Michael Hughes: Elements within the U.S. political and military establishment long shared with the Islamic State a common foe: Iran. More specifically, Qassem Soleimani, the ex-Quds Force chief assassinated by the U.S. on January 3, 2020 whose memorial service IS-K attacked earlier this week. One need not be a conspiracy theorist to submit that power
8am: Bibi Gul, a participant in a street protest, was detained by the Taliban in Kunduz in late September 2021. During her harrowing two-day captivity, she endured torture, as disclosed by the source. Upon her release, Bibi Gul faced escalating pressure and restrictions from her family, which included being prohibited from communicating with her friends,
Zheela Noori Samiullah Jalalzai VOA News January 5, 2024 The Taliban have arrested women for the first time in Kabul for wearing “bad hijab,” which women’s rights activists in Afghanistan say is an effort by the group to restrict women further and shut them out of public life. “This is an excuse for putting further
By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi January 5, 2024 Iran said it is shutting its vast borders with neighboring Afghanistan and Pakistan to increase security after the twin bombing that killed at least 89 people in the southeastern city of Kerman on January 3. The Iran Students News Agency (ISNA) quoted Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi as saying his government was
Ariana: Twelve Afghan citizens are among those who were killed in explosions at a ceremony in Iran’s Kerman city on Wednesday to commemorate commander Qassem Soleimani, Tasnim news agency reported. Nearly 100 people were killed and 284 others were injured in the attack that was claimed by Daesh. Click here to read more (external link).
By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi January 4, 2024 Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government has arrested dozens of women for failing to observe its strict dress code, which requires women to wear head-to-toe coverings, including over their faces. Several eyewitnesses and some of the women detained told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi that officials from the Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of
MMA Fighting: UFC CEO Dana White recently declared fighters in the promotion will once again be allowed to walk out with flags from their home countries. But it doesn’t appear that rule will apply to bantamweight prospect Farid Basharat or his older brother, Javid. The Basharat siblings hail from Afghanistan, a country now led by
By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi January 4, 2024 Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry says 541,000 Afghans have left for Afghanistan as Islamabad’s campaign to repatriate some 1.7 million “undocumented foreigners” continues, despite international concerns for their safety and means to shelter upon their return. Since its push began in October, Pakistan has extended a December deadline to February 29,