Mariam Noorzai is a commando in the Afghan National Army. Since her husband was seriously injured in combat, she’s the main breadwinner for both her own family and the family of her brother-in-law, who was killed in a land-mine explosion 14 years ago. She and over 100 other women who serve in Herat Province’s 207 Zafar Corps fear their military careers could end if the Taliban returns to power. The Afghan government and the Islamist group are holding peace talks in Qatar.
Tolo News: The national taekwondo team won seven medals in the Nepal Open International Virtual Poomsae Taekwondo Championships, in which athletes from 30 countries attended. The medals were won by Mohammad Idris Qarizada (gold), Sayed Rustam Akbari (silver), and Sayed Zarif Hashimi, Sumaya Adil Niazi, Anzaroot Wali, Abdul Muoz Ahmad Salik and Sardar Agha (bronze). Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News: The Ministry of Public Health on Tuesday reported 53 new positive cases of COVID-19 out of 1,888 samples tested in the last 24 hours. The ministry says the cumulative total of known COVID-19 cases is 55,174, the total number of reported deaths is 2,406, and the total number of recoveries is 47,798. Click here to read more (external link).
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Joe Biden
Michael Hughes: The Taliban last week threatened to kill any American troop that remains in Afghanistan beyond the deadline of the peace deal the group struck with the Trump administration. The insurgent group is freely willing to make such a threat because it feels it holds all the cards. As a Taliban commander told a Western military official at the beginning of Trump’s term in office: “You have the watches. We have the time.”
Hence, the news that the U.S.-led coalition is no longer going to abide by the agreement will likely mean the heat of the Afghan cauldron is about to increase more than a few notches. On January 31, Reuters reported, citing top NATO officials, that foreign troops would remain in the country past April in violation of the said U.S.-Taliban withdrawal pact.
Taliban fighters (file photo)
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
February 1, 2021
Taliban attacks in Kabul are rising and government officials, activists, and journalists are increasingly the target, a fresh report by a U.S. watchdog said.
The report comes as the Biden administration plans to take a new look at the peace agreement between the U.S. and the Taliban signed last February under President Donald Trump.
“Enemy attacks in Kabul were higher than during the previous quarter,” the report quoted U.S. forces in Afghanistan. “They were much higher than in the same quarter last year.”
The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, known as SIGAR, monitors the billions of dollars the United States spends in war-ravaged Afghanistan.
Across Afghanistan, Taliban attacks during the last quarter of 2020 were slightly lower than in the previous quarter but higher than the same period in 2019, according to the report, which was released on January 30.
The Taliban unleashed a wave of attacks in Afghanistan in December, including strikes in northern Baghlan and southern Uruzgan provinces over a two-day period that killed at least 19 members of the Afghan security forces. In Kabul, a roadside bomb struck a vehicle, wounding two, and a lawyer was shot in a targeted killing.
Resolute Support, the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan, reported 2,586 civilian casualties from October 1 to December 31 last year, including 810 killed and 1,776 wounded, according to the SIGAR report.
The report said the proportion of casualties caused by improvised explosive devices increased nearly 17 percent in this quarter, correlating with an increase in magnetically attached IEDs or “sticky bomb” attacks.
The U.S. has been the prime backer of the Afghan government since it invaded the country soon after the September 11, 2001, attacks and overthrew the Taliban, which was running the country and harboring Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. The United States still spends about $4 billion a year to assist Afghan security forces.
The U.S. military said earlier this month that it had met its goal of reducing the number of troops in Afghanistan to about 2,500. Senior U.S. commanders are skeptical of the Taliban’s stated commitment to peace, though they have said they can accomplish their mission in Afghanistan at that troop level.
“As the footprint of U.S. agencies continues to shrink, it will become more important that the U.S. and other donors perform aggressive and effective oversight of its dollars and programs,” said Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction John F. Sopko.
With reporting from AP
Mir Rahman Rahmani
Tolo News: The Wolesi Jirga Speaker Mir Rahmani’s remarks on an interim government plan stoked debate in Monday’s session as some MPs said such a plan is against the law and that the Republic must be maintained. Addressing an event on Sunday, Rahmani said he has found access to the draft of an interim setup and he welcomes it, but he added that the plan needs to be comprehensive. Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News: The Ministry of Public Health on Monday reported 62 new positive cases of COVID-19 out of 2,025 samples tested in the last 24 hours. The ministry says the cumulative total of known COVID-19 cases is 55,121, the total number of reported deaths is 2,405, and the total number of recoveries is 47,723. Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News: A one-day taekwondo competition was held in Kabul on Sunday with 100 athletes participating. The Afghan athletes came from Kabul, Takhar, Balkh and Kunduz province and competed for spots within the Asia and Olympics games. In less than six months the Olympic games are set to begin in Tokyo, on July 23. Click here to read more (external link).