The Taliban governor’s spokesman in Khost, Mustaghfir Gurbaz, has confirmed the killing of Nangyalai, a former member of the Khost Protection Force, saying he was killed over a “personal dispute”.
Three days after Yaftal district was briefly seized, the Taliban made sweeping changes to district leadership, police commands and intelligence offices across several districts of Badakhshan.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says 4.9 million mothers and children in Afghanistan need food assistance, warning that timely action could save millions of lives.
The Taliban-run central bank has urged the Afghanistan Credit Guarantee Foundation to provide its services equally across the country without discrimination.
The Norwegian Afghanistan Committee says it will continue humanitarian work in Afghanistan regardless of political considerations, while urging greater focus on the abilities and talents of people with disabilities.
Taliban officials in Helmand say they burned 6,882kg of smuggled medicines seized at the province’s customs facilities over the past three weeks and warned traders against importing contraband goods.
Local sources told Afghanistan International that a former intelligence officer was killed in Daikundi and a tribal elder was murdered in Ghazni’s Qarabagh district in separate incidents.
Students at the Taliban-run Police Academy in Kabul say classes have not resumed nearly four months after the winter break, with no explanation given for the delay.
As reactions continue to the newly formed Sepahiyan-e Mihan Front’s attack in Badakhshan, the group’s logo has become a subject of debate on social media.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has warned that Islamic State Khorasan is the main threat to Central Asia, saying it seeks to use Afghanistan as a base for expansion and the creation of a caliphate.
Alexandre Zouev, acting head of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism, says al-Qaeda remains present in Afghanistan and maintains ties with Taliban officials.
Following an unprecedented attack in Badakhshan, the Taliban sent army chief Fasihuddin Fitrat to Yaftal to lead operations against the newly formed opposition group.
The Taliban police command in Badakhshan has confirmed the fall of Yaftal district, saying district officials were on leave when irresponsible individuals attacked the headquarters overnight.
The newly formed armed group Sepahiyan-e Mihan briefly seized Yaftali Sufla district in Badakhshan, disarmed Taliban forces and used the attack to announce its existence publicly.
The United Nations Development Programme says Turhan Saleh began work as its new representative in Afghanistan on 15 July. He previously served as a senior adviser at UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Arab States.
For the first time since the Taliban returned to power nearly five years ago, armed opponents briefly seized Yaftali Sufla district in Badakhshan on Friday, local sources said.
Anti-Taliban forces attacked a Taliban district headquarters in Badakhshan’s Yaftali Sufla overnight and disarmed the fighters stationed there, local sources told Afghanistan International.
Pakistan says it will not resume normalising relations with the Taliban until militant attacks originating from Afghan territory stop, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Thursday.
UNAMA’s Security Council-mandated priorities will continue under its new chief, including aid coordination, political engagement, mediation, human rights monitoring and reporting on women’s rights.
Taliban Vice and Virtue Minister Khalid Hanafi say the group will not retreat from enforcing Sharia because of negative publicity and claims human rights in Afghanistan are protected under “Islamic principles”.
Taliban Justice Minister Abdul Hakim Sharaei has said some cabinet ministers would quickly start wearing ties if Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada were no longer in power, informed sources said.