Afghan Journalist Released After One Year In Taliban Prison

The rise in attacks and fresh opposition activity has prompted the Taliban to reinforce its military positions and prepare for a major operation in Badakhshan. Sources said the developments had alarmed Taliban officials and that the operation was expected to begin soon.

According to informed sources, the Taliban has transferred additional forces to Zebak district in recent days and deployed them across several areas.

New checkpoints have also been established in parts of the province, including Yaftal, while security measures have been tightened across Badakhshan. Sources described the security situation as “fragile”.

Earlier, the newly formed Sepah-e Mihan Front launched a surprise attack in Yaftal-e Payin district, briefly taking control of the area and disarming Taliban forces. Following the incident, the Afghanistan Freedom Front attacked Taliban positions in Zebak district.

Sources said the Taliban had also increased night patrols and guard duties across much of Badakhshan amid fears of guerrilla attacks.

Amanuddin Mansoor, the Taliban’s governor of Helmand, and Fasihuddin Fitrat, the group’s army chief of staff, are currently in Badakhshan, according to the sources.

Mansoor attended the funeral of Zabihullah Amiri, the Taliban’s information and culture chief in Badakhshan, on Wednesday.

Amiri, who was also Mansoor’s nephew, was killed on Tuesday when motorcycle-riding gunmen attacked him on the Baharak-Faizabad road.

Sources said the failure to identify those responsible had angered Taliban commanders and officials in Badakhshan and deepened security concerns among the group’s leadership.

They also said Juma Fateh, a disgruntled Taliban commander, had not withdrawn his forces from their positions. His brother was described as one of the figures most strongly advocating confrontation with the Taliban.

Sources identified a shift in the balance of power on the battlefield as one of the Taliban’s main concerns. They said Afghanistan Freedom Front forces were positioned in Badakhshan’s mountainous areas with heavy weapons and equipment, making any Taliban operation more difficult.

The developments come as attacks by armed Taliban opponents, particularly the Afghanistan Freedom Front, have increased in Badakhshan in recent weeks. The front recently claimed to have seized several key Taliban positions in the mountains of Zebak district and shot down two Taliban drones.

The killing of several Taliban officials in Badakhshan and Sar-e Pul, combined with increased opposition activity, has further intensified the group’s security concerns.

In a report published on Wednesday, 29 July, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Laghman, Nuristan, Nangarhar, Ghazni, Kapisa, Logar, Paktia, Paktika and Parwan provinces had been affected by the recent floods.

According to the report, three people were killed and four others injured in Laghman province alone.

OCHA said Nuristan remained the worst-affected area, with assessments showing that at least 120 families in Parun district urgently required humanitarian assistance.

The agency also reported that 20 public schools in nine districts of Nangarhar had been damaged by the floods. Buildings, roofs and solar-power equipment at several schools were affected.

In Nuristan, a sixth-grade pupil was also killed in Parun district.

OCHA said heavy rainfall, flash floods and landslides had destroyed hundreds of homes and caused extensive damage to farmland and livestock.

The agency warned that floods and landslides could displace or expose explosive ordnance left from years of conflict, creating further risks for residents of affected areas and humanitarian workers.

He made the request on Tuesday during a meeting with Sadin Ayyildiz, Türkiye’s ambassador to Kabul.

According to a statement from the Taliban’s Ministry of Higher Education, Nadeem also asked Türkiye to renovate two old buildings at Aliabad Teaching Hospital, which is affiliated with Kabul University of Medical Sciences, and help equip Afghanistan’s teaching hospitals.

The ministry said the Turkish ambassador expressed his country’s readiness to expand academic cooperation with Afghanistan. He said Turkish universities could establish academic ties with Afghan universities and sign cooperation agreements.

The statement did not say whether Türkiye had agreed to send lecturers and specialist doctors.

The request comes as Afghanistan’s universities and health institutions have faced shortages of lecturers, specialist doctors and academic staff since the Taliban returned to power.

Over the past five years, many university lecturers, doctors and specialists have left Afghanistan because of economic hardship, employment restrictions, political pressure and security concerns. Some lecturers have also been dismissed from universities or lost their jobs.

Critics say the Taliban has appointed people without academic experience, as well as clerics close to the group, to management and teaching positions at several universities. They argue that this policy, combined with the departure of qualified lecturers, has weakened the quality of education and research.

The Taliban has also banned girls and women from attending universities since late 2022. Besides depriving women of higher education, the ban has halted the work of female lecturers and the training of female doctors and specialists, worsening the shortage of qualified health workers.

The Taliban confirmed the shooting and the death of one person but did not identify the victim or acknowledge his affiliation with the group.

Information received by Afghanistan International indicates that the attack took place on Tuesday morning, 28 July, in the Mal Bazaar area of Sar-e-Pul city.

According to local sources, gunmen targeted a group of five Taliban members, killing two and wounding three others.

No individual or group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Meanwhile, the Taliban governor’s office in Sar-e-Pul said its forces had detained two people in connection with the shooting.

In a statement, the Taliban confirmed that one person had been killed but did not disclose his identity. The group also claimed that the attackers were identified and arrested after fleeing the scene and said the motive was a “personal dispute”.

The Taliban’s Interior Ministry also confirmed the incident and said its forces had detained two suspects in connection with the killing.

The attack came a day after Zabihullah Amiri, the Taliban’s director of information and culture in Badakhshan, was killed by two motorcycle-borne gunmen while travelling to work.

According to the report, the floods affected the eastern provinces of Nuristan, Nangarhar and Laghman; the south-eastern provinces of Paktika, Paktia, Khost and Ghazni; and the central provinces of Kabul, Kapisa, Panjshir, Parwan, Logar and Maidan Wardak.

The most severe damage was reported in the eastern region, particularly in Parun, the capital of Nuristan province.

WHO figures show that at least 23 people were killed, five remained missing and 125 others were injured in the floods in Parun.

The organisation’s assessment found that the floods caused serious damage to homes, public facilities and sources of income in the area, increasing the urgent need for humanitarian assistance.

The report added that hundreds of families in Kabul and neighbouring provinces were affected, with significant damage to residential homes and community assets.

WHO said the floods caused widespread destruction in Mohammad Agha district of Logar, Ghorband district of Parwan and parts of Kabul.

Its assessment found that damage to roads and infrastructure had disrupted access to essential services, particularly healthcare.

According to the UN assessment, floods in the south-eastern region also caused deaths and destroyed homes and agricultural land.

UN figures show that at least 26 houses were destroyed and two people were killed in Paktika, while two children died in Paktia.

Extensive damage to farmland, roads and water-supply systems was also reported in Khost and Ghazni provinces.

WHO warned that the consequences of the floods extended beyond the immediate destruction and could have long-term effects on food security and family livelihoods, particularly among communities dependent on agriculture.

The report also said damage to drinking-water infrastructure had increased the risk of diseases caused by contaminated water.

WHO said it had activated its emergency coordination system in response to the crisis and, together with other aid agencies, had begun rapid needs assessments and the distribution of emergency supplies.

The organisation also expressed concern about severe shortages of healthcare resources in some areas, particularly Parun.

It said the limited capacity of health facilities, shortages of medicines, damage to treatment centres and difficulty reaching mountainous areas had created serious challenges for relief operations.

The report stressed the urgent need to strengthen health services, provide safe drinking water, establish temporary shelters for displaced families and increase disease surveillance.

The UN agency warned that continued rainfall could further worsen the humanitarian situation in the coming days.