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Southern provinces witness intense battles as Taliban pushes for more ground

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(Last Updated On: August 2, 2021)

Helmand, Kandahar and Herat have been hit hard these past few days by intense battles between the Afghan security forces and the Taliban, officials confirmed.

One of the hardest hit has been Herat, which has witnessed two days of solid fighting around the city itself, while heavy attacks have been launched on villages to the west of the city.

As fighting continued to rage Sunday night, officials said clashes were ongoing but had intensified in the west of the city.

Officials said in the past 24 hours, at least 30 people were wounded in the battles. This included soldiers and civilians.

Doctors at the Herat Hospital said the bodies of five people had been brought into the facility.

Provincial officials said more than a dozen Taliban fighters had been killed in clashes during the course of Sunday, including a prominent commander named Sadam.

According to the officials, the Taliban launched the attacks on the city from the western districts of Herat, mostly from Ghoryan and Zinda Jan districts.

Kandahar meanwhile also witnessed heavy fighting but security officials said Taliban attacks in Takhta Pul district were repulsed by security forces and air support.

Officials said the Taliban attacked at around 2 am Monday in the Mel area between Takhta Pul and Spin Boldak districts.

Hashem Regwal, district police chief, said 37 Taliban had been killed and three Humvee tanks had been seized from the Taliban.

The Taliban have not yet commented.

Sources meanwhile said US warplanes were used to push back the Taliban and targeted and destroyed a Taliban artillery facility in the center of Panjwai district.

US forces have not yet commented.

In Helmand, sources said that the provincial governor’s office, police headquarters, NDS office, and PD1 police station in the city are under siege by the Taliban.

Mohammad Jami, a Helmand civil activist, stated: “situation is very critical in Helmand, Taliban have attacked the Police Command, Governor’s office, NDS office, and Helmand prison.”

Meanwhile, the 215th Maiwand Military Corps said a Taliban offensive on Lashkargah prison was repulsed.

The corps said a group of at least 40 Taliban launched an offensive on the city’s prison on Sunday night but that the group was taken down by security forces.

According to the corps, 38 Taliban were killed in the clash and two others were wounded.

The Ministry of Defense also said the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF), with the support of the air force, targeted the Taliban on Sunday night in a joint operation in Lashkargah, the capital of Helmand province.

At least 36 Taliban were killed and 19 others were wounded in this operation, the MoD said.

The ministry said that three vehicles, one of which contained three million Pakistani rupees, were destroyed in the airstrike.

The Taliban have confirmed the clashes in Lashkargah, but said their fighters are advancing.

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Kabul police summons Afghan YouTuber Hamayon

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(Last Updated On: March 29, 2024)

Afghanistan’s YouTuber Hamayon Afghan was summoned to the police station for publishing a woman’s interview without her permission, Kabul police said.

The spokesman of Kabul Police Khalid Zadran said Friday on X that Hamayon interviewed an old woman and published the report without her permission.

“After the interview, the interviewee’s family complained to the police and the police summoned Hamayon Afghan to the police station,” said Zadran.

Zadran stated that police are working to solve the problem with the two sides’ agreement as soon as possible.

He urges people to avoid posting rumors on the issue.

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Contract worth $53 million signed for construction of last section of Khaf–Herat railway

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(Last Updated On: March 29, 2024)

A contract worth $53 million was signed Thursday for the construction of the last section of Khaf-Herat railway that connects Afghanistan with Iran.

The contract was signed between Afghanistan Railway Authority and Gamma Group in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, his office said in a statement.

The segment is 47-kilometer long, stretching from Rabat Parian to Herat International Airport and the Industrial Town, according to the statement.

It added that completion and standard operational readiness are expected within approximately two years.

“Upon its completion, this segment will integrate the Khaf-Herat regional connectivity project with Iran’s significant seaports and facilitate access to Europe via the Turkish railway network,” the statement said.

“Furthermore, traversing Afghan territory, it will bolster commercial exchanges between Central and South Asia. Notably, this project’s realization will enable the expansion of railway networks into Farah, Nimruz, Helmand, and Kandahar provinces,” it added.

Gamma operates across Europe and Asia in multiple sectors including construction, renewable energy, power transmission, mining, railways among others.

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US urges IEA to fulfill counter-terrorism commitments

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(Last Updated On: March 29, 2024)

The US State Department said on Thursday that Washington is committed to ensuring that Afghanistan can never again be a launching pad for terrorism.

“We remain committed to ensuring that Afghanistan can never again be a launching pad for terrorism, and we continue to push the Taliban (Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan) to fulfill all of their counterterrorism commitments to the international community,” the department’s spokesperson Matthew Miller said at a news briefing in Washington.

He reiterated that the United States had clearly communicated to the IEA that it’s their responsibility to ensure that “they give no safe haven to terrorists, whether it be Al Qaeda or ISIS-K or any other terrorist organization”.

Miller also reassured US allies that Washington was closely watching the developments in Afghanistan and was ready to deal with any threat emerging from the region.

“We remain vigilant against the evolving threat of these terrorist groups, and our global coalition to defeat ISIS and the C5+1 help intensify our efforts to monitor terrorist threats from the region and prevent their ability to raise funds, travel, and spread propaganda,” he said.

C5+1 refers to a diplomatic platform involving the five Central Asian states (Kazakhstan, Kyrgy­zstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) and the United States. It serves as a forum for discussing and addressing regional issues such as security, economic development, and cooperation.

“The United States remains vigilant against the evolving threat posed by terrorist groups, including ISIS-K, and has maintained an unwavering focus on terrorism since President Joe Biden took office three years ago,” Miller said.

The US, he said, was “working both unilaterally and with its partners to successfully disrupt threats across the globe and degrade ISIS”.

“We will continue to work to hold ISIS accountable for its actions and to prevent terrorist attacks against the United States and other Western countries,” Miller said.

This comes as IEA has repeatedly said that it is committed to not allowing anyone to use Afghanistan soil against any other country.

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