Rashid Khan
AFP: Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan said Saturday he dreams of playing an international match at home in Kabul, which for him would be “bigger than the World Cup”. Khan will captain the surprise 2024 T20 World Cup semi-finalists against New Zealand in their opening match of the 2026 edition in Chennai on Sunday. Click here to read more (external link).
Afghanistan International: In the video, the girl says she was compelled to work in order to protect and support her sisters. The phenomenon of girls dressing as boys was also common during the Taliban’s first period of rule in Afghanistan. Afghan filmmaker Siddiq Barmak later portrayed this reality in the film Osama, which tells the story of a girl forced to disguise herself as a boy during the Taliban’s first government. Click here to read more (external link).
Khaama: ISIS claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing at a mosque in Islamabad as Kabul rejected Pakistan’s claims linking Afghanistan to attack. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing at a Shia mosque in Islamabad that killed at least 31 people and injured 169 others during Friday prayers, according to the IS statement on Saturday. Click here to read more (external link).
Afghanistan International: The Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) said its fighters carried out attacks on Taliban military positions in Parwan and Kunduz provinces on Thursday evening, claiming that at least four Taliban members were killed and five others wounded. In separate statements, the group said two Taliban members were killed and three others injured in Kunduz. Click here to read more (external link).
The Telegraph (UK): Landmines and other explosives left behind after decades of war killed at least 92 people and injured 379 others in Afghanistan last year. More than two thirds of the victims were children, according to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). Afghanistan now ranks third globally for casualties caused by landmines and unexploded ordnance, UNAMA said in its latest report published this week. Click here to read more (external link).
Khawaja Muhammad Asif
Afghanistan International: Pakistan’s defence minister, Khawaja Asif, said the deadly explosion at a Shia mosque in Islamabad was a suicide attack and that the attacker had previously travelled to Afghanistan. In a post on X, Asif said those responsible for killing worshippers in a mosque were “enemies of religion and the country,” adding that the militant involved in the attack had been present in Afghanistan. Click here to read more (external link).
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ISIS Militants
Amu: Members of the UN Security Council warned on Tuesday that Islamic State’s Khorasan affiliate (IS-K) in Afghanistan continues to pose a serious threat to regional and international security, despite a reported decline in attacks. The council met under the agenda item “Threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts” to review the UN secretary-general’s latest strategic report on the Islamic State threat. Click here to read more (external link).
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