Ayaz Gul
VOA News
November 30, 2022
ISLAMABAD — Taliban authorities in Afghanistan said Wednesday that at least 15 students were killed and 27 others wounded when a bomb ripped through a religious school, or madras, in northern Samangan province.
Imdadullah Mahajer, the head of provincial information and culture directorate, confirmed the casualties to VOA by phone. He did not share further details nor did he say if a planted bomb or a suicide attack caused the blast.
Abdul Nafi Takoor, an Interior Ministry spokesman in Kabul, said the bombing in the provincial capital, Aybak, occurred while students were holding afternoon prayers. Takoor said Taliban security and intelligence forces had reached the site to investigate and bring the perpetrators to justice.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the deadly bombing, although suspicions fell on Islamic State Khorasan Province or ISIS-K, the Afghan branch of the Islamic State militant group.
ISIS-K has stepped up attacks since August 2021, when the Taliban took over the conflict-ridden country and the United States, along with NATO allies, withdrew troops from Afghanistan after nearly 20 years of war with the then-insurgent Taliban.
DW: When the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021, many expected the fundamentalist group to rule differently this time around. More than a year later, the Taliban have proven them wrong. Recently, Taliban officials publicly lashed dozens of men and women that they found guilty of “moral crimes.” The punishments took place in the provinces of Logar, Laghman, Bamiyan, Ghazni and Takhar. The women were accused of “theft, adultery, and running away from home.” Taliban leaders are not even trying to keep these public punishments a secret. On the contrary, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban Supreme Leader, ordered all officials to implement Shariah law in the country. 
8am: Local sources told Hasht-e Subh that last evening, a special unit of the Taliban intelligence forces entered the city of Shaberghan from Balkh and arrested Lieutenant General Mohammad Azim and Omaidullah. So far, the motive behind their arrest is not clear and there is no information about their fate and whereabouts. Similarly, the Taliban forces arrested three soldiers of the former government two weeks ago from Shaberghan city, and so far there is no news about their fate. 
Xinhua: A total of 300 people mostly children have been affected by pertussis, or whooping cough, in Afghanistan’s southern Zabul province, and two children have died of the disease, Abdul Hakim Hakimi, the provincial public health director, said Tuesday. 
Khaama: The Central Bank of Afghanistan stated on Tuesday that a new package of $40 million had arrived in Kabul, taking the total amount of cash assistance from the international community to Afghanistan since the installation of the country’s new administration to $1.673 billion. Despite the arrival of the packages poverty, hunger, and unemployment remain at all-time highs in Afghanistan, magnified by natural disasters that exacerbate the country’s people to experience one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. 
