Afghanistan

Journalist Sami Yousafzai, citing Taliban officials in Badakhshan, reported that five Taliban members were killed and 16 wounded in clashes with forces loyal to Juma Khan Fateh in Nusay district.

Local sources in Badakhshan’s Nusay district told Afghanistan International that clashes between Taliban forces and fighters loyal to Juma Khan Fateh have reached areas near the district centre.

As fighting intensifies between Taliban forces and fighters loyal to Juma Khan Fateh in Nusay district of Badakhshan, local sources say internet access has been cut in parts of the district.

The Taliban’s Information and Culture Directorate in Nimroz said eight people had been detained on suspicion of membership in the Sepahiyan-e Mihan Front. Local sources said they had been deported from Iran about three weeks earlier.

Juma Khan Fateh, a dissident Taliban commander, confirmed on Wednesday that intense fighting was under way between his forces and the Taliban in Nusay district of Badakhshan, calling on his men and local residents to fight.

Andrei Grozin, head of the Central Asia department at the CIS Institute, said the risk of militant and international terrorist groups infiltrating from Afghanistan remains the main reason for annual military exercises in the region.

Iranian Agriculture Minister Gholamreza Nouri Ghezeljeh arrived in Kabul on Wednesday, 12 August, leading a delegation for talks with Taliban officials and a visit to an agriculture and livestock exhibition.

The United Nations office in Kabul confirmed to Afghanistan International on Tuesday that two Afghan male UN employees were detained in Herat by Taliban intelligence on Sunday, 9 August.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid has denied that the group is holding Afghan-American Mahmood Shah Habibi, a former head of Afghanistan’s civil aviation authority, saying it has no information about his fate.

Sources told Afghanistan International that Taliban intelligence has detained two UNAMA human rights staff members in Herat after they recently reported on the detention of women in the province.

Richard Bennett, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, has called for an independent investigation into the killing of 11 people by Taliban security forces in Kabul.

Taliban Justice Minister Abdul Hakim Sharaei has rejected allegations of “systematic discrimination” and attempts to forcibly displace Hazaras, saying land recovery is a legal matter unrelated to ethnicity or religion.

Taliban Borders & Tribal Affairs Minister Noorullah Noori has travelled to Yaftal district of Badakhshan at the order of Prime Minister Hassan Akhund to investigate a deadly clash between Taliban forces and local residents.

The Taliban police command in Kabul said on Monday that four people were killed in a clash with its forces in the city’s 18th police district.

Five years after the Taliban’s return to power, armed opposition groups have yet to shift the balance. The Taliban still controls Afghanistan’s territory, state institutions and main economic resources.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei says Tehran’s water rights remain a top priority and a constant, vital and strategic issue in relations with the Taliban.

Darul Ifta at Darul Uloom Karachi has said women may pursue education, including medicine, under Islamic conditions, in response to a request from an Afghan refugee woman about female education in Afghanistan.

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has issued a new report on accountability for Taliban security forces and officials accused of misconduct and ill-treatment.