Bomb Targeting Religious School Kills At Least Fifteen People
- A bomb blast at a religious school in northern Afghanistan killed at least fifteen people, a local doctor said; no group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack (TOLOnews)
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Violent Extremism in South Asia
UN Panel: Taliban’s Treatment of Women Could Be a Crime Against Humanity
- The Taliban’s oppression of women and girls could amount to gender persecution, which is a crime against humanity, a panel of UN-appointed independent human rights experts said in a statement released on Friday (UN News)
Taliban: Regret Over Cross-Border Shooting Incident with Pakistan
- Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid appointed a committee to investigate the incident that resulted in the death of a Pakistani border guard at Chaman, a key trading point for the two countries; the border crossing was closed for trade and transit following the clash leaving many Afghans stranded on either side (AP)
Taliban Leader Orders Implementation of Sharia Punishments
- The Taliban’s supreme commander, Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada, commanded judges to penalize certain crimes with physical punishments rarely implemented under Islamic law, including public executions, stonings, and floggings, his spokesperson said (BBC)
Women Banned from Amusement Parks, Gyms in Afghanistan
- A spokesperson for the Minister for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (MPVPV) confirmed restrictions against women entering amusement parks after several were barred from doing so in Kabul (Reuters)
- In addition, the MPVPV banned women from using gyms, citing gender segregation orders and that women were not wearing hijabs as mandated (AP)
Report Says UK Army Killed Sixty-Four Children in Military Action in Afghanistan
- The Action for Armed Violence, a UK-based charity, revealed that the British military has paid compensation for the deaths of sixty-four children in Afghanistan occurring between 2006 and 2014 (Al Jazeera)
U.S. Watchdog for Afghanistan Spending Says Washington Shunned Queries
- Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John F. Sopko said the Joe Biden administration would not provide details about how it has spent $1.1 billion in humanitarian aid for Afghans since the Taliban’s takeover; two federal agencies said the funding is outside Sopko’s purview (Bloomberg)
ICC Approves Request to Reopen Afghanistan Probe
Opium Prices Rise After Taliban Outlaws Drug
- Opium prices in the country have risen more than 50 percent since the Taliban outlawed the drug in April, according to the British consultancy Alcis; prices for methamphetamines also appear to have risen (FT)
Pakistani Soldier Killed on Afghan Border
- A Pakistani soldier was killed in what Pakistan’s military said was gunfire from terrorists on the Afghan side of the countries’ shared border (Anadolu)
Taliban Kills Six in Raid on Islamic State Hideout
- A Taliban spokesman confirmed the deaths of six Islamic State members responsible for recent attacks on the Kaaj Institute education center and a mosque near Wazir Akbar Khan during an operation in Kabul; one Taliban security force member was killed during the raid (Reuters)
Taliban Offensive in Panjshir Valley Kills Twenty-Seven
- Verified video footage confirmed the extrajudicial killing of twenty-seven men by Taliban forces during an offensive against resistance fighters in the region last month (AP)
U.S. Will Not Fund Armed Nonstate Actors in Afghanistan
- U.S. officials told the Taliban that the United States will not fund armed, nonstate actors in Afghanistan, Taliban sources told Al Jazeera; Tajik groups that continue to oppose the Taliban received Western funding in the past (Al Jazeera)
United States Announces Visa Restrictions on Taliban
- U.S. Department of State released a statement announcing their decision to restrict visa access to current or former Taliban members and others believed to be complicit in the repression of women and girls across Afghanistan (U.S. Department of State)
U.S. Officials Meet With Taliban in Doha
- In the Qatari capital, CIA and State Department officials met with the Taliban’s head of intelligence, suggesting that they discussed counterterrorism, CNN reported (CNN)
Suicide Attack on Government Ministry Kills Four in Kabul
- A suicide bomb was detonated at Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry during prayers, killing four and wounding twenty-five, a Taliban official said (AP)
Death Toll Grows to Fifty-Two Following Attack Near Kabul Education Center Last Week
- An Associated Press tally estimated as many as fifty-two people were killed in the suicide bombing near the Kaaj Higher Education Center in Kabul last week, more than double the number reported by Taliban officials (AP)
Women Protest Suicide Bombing Targeting Girls’ School
- Women in Kabul and the provinces of Bamiyan and Herat protested a suicide bombing that killed dozens of women and girls at a school on Friday; in Kabul and Herat, Taliban forces reportedly shot at protesters (The Guardian)
Nineteen Dead in Suicide Bombing Near Kabul Education Center
- No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in Afghanistan’s capital (TOLOnews)
Taliban Sign Deal to Buy Russian Fuel, Wheat
- Afghanistan’s acting commerce and industry minister told Reuters that the Taliban made a provisional agreement to purchase gasoline, diesel, liquefied petroleum gas, and wheat from Russia (Reuters)
Taliban Deputy Foreign Minister Calls for Schools to Reopen to Girls
- Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai appealed to Taliban rulers to reopen schools for girls beyond sixth grade during a Taliban gathering in Kabul, arguing that there was no Islamic justification for the ban (AP)
Explosion Following Afternoon Prayers Kills Seven in Kabul
- A blast near a mosque in the Wazir Akbar Khan area of Kabul killed seven and injured forty as worshippers left afternoon prayers (Reuters)
Explosion in Kabul Kills Three
- An explosion at a restaurant in Kabul killed three and wounded thirteen, with officials on site to determine the source, says Taliban spokesman Khalid Zadran (Associated Press)
- Meanwhile, Afghan student Somaya Faruqi, now at the Missouri University of Science and Technology, spoke before the UN urging world leaders to issue a unified demand to reopen girls’ schools and protect their rights in Afghanistan (Reuters)
Taliban Releases American in Prisoner Swap
- The Taliban government said it freed American engineer Mark Frerichs in exchange for an Afghan man who had been held in the United States on drug charges since 2005 (Reuters)
UN Warns of Internal Conflict, Poverty in Afghanistan
- Afghanistan faces worsening poverty and internal conflict if the Taliban do not respond immediately to societal needs, said UN deputy representative for Afghanistan Markus Potzel (Associated Press)