Iran Seeks Clarity on Killing of its Diplomats in Mazar-e-Sharif in 1998

According to local sources, since Sunday, telecommunications services have been cut off in the districts 3, 5, and 13 of Kabul.

Meanwhile, as per local sources, the Taliban has prevented Ashura ceremony in some areas of Kabul and other cities across Afghanistan. The western districts of Kabul witnessed heavy presence of armed Taliban men on Monday and roads were partially closed to traffic in this part of the capital.

Over the past three days, three explosions have rocked the city of Kabul. On Friday, there was an explosion in the Sari Kariz residential area in district 6; on Saturday, an explosion occurred in Pul-e Sokhta Bridge area in District 3, and on Sunday, an explosion occurred on Asmayee Road in District 1 of Kabul.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has said that in the first two explosions alone, around 120 people have been killed and injured. The Islamic State – Khurasan (IS-K) has taken responsibility for these two explosions.

Referring to the killing of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in Shirpur area of Kabul, Hekmatyar said, "If America wants to, it can target its enemies anywhere in Afghanistan, even near the presidential palace."

According to Hekmatyar, the Shirpur strike shows that the Afghan nation must reach a consensus and take a firm stand against these attacks.

He said with a firm reaction that the US will target not only the foreigners, but Afghans too, including leaders of the Taliban in the future.

According to Hekmatyar, there is no definitive proof that Zawahiri was killed on Sunday. However, he said that the strike targeted a location in the proximity of the Afghan presidential palace and it shows that the US is actively present in Afghanistan and the war has not ended yet.

He called the Doha agreement “a deception, not a real agreement”.

According to Hekmatyar, the US drone strike proved that Afghanistan's airspace is not safe and that Afghans are not in control of Afghanistan’s soil.

According to Hekmtyar, al-Zawahiri was present in Afghanistan for the past 20 years. He said that the al-Qaeda leader was living in Paktia, Khost, Waziristan, Nuristan, and sometimes, he was in Musa Qala of Helmand province.

During his Friday prayer speech, Hekmatyar added, "The question is how al-Zawahiri came to Kabul and with what confidence? Who informed the Americans about his whereabouts?" He urged the Taliban to give a clear and acceptable answer to his questions and stressed that the group should answer Afghans on how the drone strike took place. He also emphasized that the Taliban should break their silence around al-Zawahiri’s killing.

A source told Afghanistan International that the protesters opened the highway to traffic after the Taliban's local authorities pledged to address the case.

Jamil Khan's family said that the tribal elder had no enmity with any person in the past.

So far, no person or group has claimed responsibility for his murder.

Local sources said that the killing of tribal elders and clerics in this province has increased after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan.

A week ago, in Chaparhar district of Nangarhar province, another tribal elder had been killed by unidentified people when he was returning from the mosque.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of India has not officially said anything about the visit of the Chinese Special Envoy on Thursday.

After the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban on August 15, 2021, this is the first meeting between senior officials of China and India with a focus on Afghanistan.

China was one of the few countries whose embassy stayed open and active in Kabul after the fall of Republic government. Although China has not officially recognized the Taliban, it has stressed that Beijing has friendly relations with the group.

India closed its embassy in Kabul after the Taliban came to power, but in June 2022, New Delhi reopened its embassy by sending a technical team to Kabul.

The Taliban added that Haqqani will hold meetings in Helmand province.

After the death of Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of the al-Qaeda in Kabul, US authorities accused Sirajuddin Haqqani of sheltering Zawahiri in Kabul. Even after a week since the incident, Haqqani has not yet responded to the US’ stance.

However, Haqqani's absence from public life after the death of Zawahiri had been raising eyebrows. Reports had even emerged that the Taliban's interior minister had moved back to his hideout fearing a possible US drone strike.

The possibility of a US strike on the leaders of the Haqqani network is plausible with the $10 million bounty on Sirajuddin Haqqani's head still standing.

Haqqani, the 42-year-old interior minister of the Taliban and the leader of the Haqqani network, is not the only terrorist in the Haqqani family that the United States has set a reward for information leading to their arrest.

The United States has put a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Khalil ur Rahman Haqqani, Sirajuddin's uncle, who is the minister of refugee affairs in the Taliban cabinet, and Aziz Haqqani, Sirajuddin's younger brother.

There is no cash reward for the arrest of Yahya Haqqani, a close aide and brother-in-law of Sirajuddin, but he was also designated as a global terrorist by the United States in 2014.

The Haqqanis are wanted for being involved in killings and organising a series of terrorist attacks in Afghanistan since 2008.

Sirajuddin Haqqani is accused of planning the January 14, 2008, attack on the Serena Hotel in Kabul. Six people, including an American citizen, had been killed in the attack. In March 2008, the US State Department designated Sirajuddin Haqqani as a global terrorist.

In February 2008, Khalil Haqqani was also named a wanted terrorist by the US law enforcement and security agencies. Among other terrorist activities, Khalil Haqqani is accused of providing weapons and financial resources to al-Qaeda operatives in Afghanistan.

After the Taliban's victory in Kabul, Haqqani traveled to Kandahar and admitted that around 1,050 members of the Taliban's Haqqani network, had waged suicide attacks in the past decade and a half in Afghanistan.

The Taliban are accused of mass killings of civilians in the cities and villages of Afghanistan since 1994 when the group emerged for the first time in Kandahar province.