Afghan Officials Say Taliban, Not Civilians, Killed in Air Strike

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Assadullah Khalid

By Ayesha Tanzeem
VOA News | July 23, 2020

ISLAMABAD – Afghanistan’s acting defense minister said the government would soon share evidence that an airstrike in Herat province Wednesday that locals say targeted a wedding party actually killed Taliban militants.

Asadullah Khalid told a gathering in Kabul Thursday that his ministry had the video footage of the attack in Adraskan district that showed presence of Taliban in Khom-e-Zairat village. He expressed hope that an investigation would prove that no civilian was harmed in the strike.

The Defense Ministry had promised an investigation after residents claimed at least eight civilians were killed and dozens wounded, including children, in an Afghan air force strike Wednesday morning.

A number of the wounded shifted from the strike site to Herat regional hospital told the local VOA reporter that they were attending a wedding ceremony when the air force bombed vehicles in the house.

Jialani Farhad, a spokesman for the Herat provincial government, said tens of Taliban, including Taliban commanders, were killed in the strike.

A senior United States official deeply involved in the Afghan peace process also demanded an investigation.

“In Herat, photos and eyewitness accounts suggest many civilians including children are among the victims of an Afghan airstrike. We condemn the attack and support an investigation,” tweeted Zalmay Khalilzad, the Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation.

He also criticized the Taliban for recent violence taking Afghan lives and said both sides needed to “show necessary restraint as the start of intra-Afghan negotiations is so close.”

Intra-Afghan negotiations refers to talks between the Taliban, the Afghan government, and other Afghan factions for a political settlement in the country’s decades long conflict.

The negotiations are a sequel of earlier talks between the U.S. and Taliban culminating in an agreement signed on February 29.

As per the agreement, the U.S. would withdraw all its forces from Afghanistan in 14 months in return for counter-terrorism guarantees from the Taliban.

The U.S. has already fulfilled part of the agreement, vacating a number of military bases and reducing its troop level in Afghanistan to around 8,600, while further drawdown seems to be ongoing

Local officials in Nangarhar province, once a stronghold of the Islamic State group, say the U.S. forces have recently vacated two small bases in Achin and Haska Mena districts.

U.S. forces were previously involved in direct fighting with IS militants in these districts. In 2017, this was the deadliest place on earth for U.S. forces where the highest number of U.S. servicemembers were killed that year.

This is also the area where the U.S. used its largest non-nuclear weapon, a Massive Ordinance Air Blast, nicknamed mother of all bombs, in 2017.

Ataullah Khogani, a spokesman for the Nangarhar government said the forces left the region a couple of days ago. However, Khair Mohammad, a local police commander said the troops have been gone for more than a month.

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Afghan Teen Who Shot 2 Taliban Who Allegedly Murdered Her Parents Moved to ‘Safer Place’

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Qamar Gul

By Roshan Noorzai, Khalil Noorzai
VOA News | July 23, 2020

An Afghan girl who shot and killed two Taliban fighters after they reportedly killed her parents in Taywara district of central Ghor province has been relocated to the provincial capital, Feroz Koh, for her safety, according to Afghan officials.

Qamar Gul, 15, said the incident occurred last week when a group of Taliban militants stormed her house and executed her parents for allegedly supporting the Afghan government. Fighting back against the Taliban, the young Gul grabbed her father’s AK-47 rifle and killed two of the Taliban fighters and injured another.

“They broke the door and took my mother and father out and shot them in front of our eyes,” Gul told a group of reporters in a news conference at the Ghor governor’s office in Feroz Koh on Wednesday.

“Then I had to take my father’s gun, killed two of them and injured another,” she said, adding that she and her younger brother, Habibullah, continued fighting back until local villagers came to their rescue and forced out the Taliban militants.

A VOA correspondent who attended the news conference said that Afghan officials moved Gul and her brother from their home village of Geriveh to Feroz Koh, the capital of the province, to protect them from a possible Taliban retaliation. The siblings are also set to meet President Ashraf Ghani in Kabul.

The Taliban have denied that two of their fighters were killed in the reported clash. They said their fighters have engaged in gunfire with local police in the Taywara district.

According to The New York Times, the rare battle between Gul and the Taliban was also a family feud. The newspaper has reported that one of the Taliban fighters killed by the teenager was her husband.

‘Heroic’ act

Gul’s action has been widely celebrated in Afghanistan as an act of heroism and a symbol of Afghan women’s resilience. A picture of Qamar Gul holding an AK-47 has gone viral on Afghan social media.

The governor of Ghor province, Noor Mohammad Kohnaward, during a meeting with Gul at his office Wednesday vowed to extend the government’s full support to her.

“The government of Afghanistan praises you. Afghan women are proud of your heroism, courage and bravery,” Kohnaward told Gul.

Hassan Hakimi, a local resident of Ghor province, said that the government should present Gul with the Malalai Medal. He added that “government should pave the way for her education and a peaceful and prosperous life.”

Targeting civilians

According to Afghan human rights officials, Taliban fighters frequently target civilians for alleged loyalty to the Afghan government.

Zabihullah Farhang, a spokesperson for Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), told VOA that from March to mid-April, 83 civilians were killed and 119 wounded in target killing incidents, with the Taliban being responsible for half of the attacks.

“They think that civilians are only those who are unemployed, shopkeeping or farming. The Taliban do not count those who work with the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Mining or are employees of the government as civilians,” Farhang added.

AIHRC has counted 1,213 civilian deaths and 1,744 injuries during the first six months of 2020, a significant number of civilian casualties despite the U.S.-Taliban peace agreement in February.

This Afghan Girl Watched The Taliban Execute Her Parents. Then She Picked Up An AK-47 And Killed Two Militants Herself.

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Qamar Gul

By Mansoor Khosrow & Frud Bezhan
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
July 22, 2020

FIROZ KOH, Afghanistan — It was about 1 a.m. when a group of men banged on the front door of a mud-brick house in a village in central Afghanistan.

Startled, 15-year-old Qamar Gul jolted out of bed and grabbed her younger brother. Awakened in an adjacent room, her parents carefully approached the door.

It was the Taliban.

The militants ordered Gul’s mother and father to open the door. They refused.

A few minutes later, the group of armed fighters crashed through the door.

“They dragged my mother outside and shot her dead,” said Gul, speaking to RFE/RL by telephone. “Then they dragged my father outside and killed him, too.”

As her parents were being executed, Gul went and grabbed an AK-47 Kalashnikov rifle.

When the Taliban fighters tried to reenter the house, Gul opened fire on them, killing two militants and wounding another.

“I managed to kill two of them,” said Gul, adding that pro-government militiamen who had rushed to the area chased away the remaining Taliban fighters.

“I’m proud to have killed Taliban fighters,” said Gul, who along with her 12-year-old brother have been relocated by the provincial government to a safe house. “I killed my parents’ murderers. I will fight the Taliban until my last drop of blood.”

‘Heroes’

The incident occurred on July 16 in the Taywara district of Ghor Province, a mountainous and remote area in Afghanistan’s central highlands. It was only reported by the government on July 20.

The province is one of the most impoverished and unstable areas in the country. The provincial government’s power extends little beyond the capital, Firoz Koh.

Gul said her family was targeted by the Taliban because her father was a pro-government tribal elder.

The Taliban routinely kills Afghans they suspect of being sympathizers or informers for the government or security forces.

Gul called on the government to better protect civilians from such wanton attacks by the Taliban.

“We call on the president to ensure our security so that we can have a good life and future,” she said.

Mohammad Rafiq Alam, the district governor of Taywara, told RFE/RL that Gul and her brother were moved to the district center and would be transferred to Firoz Koh.

“We are proud of these two heroes,” said Alam. “They taught the attackers a lesson.”

Alam urged the government to award Gul the Malalai Medal, one of the country’s highest civilian honors.

During a cabinet meeting on July 21, President Ashraf Ghani hailed Gul’s bravery.

“Qamar Gul is a female hero,” said Tariq Arian, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, in a tweet on July 20. “The cabinet has praised the courage of Qamar Gul.”

Afghans have saluted Gul as a hero on social media. A photo of Gul, donning a head scarf and holding an AK-47 Kalashnikov rifle, has gone viral.

Taliban Violence

Taywara has been the scene of fierce clashes between Afghan security forces and the Taliban, which has overrun the district on several occasions.

The Taliban and dozens of illegal, armed groups run by former warlords and militia leaders are active in Ghor — a key transit route for shipments through Afghanistan of weapons and opium.

The Taliban continues to stage regular attacks across the country, despite signing an initial peace deal with the United States in February.

That agreement was intended to pave the way for direct talks between the militants and the Afghan government over a permanent cease-fire and a future power-sharing deal.

But those talks have stalled over the implementation of a major prisoner release.

Civilians — as is usually the case — are bearing the brunt of the escalating violence.

Afghanistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission said last week that in the past six months, 16 people have been killed or wounded every day in the country, on average.

According to the commission, 1,213 civilians have been killed and 1,744 others wounded in 880 security incidents during the first half of 2020.

Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

Eight Afghan Security Officers Killed By Roadside Bomb As Attacks Continue

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RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan
July 22, 2020

Eight Afghan security personnel, including three senior security officials, were killed by a roadside bomb in a central district targeted by the Taliban as violence in the country continues to surge despite a peace deal.

The eight security officers were on their way from an army base in the Khas Uruzgan district of Urozgan Province to the local police headquarters on July 22 when their Humvee tank hit a roadside bomb, provincial authorities told RFE/RL.

District police chief Dad Gul, a commander of local police in Khas Uruzgan, and a senior officer of the Afghan National Army were among those killed, Khan Mohammad, a commander at the district base, told RFE/RL. Several other members were injured.

The Taliban have controlled the roads leading to the area for more than eight years and have been carrying out large-scale operations. The Afghan forces stationed there are often supplied by air as the roads are too dangerous.

Mohammad told RFE/RL that dozens of Taliban fighters had gathered from neighboring districts and were planning a massive attack on the district’s headquarters. The spokesperson for the provincial governor Zargai Ebadi said that they would send more security forces to the area in the coming days to boost support.

The July 22 attack is the latest against Afghan forces since a peace deal was signed five months ago. More than a dozen Afghan forces were killed on July 20 in separate attacks.

A peace deal signed by the Taliban and the United States in February calls for direct negotiations between the militant group and the Western-backed government in Kabul aimed at putting an end to the nearly two-decade-old war in Afghanistan.

The Taliban and government forces have been exchanging accusations over a recent surge in attacks across Afghanistan — even as efforts continue to try and bring about the start of direct peace talks between Kabul and the militants.

Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

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Turkey helps out Paralympic body in Afghanistan

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AA: Turkey’s state-run aid agency delivered sports and office equipment to the Herat Paralympic Federation in western Afghanistan on Tuesday. Speaking at the ceremony, Ali Ergun Cinar, coordinator for the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), said the agency also renovated the federation’s sports equipment store. Click here to read more (external link).

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Afghanistan’s Three Trillion Dollar Question

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Pierrepont Johnson III: Afghanistan has a unique opportunity, though one that comes with its own risks – the country’s $3 trillion worth of mining deposits. To date, efforts to harvest Afghanistan’s mineral wealth, which exceeds the GDP of Great Britain, Italy, or India, have largely failed. The threat of the Taliban and extortion from militias, infrastructure deficits, and high mining fees have made investments in Afghanistan’s 1,400 mining fields an unprofitable venture. Prior to the Soviet invasion in 1977, Afghanistan was a relatively prosperous country, with a rich history and culture. The country has since suffered largely due to de facto foreign rule, from the end of the Cold War to the US-led War in Afghanistan. Today, it is one of the poorest countries in the world. Click here to read more (external link).

10,613 Known Active COVID-19 Cases in Afghanistan

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Tolo News:  So far, 84,579 samples have been tested in government centers and there are 10,613 known active COVID-19 cases in the country, according to data by the Ministry of Public Health. In the last 24 hours, the ministry also reported four new deaths from COVID-19 and 168 recoveries. The number of total cases is now 35,727, the total reported deaths is 1,190, and the total recoveries is 23,907. Click here to read more (external link).

Afghan Fighting Rages as Prisoner Swap Dispute Remains Unsolved

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Ayaz Gul
VOA News
July 21, 2020

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN – Fresh clashes between government forces and Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan have reportedly killed dozens of combatants on both sides.

The deadly Afghan violence rages as disputes over an ongoing prisoner swap between the two foes have remained unresolved, hampering U.S.-led diplomatic efforts aimed at starting intra-Afghan peace negotiations to find a political settlement to the war.

The Afghan Defense Ministry and police said Tuesday that security forces disrupted major overnight Taliban assaults in the southern provinces of Kandahar and Zabul, killing nearly 50 insurgents.

For its part, the Taliban said one of its suicide bombers detonated an explosives-laden mini truck near an Afghan National Army convoy Monday night in central Wardak province. It claimed the powerful blast “killed and injured” about 50 soldiers, though the Taliban often issues inflated claims.

Afghan defense officials confirmed the attack in Sayed Abad district, saying it killed eight soldiers and injured nine others.

Meanwhile, the Taliban announced Tuesday it has freed 16 more Afghan forces as part of the prisoner exchange with the Kabul government. The insurgent group says it has released 861 detainees out of the promised 1,000.

The prisoner exchange was agreed to in a deal between the United States and the Taliban, which was signed in February to help end the decadeslong conflict in Afghanistan.

In return, Afghan authorities are required to release up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners. So far, they have freed around 4,400.

The Afghan government, which was not part of the U.S.-Taliban deal, has refused to release a last set of about 600 insurgent inmates, stalling progress toward launching the much-awaited intra-Afghan negotiations that were supposed to start in March.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Afghan presidential spokesman Sediq Sediqqi again insisted the detainees in question could not be released because of their involvement in “serious” crimes, including killing innocent Afghans. He also denounced the escalating Taliban battlefield attacks as a violation of the U.S.-Taliban agreement.

Mohammad Nabi Omari, a senior Taliban leader who was also part of the insurgent team that negotiated the agreement with Washington, has strongly rejected Kabul’s “unsubstantiated” charges against the remaining detainees.

In an online video statement released by pro-Taliban social media, Omari accused Kabul of using “lame excuses” to “intentionally” delay the prisoner exchanges and the proposed peace dialogue.

“Had the issue of prisoner releases been resolved, intra-Afghan negotiations would have started months ago, and we would have possibly agreed on a cease-fire by now,” Omari asserted.

Acting U.S. Ambassador to Kabul Ross Wilson also urged the Afghan government on Sunday to facilitate the start of negotiations with the Taliban as soon as possible by completing the prisoner exchanges.

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