Pakistan Says Three Killed In Attack Across Afghan Border

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Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
April 23, 2022

Pakistan’s army says that militants in Afghanistan fired heavy weapons and waged a firefight across the border overnight, killing three personnel at an army outpost in mountainous northwest Pakistan.

The April 23 statement said Pakistani troops had returned fire after the initial attack on the outpost, in the North Waziristan district of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.

It said an unspecified number of militants had been killed.

There was no way to immediately verify the report.

But that region of the Afghan-Pakistan border sees considerable activity by the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has reportedly stepped up its attacks on Pakistani security targets.

And a brutal affiliate of the Islamic State militant group known as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (IS-K) has claimed responsibility for a number of recent attacks in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan.

Afghanistan has seen an increase in violence that is likely to increase domestic and international pressure on the Taliban-led government in Kabul that came to power in August 2021 as U.S.-led international forces withdrew and the Afghan government dissolved.

An explosion at a mosque and religious school in northern Afghanistan’s Kunduz Province during Friday Prayers on April 22 killed at least 33 people, Taliban officials said.

Earlier this month, Pakistan retaliated to an ambush that killed seven of its troops by bombing targets inside Afghanistan.

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) confirmed that 20 children were killed in strikes in the Khost and Kunar provinces, and Afghan locals said the death toll was in the dozens.

Based on reporting by AP and dpa

Copyright (c) 2022. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

Afghanistan and Iran Border Tensions, Islam Qala Border Closes to Traffic

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8am: Local sources in Herat province have confirmed that the Taliban have seized an Iranian military vehicle following tensions with Iranian border forces. According to sources, tensions escalated between Iranian border guards and the Taliban at the Islam Qala border when Iranian forces intervened to stop a construction job by the Taliban along the border. Click here to read more (external link).

Study finds almost 80% of Afghan girls missing out on education

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Ariana: Almost 80% of Afghan girls are missing out on an education, Save the Children said Friday- almost a month after the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) issued a ban on teenage girls going to school. “Education is a lifeline for all children, especially girls. Without it, they are at increased risk of violence, abuse, and exploitation, including early marriage…” Click here to read more (external link).

Legitimate defense and resistance is the only solution: Manawi

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Fazel Ahmad Manawi

Aamaj: Former justice minister, Fazel Ahmad Manawi, in a tweet said all ethnic groups in Afghanistan, in particular Hazaras are the target of Taliban and other terrorist groups. He added that the occupation of the country by Taliban’s barbaric group has provided the other terrorist groups with the opportunity to expand their activities. Click here to read more (external link).

Who Is Slaughtering the Hazaras of Afghanistan?

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Asharq Al-Awsat: Eight months since it came to power, this hated government has not gained recognition by international community. The only weapon it has is to vicitimize itself, exaggerate the presence of terrorist groups in Afghanistan and use the name of ISIS to create terror amongst the Westerners.

Taliban has now created an imaginary group (which, in reality, consists of suicide bombers trained by themselves) which it introduces as ISIS so as to not take responsibility for murdering of innocent people.

Meanwhile, during a trip to Turkey, Taliban’s foreign minister claimed that ISIS’s reach was exaggerated and the terrorist group had no base in Afghanistan.

Click here to read more (external link).

Bombing At Mosque, Religious School In Northern Afghanistan Kills 33, Taliban Says

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By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi
April 22, 2022

An explosion at a mosque and religious school in northern Afghanistan’s Kunduz region during Friday Prayers has killed at least 33 people, a Taliban official said on April 22.

Students of the school are among the dead, said Zabihullah Mujahid on Twitter.

“We condemn this crime…and express our deepest sympathies to the bereaved,” he said.

The blast, which also wounded another 43 people, many of them students, occurred in the town of Imam Saheb in Kunduz Province, he said.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing, but Afghanistan’s Islamic State affiliate claimed responsibility for a series of bombings on April 21, the worst of which was an attack on a Shi’ite mosque in northern Mazar-e-Sharif that killed at least 12 worshippers and left 58 people injured.

The blast occurred as people gathered to worship in the mosque, according to eyewitnesses. Shortly after the blast at the mosque there was a large explosion on a road in Kabul. No details were available about the latter explosion.

Recent bombings in Kabul and other Afghan cities have killed dozens of people. Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K), which claimed responsibility for the attack at a Shi’ite mosque in Mazar-e-Sharif, also claimed a separate attack on April 21 in Kunduz city that killed four people and wounded 18.

Taliban authorities said earlier on April 22 that they had arrested the “mastermind” of the bombing at the mosque in Mazar-e-Sharif.

With reporting by Reuters and AFP

Copyright (c) 2022. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

NRF Forces Claim to Have Killed 8 Taliban Rebels in Faryab

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NRF Fighters (file photo)

8am: Simultaneously, the Liberation Front and the Freedom Front Forces also reported targeted attacks on Taliban members in Kapisa and Kandahar provinces. Shamsullah Mohammadi, Acting Head of the Taliban Information and Culture in Faryab province, has confirmed the clashes but has denied any casualties of the Taliban members. Click here to read more (external link).

Related

Kabul Pledges Commitment to Water Treaty with Iran

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Tolo News: The Islamic Emirate said it is ready to discuss the issues related to the Helmand river treaty between Kabul and Teheran and that it remains committed to the treaty. However, analysts believe that Iran is overstepping its claims with the water treaty.  “There is a need for a water (measuring) instrument to be installed to measure the amount of water so these claims would be prevented,” said Najib Aqa Fahim, an international relations analyst.  Click here to read more (external link).