Mystery Over Plane Crash In Afghanistan

·

ghazniRFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan
January 27, 2020

A plane crashed in eastern Afghanistan on January 27 but details about the incident remain unclear.

A Taliban spokesman says that the plane was a U.S. military aircraft.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said a U.S. Air Force plane crashed in the Ghazni Province, which sits in the foothills of the Hindu Kush mountains. Mujahid claimed the crash killed “lots” of members of the U.S. military. The militant group often exaggerates casualty figures.

U.S. Army Major Beth Riordan, a spokeswoman for U.S. Central Command, declined to comment when told about the Taliban claim. She earlier acknowledged U.S. military officials were investigating reports of a crash in Afghanistan. She said that it remained unclear whose aircraft was involved in the crash.

The Aviation Safety Network, a website of the Flight Safety Foundation that that keeps track of aviation accidents, incidents, and hijackings, tweeted that video posted online has confirmed that the plane that crashed was a U.S. military plane.

“A video confirms that a USAF Northrop Grumman E-11A crashed in Afghanistan,” it said. “This is a Bombardier Global Express outfitted as Battlefield Airborne Communications Node.”

The Bombardier E-11A aircraft is used by the U.S. military for electronic surveillance over Afghanistan. It is used by the military to extend the range of radio signals and can be used to convert the output of one device to another, such as connecting a radio to a telephone.

The Battlefield Airborne Communications Node, also referred to by the U.S. military as “Wi-Fi in the sky,” can be carried both on manned planes such as the E-11A or by unmanned aircraft.

Local Afghan officials had told RFE/RL earlier on January 27 that a passenger place from Afghanistan’s Ariana Airlines had crashed in the Taliban-held area of Ghazni Province. Provincial Governor Wahidullah Kalimzai told RFE/RL that the aircraft belonged to Ariana Airlines and was carrying about 83 people.

However, the state-owned airline denied in a Facebook post that one of its planes had crashed.

The conflicting accounts could not immediately be reconciled. The number of people on board and their fate was not immediately known, nor was the cause of the crash.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP

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.

Afghan forces kill more than 50 Taliban militants in multiple operations

·

afghan_securityPress TV
January 26, 2020

Afghan government forces have killed more than 50 militants in multiple operations against the Taliban in different provinces of the war-wracked country.

Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry said on Sunday that the security forces had conducted 13 ground offensives and 12 aerial attacks in nine provinces, adding that 51 “terrorists” had been killed, 13 wounded and six arrested.

Local officials in the northern province of Balkh said at least three women and four children were killed in the air strikes.

The government said it would send a fact-finding mission to investigate the reports of civilian deaths, which had prompted protests in front of the provincial governor’s office.

Over the last week, there were reports of Taliban attacks on government installations in different parts of Afghanistan.

The Taliban also said they had staged two more attacks against security forces over the weekend.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement that Afghan security forces’ checkpoints in Kunduz were attacked on Saturday night.

At least 10 members of the security forces were killed and three wounded in the assault, he added.

Taliban militants also captured a large weapons cache, the spokesman noted.

In a separate statement, the Taliban said its militants had ambushed an Afghan forces patrol in Balkh, killing eight security personnel.

The United States invaded Afghanistan in October 2001 and overthrew a Taliban regime in power at the time. But US forces have remained bogged down there through the presidencies of George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and now Donald Trump.

Some 19 years on, Washington is seeking a truce with the militants, who now control or have influence in about half of Afghanistan’s territory. The Taliban have rejected calls for a ceasefire and instead stepped up operations across the country over the past few months.

The Taliban have been negotiating with the Trump administration for more than a year over the withdrawal of US troops in exchange for security guarantees from the militants.

Negotiations began last year in the Qatari capital Doha, but have been interrupted at least twice after Taliban attacks on US military personnel in September and December.

Last week, another round of talks kicked off with US Special Representative on Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad meeting repeatedly with the Taliban’s chief negotiator Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.

US and Taliban negotiators in Doha have reportedly taken a two-day break for consultations about how to overcome the recent hurdles in the talks.

In bilateral talks, which had excluded the Afghan government, US forces withdrawal from Afghanistan had been the main Taliban demand.

Nearly 20,000 US-led foreign troops, most of them Americans, are currently deployed in Afghanistan as part of a so-called mission to purportedly train, assist, and advise Afghan security forces.

Afghan Students in China Vulnerable to Coronavirus: Official

·

ministryofhealthTolo News: The Afghan Ministry of Public Health reported on Sunday that 197 Afghan students are in China, including some in the city of Wuhan, and they are vulnerable to the new coronavirus that has so far killed at least 56 people, and some are also at risk of running out of food while locked-down. The virus has infected more than 1,300 people globally, according to news agencies. Click here to read more (external link).

More Afghan Health News

Abdullah Criticizes Palace for ‘Impeding’ Peace Process

·
A. Abdullah

A. Abdullah

Tolo News: A group of politicians and senior members of Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah’s campaign team at a gathering in Kabul on Sunday criticized the Presidential Palace for “impeding” the peace process by introducing new conditions for a potential peace agreement.  Abdullah argued that instead of imposing more conditions, all offered opportunities should be taken advantage of for peace. Click here to read more (external link).

At Least 20 Wounded After Grenades Thrown At Afghan Wedding Party

·

khostRadio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
January 26, 2020

Afghan officials say at least 20 people have been wounded after unknown assailants threw grenades at a wedding party in the southestern province of Khost.

Investigation are under way into the incident that occurred in the town of Alishir, provincial government spokesman Talib Mangal said on January 26.

The motive behind the attack is not yet known, Mangal added.

There was no immediate responsibility for the attack, which happened late on January 25.

Elsewhere in Afghanistan, a bystander was killed and four other civilians were wounded when a police vehicle hit an improvised explosive device in the capital, Kabul, police said on January 26.

The vehicle was destroyed in the blast, which occurred on the evening of January 25, Interior Ministry spokesman Nusrat Rahimi said.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Taliban often targets Afghan security forces.

Based on reporting by tolonews.com and RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan

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.

Afghan Rally Protests Killing of Civilians in Airstrike

·

balkhAyaz Gul
VOA News
January 26, 2020

ISLAMABAD – Angry residents Sunday rallied in a northern province of Afghanistan to protest the killing of at least seven civilians in an Afghan air force airstrike.

Protesters, carrying bodies of the victims, said three women and three children belonging to the same family were among those killed in the deadly overnight incident in Balkh.

The province, which borders Uzbekistan, was a relatively peaceful province until a few years ago. Taliban insurgents have lately established pockets of resistance there and routinely attack government security forces.

A regional military spokesman, Hanif Rezai, confirmed to VOA that the Afghan air force conducted five strikes in several villages in the area against the Taliban Saturday.

Rezai denied the operation caused any civilian casualties, claiming it killed at least 16 members of the insurgent group instead.

The 18-year Afghan war continues to inflict record levels of civilian casualties.

The United Nations recently announced that the war had killed or injured more than 100,000 civilians In the last 10 years alone. Nearly 34,000 Afghans have been killed during that period, most of them children.

The latest civilian casualties come as American and Taliban representatives have been engaged during the past few weeks in closed-door meetings in Qatar, trying to resume their stalled peace talks to conclude a deal to end the war in Afghanistan.

Washington is encouraging the Taliban to demonstrate a “significant and lasting” reduction in battlefield attacks before the deal is signed and maintain the low level of hostilities until Taliban-Afghan negotiations begin to permanently end years of bloodshed in the country.

So far no progress has been reported because the insurgent group is refusing to go beyond its proposed scaling back of operations, reportedly for up to 10 days, to sign the U.S.-Taliban agreement.

Taliban officials maintain a nationwide cease fire would be on the agenda when intra-Afghan talks start.

Afghan Politicians Meet in Kabul to Discuss Peace Amid Doha Talks

·

peaceTolo News: Prominent political figures on Saturday gathered in Kabul to discuss the participation of all the country’s political factions in the peace process. Speaking on the occasion, Chief Executive Abdullah said that no one should strive to obstruct the peace process for his personal agenda and should instead work on creating a consensus on the issue. The meeting, which was held at the residence of Mohammad Mohaqiq, the second deputy of Abdullah Abullah, brought together several key politicians, including former President Hamid Karzai, former vice president Mohammad Younsu Qanooni, and the head of the High Peace Council (HPC), Mohammad Karim Khalili. Click here to read more (external link).

Related

AGO Makes Arrests in Sex Abuse Case in Logar

·

logarTolo News: At least 18 suspects were identified and seven of them were arrested over their alleged involvement in the sexual abuse of children and youths in Logar province, the Attorney General’s Office said on Saturday.
This comes a day after reports surfaced in the media that Mohammad Mussa Mahmoudi, the head of Logar’s civil society, who last year released a report of sexual abuse of over 390 children and youth in Logar province, has fled the country over security threats. Click here to read more (external link).