8am: Sources in Badakhshan say Taliban forces and their affiliated mining operatives deliberately targeted the five Chinese citizens who were killed last week on Tajikistan’s soil. According to these sources, clashes erupted between Taliban fighters and Tajik border guards, during which gunfire killed two of the victims. A separate, coordinated drone attack carried out by a network of Taliban-linked miners in the Greater Badakhshan area claimed the lives of the other three. Click here to read more (external link).