy was plotted in Pakistain. So Pakistain should give us the criminals so that we can bring them to justice," Ghani claimed.

A Foreign Office (FO) statement, without referring to specific statements, said: "Pakistain rejects baseless and unfounded allegations regarding the latest Kandahar attacks. No hard evidence or intelligence-related information has been shared to date with Pakistain to substantiate such claims."

The FO pointed out that "it would have been more appropriate to invoke the relevant arrangement" under the Afghanistan-Pakistain Action Plan for Peace and Stability "to mutually and effectively address and investigate any such unfortunate incidents... instead of resorting to media blame game which is contrary to the seven principles of cooperation agreed between the two sides earlier this year."

A Taliban
...mindless ferocity in a turban...
 front man Qari Yousuf Ahmadi who grabbed credit for the Oct 18 attack earlier told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named that United States Gen Scott Miller, commander of US and NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and structure....
 troops in Afghanistan ‐ who had escaped the attack unharmed ‐ was the intended target.

Link


Afghanistan
HIMARS strike killed 50 Taliban leaders in Helmand, claims US Military
2018-05-31
[Khaama Press] The US Military officials claim that the latest rocket artillery strike in southern Helmand province has left at least 50 senior Taliban leaders dead.

Lt. Col. Martin O’Donnell, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan, quoted by Military Times said a weapon system known as the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, which is capable of firing GPS-guided rockets, destroyed a command-and-control position that was a known meeting place for high-level Taliban leaders.

Accordi g to Lt. Col. O’Donnell, the rocket artillery strike left at least 50 leaders dead.

He also added that because of the large number of leaders killed and their involvement in a range of attack planning, the impact of the HIMARS strike “will be felt beyond Helmand province.”

“Task Force-Southwest, under U.S. Forces-Afghanistan authorities, confirmed a ground-based rocket artillery strike using the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, against a command and control node for high-level Taliban leaders in Musa Qala district, May 24,” the US Forces in Afghanistan said in a statement last week.

The statement further added that the structure was a known meeting location for prominent Taliban leaders, where they planned and facilitated attacks against Afghan National Defense and Security Forces, who are supporting election security in the area.

Taliban reacts at deadly HIMARS artillery strike in Helmand province

[Khaama Press] The Taliban group in Afghanistan reacted to the deadly HIMARS artillery strike in southern Helmand province, as usual, claiming that no leader or militant of the group has been killed or wounded in the strike.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi claims that the strike targeted two houses in Mosa Qala district, leaving five civilians dead and three others wounded.
Link


Afghanistan
Letter by Mullah Omar’s son: Myth or Depiction of deep rift among Taliban leaders
2018-04-01
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] Mullah Yaqoob, the son of Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
 group founder and ex-supreme leader, Mullah Mohammaer Omar, regarding the deadly attack January in Kabul city, reveals deep rift among the Taliban group leadership.

The authenticity of the letter cannot be independently verified but it carries an official tamp of the Taliban group with the official designation of Mullah Yaqoob as the deputy Taliban chief for the military affairs.

The letter states that the attack near Jamhoriat hospital with an ambulance has not only resulted in massive civilian casualties but resulted into depiction of a negative image of Taliban on domestic and international level besides resulting into reduced support to the movement.

Mullah Yaqoob states in his letter that the current Taliban supreme leader Sheikh Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada
...Former deputy to Taliban supremo Mullah Akhtar Mansour, now The Big Man Himself...
 and the military commission did not consult with him prior to conducting the attack.

According to Mullah Yaqoob, the attack was carried out based on the instructions of Haqqani network leader, insisting that he has always rejected such attacks that results into growing hatred among the people regarding the Taliban group.

He suggested that the Taliban leader Mullah Akhundzada should refrain from such attacks in the future results more into the defamation of the Taliban as compared to the benefits the group gains from such attacks.

The Taliban group had claimed the responsibility for the attack which left more than 100 dead and hundreds more maimed.

The group called the attack a major breakthrough claiming that heavy casualties were incurred to the police forces after the jacket wallahs managed to infiltrated through several check posts in the city to conduct the attack.

This is not the first reports have emerged regarding internal rift among the Taliban leadership after the confirmation of the death of the group’s supreme leader Mullh Omar.

However,
a poor excuse is better than no excuse at all...
 a front man for the Taliban group Qari Yousuf Ahmadi blames the intelligence circles for the circulation of the letter although the Afghan officials have not commented in this regard so far.

Link


Afghanistan
Video depicts massive explosion as B-52s bomb Taliban mines factory
2017-11-26
Fifteen second video can be seen at the link.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The US military in Afghanistan has released a new video of the ongoing air campaign against the Taliban
...Arabic for students...
 purportedly showing the destruction of a mines factory.

The video shows the Arclight airstrike on Taliban explosives compound in southern Helmand
...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan...
 province, triggering a massive kaboom after bombs were dropped, apparently by B-52 bombers.

According to the US military, the enormous secondary kaboom is evidence of stockpiles of explosives the Taliban would have used against the Afghan people.

The growing Arclight airstrikes have apparently put the Taliban into a state of panic with a front man of the group claiming last week that only civilians are being killed or maimed in the ongoing campaign.

A front man for the Taliban group Qari Yousuf Ahmadi said the claims of inflicting heavy losses to the Taliban fighters are false.

Ahmadi further added that only the civilians have been killed and their houses have been destroyed in the Arclight airstrikes.

The commander of the NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all....
-led Resolute Support and US forces in Afghanistan General John Nicholson said Monday that the U.S. and Afghan forces conducted a series of strikes over the past 24 hours against Taliban drug labs, to target the revenue streams of the terrorists.

Gen. Nicholson further added that the combined operations struck seven Taliban drug labs and one command-and-control node in northern Helmand province.

"Specifically, in striking northern Helmand and the drug enterprises there, we’re hitting the Taliban where it hurts, which is their finances," he said.

Link


Afghanistan
US strikes on Taliban opium labs won't work, say Afghan farmers
2017-11-24
[AlAhram] As U.S. and Afghan forces pound Taliban
...Arabic for students...
 drug factories this week, farmers in the country's largest opium producing-province and narcotics experts say the strategy just repeats previous failed efforts to stamp out the trade.

U.S. Army General John Nicholson, who heads NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis....
-led forces in Afghanistan, announced on Monday a new strategy of attacking opium factories, saying he wanted to hit the Taliban "where it hurts, in their narcotics financing".

Critics say the policy risks further civilian casualties and turning large swathes of the population dependent on poppy cultivation against the Afghan government.

"The Taliban will not be affected by this as much as ordinary people," said Mohammad Nabi, a poppy farmer in Nad Ali district in the southern province of Helmand
...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan...
, the heartland of opium production.

"Farmers are not growing poppies for fun. If factories are closed and businesses are gone, then how will they provide food for their families?"
How did they do so before they turned to opium in recent years?
Opium production in Afghanistan reached record highs this year, up 87 percent, according to the United Nations
...an organization which on balance has done more bad than good, with the good not done well and the bad done thoroughly...
The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said last week that output of opium from poppy seeds in Afghanistan, the world's main source of heroin, stood at around 9,000 metric tons in 2017, worth an estimated $1.4 billion on leaving the farms.

In Helmand, cultivation area increased 79 percent.
See? More farmers taking up the trade, and those previously involved increased their acreage devoted to the crop. So they can go back to whatever they did before.
Publicising the new strategy, which he said was open-ended, Nicholson showed one video of an F-22 fighter jet dropping 250-pound bombs on two buildings, emphasising that a nearby third building was left unscathed.

U.S. troops have long been accused of causing unnecessary collateral damage and civilian deaths. The United States says it takes every precaution to avoid civilian casualties.

The four-star general emphasised that farmers were not the targets.

"They are largely compelled to grow the poppy and this is kind of a tragic part of the story," said Nicholson.

"WHACK-A-MOLE"
Experts, however, question whether the new strategy will have an impact on Taliban financing.
Of course they do. Or ar least the experts quoted by the journalists do. Any other experts are like trees falling unheard in the forest.
"All these things have been tried before and not produced effective results. If they had, we wouldn't be where we are now," said Orzala Nemat, director of the Kabul-based Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit, which has been researching the country's drug trade for a decade and a half.

Another analyst said it was simply a futile game of "whack-a-mole."

Those familiar with the drug industry in Afghanistan said it would only take three or four days to replace a lab, which generally has a low sunk-cost.
Get inside their replacement loop, and that will change.
They also say it was not just the Taliban involved in Afghanistan's drug trade.

"Drugs are elemental to the political economy of Afghanistan, to those who rule and to those who oppose that rule," said one analyst, asking not to be named.

Prior to being ousted by U.S.-led forces in 2001, the Taliban virtually eliminated the trade, saying it was forbidden by Islam.
And then, realizing how much money there was to be made, they restarted it under their own control. This explains their current involvement.
The United States and its Western allies, the Afghan government and United Nations have made repeated efforts since to eradicate poppy cultivation, including encouraging farmers to cultivate alternatives such as saffron, spraying poppy fields with herbicide, and destroying labs.

However,
a good lie finds more believers than a bad truth...
 they have not made any serious headway in stemming the rise in drug production.
They haven’t been consistently serious about it.
The issue underlines problems faced by the Afghan government and its allies, as they seek to cut off a major source of financing for the Taliban and stem the flow of drugs to Europe.

The Taliban said that U.S. forces were mistaken in their targeting and were hitting civilians.
Yes, but they are the Taliban’s civilians, which makes them a good deal less civilian than other civilians.
"There are no drug producing factories in these areas. Invading Americans are carrying out these attacks based on false information and to make propaganda, which most of its victims are civilians," said Taliban front man Qari Yousuf Ahmadi on Wednesday.
That is one perspective, to be sure.
Although World Bank projections show Afghanistan's economy picking up modestly, the improvement is more than offset by population growth, leaving many in rural areas saying they have no alternative to growing poppies.
Educating the girls will go far to fix that problem. Making birth control available will take care of the rest.
"The government must provide jobs so people can feed their families and survive," said poppy farmer Haji Daoud in Sangin, Helmand. "It should provide security and infrastructure."
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