Pakistani Refugees Killed in Explosion in Khost City, Says Taliban

According to a statement from the governor’s office in Khost, three dead individuals and seven wounded have been taken to a hospital for treatment.

The statement added that "the explosion took place around 11 in the morning on Monday at a hotel in Khost city”.

Meanwhile, an official of the Pakistani government confirmed to Afghanistan International that members of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) suffered casualties on Monday during the attack in Khost city, the capital of the province.

However, this Pakistani official denied the use of airstrikes by the country’s government.

Local sources informed Afghanistan International on Monday that airstrike targeted members of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan present inside a hotel in the center of Khost province.

According to local sources, in the attack, the roof of the hotel building collapsed, and some people were trapped inside the building.

ISIS Most Serious Threat To Afghanistan And Region, States UN Report

Aug 14, 2023, 10:27 GMT+1

In a report to the United Nations Security Council, Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, said that ISIS has increased its "operational capacity" in Afghanistan and is a serious threat to Afghanistan and the region.

The report expressed concerns over ISIS’ access to NATO weapons and the weapons transfer to regional countries.

Although the Taliban has always emphasised that ISIS has been suppressed in Afghanistan, the UN report said that ISIS in Afghanistan is more "skilled" in its attacks against the Taliban than in the past, and their focus is on eliminating high-ranking Taliban officials.

The report stated, "Attacks against high-profile Taliban figures in Balkh, Badakhshan, and Baghlan provinces raised ISIL-K morale and boosted recruitment.”

In this report, the number of ISIS forces in Afghanistan has been estimated to be 4,000 to 5,000 fighters.

In this report, the member countries expressed concerns over the danger of the weapons left by NATO for the security of the countries in the region. These governments think that a large amount of these weapons can be transferred to the regional countries by ISIS and groups affiliated with the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.

In response to this report, one of the Taliban spokespersons said that these weapons have not fallen into the hands of other groups.

This is the 17th report of the Secretary General of the United Nations to the Security Council over the threat of ISIS, which was prepared by the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team of this Council on August 12.

Iranian Technical Team’s Assessment Confirms Lack of Water in Helmand River, Says Taliban

Aug 14, 2023, 09:25 GMT+1

The Taliban’s foreign ministry confirmed that a delegation of Iranian experts visited the Dehrawood Hydrometric Station and measured the water level in the Helmand River.

According to the Taliban’s foreign ministry, the water measurement device showed the lowest level of water in the Helmand River.

Taliban once again stressed that Iran's water rights have not been provided due to drought in Afghanistan.

The Iranian authorities have not reacted to the Taliban foreign ministry’s statement.

The Taliban's foreign ministry added that the water level at the Dehrawood hydrometric station indicated a water flow less than seven cubic meters per second and that it was "shocking".

The Taliban claimed that the Iranian delegation's observations of the Helmand River showed that the flow of water in this river has reached the lowest level.

According to the Taliban, the Iranian delegation too considered the cause of the water shortage to be drought caused by global climate changes.

The Taliban's foreign ministry, while stressing its commitment to Iran's water rights, added that "no human act or will is involved in not providing Iran's water rights”.

The Taliban has emphasised that in case of "rainfall and favourable conditions, the water rights of Sistan and Baluchistan province of Iran will be provided”.

Afghan Women Hold Protests Against Taliban in Kabul & Takhar

Aug 12, 2023, 15:11 GMT+1

On Saturday, two groups of women held demonstrations in Kabul and Takhar against the "tyrannical policies of the Taliban".

Sources from Kabul told Afghanistan International that the Taliban had been aware of the women’s demonstration in Kabul and still attacked the demonstrators.

However, Afghanistan International received images from the protest site which showed that the female protesters had changed the location of the demonstration and read their resolution in a different area.

They said that they could not raise banners during the demonstration due to security threats from the Taliban.

At the same time, video recordings from Takhar received by Afghanistan International show that a group of women protesters are chanting slogans against the policies of the Taliban.

The female protesters in Takhar chanted “death to oppressors” and “Taliban commit crimes and the US supports them”.

Meanwhile, Afghan Women's Protest Movements in a statement on the occasion of August 15, the anniversary of the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban, have called the Taliban a "terrorist" and "fascist" group.

The movements stressed that the Taliban have restricted people in such a way that they can barely breathe.

Taliban Confirms Imprisonment of 16 Foreign Citizens in Afghanistan

Aug 12, 2023, 14:10 GMT+1

Taliban officials on Saturday confirmed that 16 foreign citizens, including five women, are currently imprisoned in the group’s prisons in Afghanistan.

However, the Taliban has not provided details about the identity of these people and the charges against them.

According to earlier reports, American and British citizens are among the imprisoned foreigners in Afghanistan.

The release of American prisoners from Taliban prisons had been one of the topics that Thomas West and Rina Amiri, the US envoys for Afghanistan affairs, discussed with Taliban’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi during a recent meeting in Doha.

During this meeting, the US representatives demanded "immediate and unconditional" release of American citizens from Taliban prisons.

It is not clear as to how many American citizens are currently imprisoned in Taliban prisons, however, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken had earlier confirmed that about 175 US citizens remain in Afghanistan, some of whom entered Afghanistan after the fall of the government in August 2021.

On the other hand, the Daily Mail had also reported that three British citizens had been detained by the Taliban.

Killed Two Taliban Members in Baghlan, Claims AFF

Aug 12, 2023, 11:47 GMT+1

The Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) announced that two Taliban members have been killed and four other members of the group were wounded in an attack on the Taliban garrison in the Pol-e-Madan area of Pol-e-Khomri city in Baghlan province.

AFF released a video in which an explosion is heard taking place at night.

The video has been shot at night and it is possible for the viewer to recognise the location of the explosion. However, it has been stated in the AFF statement that this attack took place at 23:40pm on Friday in the Taliban garrison in Pol-e-Khomri city.

According to the statement, AFF fighters were not harmed in this attack.

Taliban officials have not yet reacted to this claim.

•