Fighting in Badakhshan enters fourth day as Tajikistan protests border spillover

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Amu: Fighting between Taliban forces and Juma Khan Fateh, a former Taliban official and their commander, entered a fourth consecutive day in Badakhshan’s Nusay district, local sources told Amu on Friday, as neighboring Tajikistan protested what it said was a deadly spillover of the clashes across its border. Local sources said the fighting continued intermittently in Nusay. Fateh, a former Taliban deputy governor of Zabul, has said he remains loyal to the Taliban but is in conflict with Taliban intelligence forces in the district, whom he accused of searching residents’ homes. Click here to read more (external link).

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United Front Claims Attacks On Taliban Positions In Helmand & Kandahar

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Afghanistan International: The United Front of Afghanistan said on Friday, 14 August, that its forces had carried out three operations against Taliban forces in Helmand and Kandahar over the previous 24 hours. According to the group’s statement, two Taliban police officers were killed and two others wounded in an attack on the Taliban’s first police district in Lashkar Gah. Click here to read more (external link).

Hazaras Are Most Vulnerable Community Under Taliban Rule, Says Research Group

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Hazaras (file photo)

Afghanistan International: The Bolaq Analysts Network said in a new report that Hazaras have faced widespread security, political, economic, religious and cultural challenges during the five years of Taliban rule. The report, titled The Human Rights Situation of Hazaras in the Fifth Year of Taliban Rule, was published to coincide with the fifth anniversary of the Taliban’s return to power. Click here to read more (external link).

UN Security Council: Al-Shabaab Fighters Have Traveled from Somalia to Afghanistan

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8am: The United Nations Security Council, in its latest report on the activities of ISIS, al-Qaeda, and their affiliated groups, said that several al-Shabaab fighters have traveled from Somalia to Afghanistan. The report warned at the same time that the presence and potential activity of numerous terrorist groups in Afghanistan continues to pose a lasting threat to neighboring countries and Central Asia. Al-Shabaab is one of the most significant al-Qaeda affiliated groups in East Africa. The reference to members of this group traveling to Afghanistan comes as the Security Council’s report also notes the movement of individuals linked to other groups from Syria to Afghanistan. Click here to read more (external link).

Taliban Helicopter ‘Shot Down’ By Fateh’s Fighters In Nusay District

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Afghanistan International: Local sources told Afghanistan International that a Taliban military helicopter crashed on Thursday, 13 August, around central Nusay district in Badakhshan. Sources said the helicopter was shot down by fighters loyal to Juma Khan Fateh, a dissident Taliban commander. Some sources said everyone on board was killed. Afghanistan International has not been able to independently verify that claim. Click here to read more (external link).

Taliban Mayor Of Faizabad Killed In Badakhshan Attack, Says NRF

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Afghanistan International: The National Resistance Front said the Taliban-appointed mayor of Faizabad in Badakhshan was killed in an attack by its forces. The group said the mayor’s guards were also killed. Local sources had earlier reported an explosive attack on a vehicle carrying the Taliban mayor in Faizabad. The National Resistance Front said the attack took place about 100 metres from the Badakhshan governor’s office. Click here to read more (external link).

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Pakistan Bans Citizens of Afghanistan from Studying at Medical Universities

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8am: Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PM&DC) has announced that citizens of Afghanistan are prohibited from studying medicine and dentistry at universities in Pakistan until further notice. The council said in an official letter on Thursday, August 13, that the decision was made following the receipt of policy guidelines from the competent senior authorities and based on a decision by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PM&DC) on July 30, 2026. According to the letter, students from Afghanistan studying medicine and dentistry in Pakistan must return to Afghanistan. Click here to read more (external link).