Afghan Female Intelligence Officer Reveals Torture in Taliban Prison

The young man, identified as "Habib”, was killed amid rising tensions between the Taliban and Afghan Shiites over Ashura observances.

According to local sources, Habib had clashed with Taliban members the day before his death to protest against the restrictions imposed on Shia mourners in Herat.

A source informed Afghanistan International that Habib was under 25 years of age and a resident of Saidabad in Jebrael township. The source mentioned that Habib had twice approached the "Poste Siah”, Taliban checkpoint between his home and the city, to protest against the Taliban's restrictions on mourning ceremonies, leading to arguments.

The Taliban have not officially commented on the incident.

Residents reported that the Taliban later returned to the site of the killing and deleted surveillance camera footage from nearby buildings.

In recent days, tension between Afghan Shiites in Kabul and Herat and the Taliban over Ashura observances have intensified.

Over the past week, the Taliban have repeatedly raided Jebrael township, tearing down Ashura flags and symbols from rooftops and shops.

Video clips sent to Afghanistan International from Kabul also show Taliban members removing Ashura symbols in Shiite-majority areas. Earlier, Taliban restrictions on Ashura observances had sparked anger among residents of the Chindawol area in Kabul.

Previously, Ahmadullah Muttaqi, the Taliban's Director of Information and Culture in Herat, described mourning ceremonies of the month of Muharram as "political and foreign heresies" that should be stopped.

Local sources also reported that the Taliban arrested seven protesters in Jebrael township who opposed the restrictions on mourning ceremonies. There are no updates on the fate of those arrested.

Vasilyev stated that significant terrorist groups with various religious affiliations are present in Afghanistan.

In an interview with RIA Novosti, the Russian state news agency, he mentioned that some of these groups had not appeared randomly but had been compelled to depart from the Middle East, particularly the border region between Syria and Turkey.
He also noted that those individuals are trained in combat tactics and have access to funding.

According to Vasilyev, terrorist groups in Afghanistan have different names and religious compositions.

He also announced that all member countries of the CSTO support the programme to strengthen the borders between Tajikistan and Afghanistan.
Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan are members of the CSTO.

Russia's representative to the CSTO stated that each country will decide how it can assist experts, improve equipment, and train troops based on its own needs and capabilities.

Vasilyev acknowledged the need for dialogue with the Taliban but implied that such talks are currently not feasible. According to him, engaging with the Taliban within the framework of the CSTO requires resolving legal issues.
He confirmed that some CSTO member countries have their own channels for interaction with the Taliban.

Like other countries, Russia does not officially recognise the Taliban, however, maintains diplomatic relations despite increasing threats from Afghanistan.
The Taliban remains on Russia's list of terrorist groups. Nonetheless, Russian officials recently stated that the removal of the Taliban from this list is under review.

According to the report, they were arrested at the Pakistan-Afghanistan and Pakistan-Iran borders for entering Pakistan illegally.

According to Pakistani officials, the country's security forces launched a joint operation after receiving information about the presence of suspected foreign individuals in the border areas, resulting in the arrest of 120 Afghan men.

In recent months, Pakistan has expelled tens of thousands of Afghans and returned them to Afghanistan.

Filippo Grandi, the head of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), announced the suspension of the plan to return Afghans from Pakistan at the end of his three-day visit to Peshawar and Islamabad. However, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry denied this announcement.

The Pakistani government officially began the first phase of deporting undocumented Afghans last year. According to official statistics, 541,000 Afghan migrants were expelled from Pakistan in the first phase.

According to official Taliban statements, in the second phase of the deportation process, 800,000 undocumented Afghan migrants are to be returned to Afghanistan.

They told Afghanistan International that at least six Afghan workers were injured in the attack. According to these migrants, the assailants also took their cash and phones.

Images and videos provided to Afghanistan International show several injured people lying on the ground in a field, their bodies bloody and wounded. Ambulances arrived at the scene to transport the injured.

The migrants said that "thugs" attacked them at their workplace on July 11 at night, using weapons, sticks, and knives. They called on the authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran to arrest and interrogate the perpetrators of this incident.

The injured migrants are currently hospitalised at the Marvdasht Shiraz hospital. So far, the Iranian authorities have not commented on the incident.

This is not the first time Afghan migrants in Iran have been attacked. According to reports, Afghan migrants have been mistreated and beaten in various parts of Iran for years, with the perpetrators often not being held accountable.

Durrani said that in this meeting, terrorism, as well as the economic and social situation of Afghanistan, were also discussed.

On Friday, Durrani reported on his meeting with the German parliamentary delegation in a post on the X social media platform, calling it "useful”.

Despite having historically close relations with the Taliban, Pakistan's relations with the group have become strained since the Taliban came to power.

Islamabad accuses the Taliban of sheltering the Pakistani Taliban on Afghan soil. Previously, the UN Security Council sanctions monitoring team also described Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan as "the largest terrorist group in Afghanistan" in a report.