Salafi, Takfiri Seminaries Relocated to Afghanistan, Says Former Iranian Envoy

Zohrevand said that Afghanistan is turning into a dangerous black hole in the region.

In an interview with the Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA) on Thursday, the former Iranian ambassador to Kabul, said that any regional group with access to weapons and radical ideology has representatives in Afghanistan.

Zohrevand stressed that the recent statements of the former US special envoy for Afghanistan about the Taliban must be taken seriously.

On the eve of the second year of the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan, Khalilzad in an exclusive interview with Afghanistan International, asked the opposition leaders of the Taliban to return to Kabul and talk with the group.

Referring to these statements Zohrevand said, “Zalmay Khalilzad clearly declares the presence of the Taliban in Afghanistan as a political reality and even asks the country's politicians to return and continue their lives [under the group]. He has made these statements while the US has not recognised the Taliban, and has put new scenarios on its agenda.”

The former Iranian ambassador to Kabul believes that the US is even looking to shift the conflict and crisis into Pakistan in any possible way.

According to him, even the Chinese in Pakistan's Gwadar port had been singled out and it was a targeted attack.

Referring to the Taliban’s lack of legitimacy in Afghanistan, Zohrevand said that with the current situation, a popular uprising might emerge in Afghanistan, which according to him will undoubtedly plunge the Taliban into a deeper crisis.

Intensive Mining Operations Underway In Panjshir, Says Taliban Minister

Aug 17, 2023, 11:52 GMT+1

Shahabuddin Delawar, the Taliban’s Minister of Mining and Petroleum, during his trip to Panjshir province said that 750 mines have been registered in the province and intensive mining operations have been ongoing there.

According to Taliban media reports, Delawar visited Panjshir to observe the formation of the provincial mining committee.

On Thursday, the Taliban-controlled Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA), reported that Delawar spoke with the governor and other local officials of the group in Panjshir about the mining operations in the province.

Delawar has claimed that with the extraction of mines, Afghanistan will soon see strong economic growth.

He announced the signing of the contract for Afghanistan's gemstone mines and said that they want to start extracting other mines, including oil and gas too.

After taking over power in Afghanistan, the Taliban regime has focused on mining as the main source of revenue for the group’s government.

On Tuesday, August 8, the Taliban announced that the extraction of the emerald mine has started in Hesa-e Awal district of Panjshir province.

Iranian Citizen Kidnapped, Held Hostage For 61 Days in Afghanistan, Says Iranian Official

Aug 17, 2023, 10:04 GMT+1

Afshin Salehinejad, the prosecutor of Jiroft city in Iran, announced that two months ago, a middle-aged man from Kerman province had been kidnapped and transferred to Afghanistan.

Salehinejad said that the abducted man was released after 61 days.

According to Iranian media reports, he explained, "A middle-aged man was taken hostage while walking with his child in one of the parks of Jiroft city. When he was released, he was safe and sound due to the continuous efforts of the prosecutor's office and the police of Jiroft city."

Details of how he was released from Afghanistan have not been provided. The Taliban have not yet reacted to this report.

On Wednesday, the chief prosecutor of Jiroft said that since the kidnapping report had been received, the efforts of the police forces to free this person began, and it was determined by intelligence officials that the defendants had transferred the hostage to Afghanistan.

According to Salehinejad, the kidnappers, who were not natives of Kerman province, kidnapped the middle-aged man with the motive of extorting money from the hostage's family.

Afghanistan Freedom Front’s Forces Attack Taliban Outpost in Kabul, Kill 4

Aug 17, 2023, 08:33 GMT+1

Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF), on Wednesday, claimed that the front’s forces killed four Taliban members and injured six others in an attack in District 11 of Kabul.

Local sources also reported the sound of shooting and explosions in the area.

The Taliban have not reacted to the AFF’s claim so far.

In a statement, Afghanistan Freedom Front stressed that this attack had been carried out on a Taliban outpost in Panjshirwat area of District 11 of Kabul.

The statement stated that AFF used "light and heavy weapons, including RPGs" in the attack.

AFF said, "In the last two weeks alone, the Taliban have detained seven former security forces members and transferred them to unknown locations from the outpost which had been targeted by the freedom front.”

Taliban Announces Return of Over 4000 Afghan Refugees From Iran

Aug 16, 2023, 16:06 GMT+1

The Taliban’s Ministry of Refugees announced that during this week, 4,829 Afghans have returned to Afghanistan from Iran.

According to the border commander of the Taliban in Islam Qala, 896 of these refugees received aid from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

The Taliban’s Ministry of Refugees recently announced more than 952,000 Afghans have returned to Afghanistan from Iran, Pakistan, and some other countries in the past year.

Rights organisations that support the rights of refugees stated that the Islamic Republic deports Afghan refugees.

After the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, tens of thousands of people left Afghanistan due to the threats from the Taliban, poverty, and unemployment, and majority of them have taken refuge in Iran and Pakistan.

Shah Cheragh Shrine’s Attacker Trained For 3 Months in Afghanistan, Reports Iranian Media

Aug 16, 2023, 15:09 GMT+1

Tasnim News Agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), published new details about one of the attackers of the Shah Cheragh shrine in Shiraz city.

According to this news agency, the attacker, Rahmatullah Nowrozov is a citizen of Tajikistan, who joined ISIS in Turkey and then, trained for three months in Afghanistan.

On Wednesday, Tasnim reported that Nowrozov, whose organisational name is "Salman Aslamyar", contacted one of his ISIS contacts through the internet.

Tasnim added that the attacker has finished "ISIS training for terror operations" in Afghanistan for about three months and then, entered Iran to wage the terror attack.

According to Iranian media reports, two people were killed and at least seven people were injured in the attack on Shah Cheragh shrine in Shiraz.

On Tuesday, Yadullah Boali, the commander of the IRGC Fajr Fars Corps, told reporters that the attacker was part of a “network” which, according to Boali, "operates in several countries”.

The Iranian official added that more than 10 people have been arrested in connection with the Shah Cheragh attack.

Earlier, a group of UN experts said that ISIS is the most serious terrorist threat in Afghanistan and the region and has increased its operational capabilities.

After the Taliban’s dominance in Afghanistan, several neighbouring and Central Asian countries have always expressed concern about the presence of terrorist groups, especially ISIS, in Afghanistan.

Although Taliban officials claim that ISIS has lost its operational capability in Afghanistan, they have repeatedly announced attacks against ISIS fighters in the past months.

ISIS has also claimed responsibility for several attacks against Taliban officials in the past months.

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