ISIS trainees
1TV: A total of 408 IS militants from 14 countries are in Afghanistan’s jails, Afghan intelligence chief said on Tuesday. Most of the prisoners (299) are from neighboring Pakistan, Zia Siraj, head of National Directorate of Security, told reporters. Click here to read more (external link).
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
April 27, 2021
Afghan officials say at least seven people were killed and more than 70 others were injured in an overnight traffic accident near the capital, Kabul.
The accident involved two passenger buses that crashed head-on in the Paghman district along the Kabul–Kandahar highway, Interior Ministry spokesman Tariq Arian said on April 27.
Arian said the injured were transferred to hospitals for treatment.
The cause of the accident was not immediately known.
Last week, at least 15 people were killed and a dozen were injured when a truck and passenger bus collided in the southern province of Zabul.
Afghanistan’s poorly maintained roads, as well as reckless driving by motorists, cause dozens of deaths annually.
Based on reporting by AP and dpa
Ariana: Afghan National Futsal Team goalkeeper, Alireza Ghorbani, has spoken out about the hardships local sportsmen face – despite putting everything into their chosen sport. Athletes who are on the Afghan National Team – except for the cricket players – each receive a 1,000 AFN (about $15) a month. However, athletes have questioned this stating government pays the cricket players a lot more. Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News: The Ministry of Public Health on Tuesday reported 145 new positive cases of COVID-19 out of 1,519 samples tested in the last 24 hours. The ministry reported that the cumulative total of known COVID-19 cases is 59,370, the total number of reported deaths is 2,611, and the total number of recoveries is 52,794. Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News: The Pakistani delegation led by special envoy Mohammad Sadiq during their two-day visit to Kabul has assured the Afghan government of the meaningful participation of the Taliban at the Istanbul summit, according to an Afghan official who met with the delegation. Click here to read more (external link).
NPR: When it started, the boy had been dozing on a mat in a room crammed with family visiting for a wedding. When it ended, his uncle and five other relatives, including small children, were dead. Ras-Mohammad Dost recounts what happened late that night in February 2009 when Australian elite forces approached his family’s compound… Click here to read more (external link).
Radio Free Afghanistan
April 26, 2021
An Afghan provincial governor says 16 people, mostly young boys and teenagers, were wounded after a rocket landed in his office compound in the eastern province of Kunar.
Governor Mohammad Iqbal Saeed told RFE/RL that the attack in the provincial capital, Asadabad, took place at 9:30 a.m. local time on April 26 as a Koran reciting competition was under way between Islamic religious school students.
He said that those wounded included 14 madrasah students and teachers, as well two security officers.
The wounded students were between the ages of 10 and 18, according to a local RFE/RL reporter.
Saeed said about 150 madrasah students and their teachers were gathered in a room during the attack.
No group has claimed responsibility, but the provincial governor blamed the Taliban.
Most of the districts in Kunar Province, which borders Pakistan, are controlled by the Taliban.
Afghan officials have accused the insurgents of targeting gathering of religious scholars and students in government-controlled areas in the past.
The Islamic State also regularly carries out targeted attacks.
Violence has continued across Afghanistan amid stalled intra-Afghan talks between Kabul and Taliban representatives in Qatar launched in September 2020.
Alleged photo of “Mullah Omar”.
Tolo News: As discussions heat up on the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan, the Taliban and its supporters have started a campaign on Twitter honoring the group’s founding leader Mullah Mohammad Omar. One of his speeches as well as his photos are being shown publically for the first time. Articles and memories about him are also being shared. Click here to read more (external link).