Afghanistan - News & Discussions

nrupatunga

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Under cover of darkness, Afghan women head to battle

The Afghan Army is training women to join its special forces. They are playing a key role in night raids, essential in the pursuit of Taliban commanders.

Col. Yaftaly said he saw a need for women in the Special Forces to help conduct night raids. In 2011, he got permission to recruit women and has built up the female force to roughly 25, but says he needs more. Even their male colleagues say their work is essential.
"Our duty is to go inside the houses, search the women and children, make them calm and get them out of danger," said new 21-year-old recruit Zakia Halakim.
On the firing range, Halakim is practicing with two female colleagues. Sporting dark sunglasses, a helmet and scarves wrapped round their faces, their identities are hidden. They have to be. Working alongside men has made them special targets.

The women are paid the same as the men when they are on an operation. Right now, their role is limited to night raids.

"We do face death threats because our work is outside of our culture but this is an important job," said Halakim.

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nrupatunga

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War of words erupts in Afghanistan over 2014 US troop pullout

U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel responds to Afghan President Hamid Karzai's statements in which Karzai accused the U.S. and Taliban with working together.

In his opening statement released at the start of his first Afghanistan visit since being named Defense Secretary, Chuck Hagel reminded everyone "We are still in a war." By the time his official visit ended, when a planned joint press conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai was cancelled over "security concerns," it was clear that war's second front, the war of words, was as volatile as ever.
Despite unequivocal denials by both the U.S. and a Taliban spokesman that any negotiations are taking place, Karzai did not back off his remarks when he met privately with Secretary Hagel after their press conference was called off and replaced by a mere photo op.
 

datguy79

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Karzai is destroying the country for his own legacy :tsk:


Afghan Leaders Accuse Karzai of Personal Aims in US-Taliban Claim


Afghan political leaders have condemned President Hamid Karzai's statement indicating he believes that the US and the Taliban are in talks "daily", accusing him of not speaking for the country but rather for himself.

Karzai on Sunday said at a public gathering that "the senior leaders of the Taliban and the Americans are engaged in talks in Europe and the Gulf state [of Qatar] every day", and further suggested that the US was supporting an environment of fear around the post-2014 years in order to remain in Afghanistan.

Anif Atmar, head of the political committee of the Right and Justice party, called on the government to ensure the international community knows it is not a statement supported by the country's leaders.

"This charge of accusing our international colleagues without any documents or evidence, it is not only not fair but also is not for the good of our nation," he told TOLOnews. "We honestly ask our government leadership to deal with our international colleagues with compromise, not with accusations and brawls on any point that we have problem with."

"These accusations don't benefit us," he added.

Ahmad Zia Massoud, head of the National Front, said Karzai's comments ignored the reality of what the US has invested in Afghanistan.

"Unfortunately, the president is stimulating people's views to turn against the US and put Afghanistan once more in political and economic isolation, but the US has spent millions of dollars in the past 11 year in Afghanistan and its troops have been killed fighting against terrorism in the country," he said.

Malik Stez, an international affairs analyst, said Karzai was making a show of force as president for the sake of his legacy.

"I think the president wants to paint himself as a hero who arose among the people and he aims to show that he is not a defeated politician, but such actions are not useful in the last moments of Karzai's political play."

Afghan MPs have also weighed in on the matter, with Mohammad Naem Lalai Hamidzai saying Karzai spoke for himself and not for the country.

"These comments are for his personal benefit, not for the resolution of political issues. All the salaries of the Army, the Police and other civilians are being paid for the US and Nato, so these comments are for inciting people's feelings," he said.

MP Mohammad Nazir Ahmadzai called for Karzai to retract his statement.

"Some of the comments of the president are not for the benefit of our country and nation. He should revise his comments," he told TOLOnews.

The reaction comes after US leaders also rejected Karzai's statement, with US Ambassador to Afghanistan James Cunningham describing them as "inconceivable" and US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel saying they didn't make sense.

"I told the president it was not true that the United States was unilaterally working with the Taliban and trying to negotiate anything. The fact is, any prospect for peace or political settlements - that has to be led by the Afghans," Hagel said.

Afghan Leaders Accuse Karzai of Personal Aims in US-Taliban Claim
 

datguy79

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Iranian Sentenced to Death in Badghis for Spying

An Iranian citizen has been sentenced to death in the preliminary court of north-western Badghis province after being charged with spying for Iranian military, officials said Sunday.

According to the head of Badghis preliminary court, the accused entered Afghanistan illegally in February through Herat province and later went to Badghis, allegedly at the behest of the Iranian Consulate in Herat to provide them with confidential information on the Afghan and international military based in Badghis.

The man, nicknamed Mohammad Mohammadi, is a member of the intelligence of Iran's Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution, according to the Badghis attorney general.

The court heard from the prosecution that Mohammadi was sent to Badghis to work as a laborer. However, six days after arriving in Badghis, he was detained near the province's joint army post of Afghan National Army and Spanish forces in the Moqor district.

"This man confessed his crime while being investigated. we have enough proof," head of Badghis preliminary court Ferdaws Ahmad Fayez said. "We found on him two SIM cards, one is from Afghanistan and one from Iran. He has called Iran a several times."

Fayez said there is a sufficient amount of documents and proof that indicate Mohammadi has been sending military information from the area to Iranian officials.

"In accordance with articles of law, we sentenced this man to the highest punishment of execution," Fayez said.

The decision will need to be passed through the supreme court before an execution is carried out.
 

nrupatunga

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Final Afghanistan-bound Stryker Brigade Trains for Deployment
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Pakistan accused of taking money from Afghanistan for release of Taliban cadres

Former head of National Directorate of Security (NDS), Amrullah Saleh, claimed that the Pakistani government had even offered to mediate between the Afghan government and the Taliban, He has accused Pakistan of taking money from Afghanistan for the recent release of Taliban cadres.

Saleh, who is known for his anti-Pakistan statements , said Pakistan is no longer denying to having harboured the Taliban leadership, and its government is now putting a high price tag on the Taliban.
So now pakis wants re-emburesments for hosting taliban as well. Super, get money from US as well and now get it from afghans as well. Next they will demand from us as well.
 
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datguy79

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Haqqani Attack in Kabul Thwarted, NDS Claims

Afghanistan's intelligence agency Wednesday said it thwarted a potential suicide attack in the country's capital Kabul after discovering the hideout of a group of Haqqani Network insurgents.

According to the National Directorate of Security, seven militants linked to the Haqqani Network were planning to launch a huge suicide attack on one of Kabul's military institutions but they were found by NDS officers in Area 16 of Kabul's Alwo Khail district.

Five of the insurgents were killed in the resulting clash with NDS officers who attacked the hideout, while two others were detained with a large amount of weapons, the NDS said in a statement.:thumb:

It comes the same day that a suicide attack in northern Kunduz province killed the father and brother of the Parliament's speaker of the house Abdul Raouf Ibrahimi.

The suicide attack at a buzkashi match in the Imam Sahib district is reported to have killed as many as six people and injured eight.

Ibrahimi's brother Qayoum was the district police chief of Imam Sahib.
 

datguy79

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16 rebels killed, many wounded | Pajhwok Afghan News

KABUL (PAN): As many as 16 insurgents were killed and several others were wounded during separate incidents of violence in different parts of the country over the past 24 hours, officials said on Wednesday.
Eleven Taliban fighters were killed and as many were injured during a series of security operations in the Charchino district of southern Uruzgan province, the Afghan military said.
One Afghan National Army (ANA) soldier was killed and four others sustained injuries during the operations that were carried out on Tuesday, the 205th Attal Military Corps said in a statement.
In southeastern Khost, three suspected militants were killed when a roadside bomb they were planting along a road went-off prematurely in the Mandozai district on Tuesday night, 203rd Thunder Military Corps spokesmen Cap. Abdullah told Pajhwok Afghan News.
Elsewhere in the province, a Hezb-i-Islami of Afghanistan commander was killed during a clash with rival militants in the Nirkh district, an official said.
The clash between the rival groups broke out on Tuesday night in the Tokark area, the governor's spokesman, Attaullah Khogyani, said.
In southern Helmand, two NATO troops were injured in a roadside bombing on the Kabul-Herat highway in the Greshk district, an official said.
The blast also damaged a bridge, the district police chief, Maj. Khadi Khan, told Pajhwok Afghan News. The wounded soldiers were evacuated to an ISAF facility, he added.
 

datguy79

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Ashgabat supports construction of Tajikistan-Afghanistan-Turkmenistan railway

Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov, President of Turkmenistan has supported a project of construction a railway between Tajikistan and Turkmenistan through Afghanistan, the state news agency of Turkmenistan confirmed.


According to reports, during the telephone conversation between Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, both the sides discussed assistance to Afghanistan.

Turkmen leader also noted that, "Turkmenistan is interested in initiative of Tajikistan to run and unite the railways of the countries on the territory of Afghanistan".
 

nrupatunga

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Afghanistan starting exports of crude oil this year
Output from China National Petroleum Corp. wells in northern Afghanistan will rise to 25,000 barrels a day by the end of the year from zero now, Minister of Mines Mr. Shahrani said, adding that the total will rise to 40,000 barrels a day in 2014.

All the crude will be initially exported by truck through one of Afghanistan's northern neighbors, Mr. Shahrani said, adding that the project will require an investment of $600 million.

He declined to identify which of the three northern border countries—Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan or Tajikistan—is involved, describing the talks as "very advanced". And he didn't say whether CNPC intended to move the crude to China.
By taking it north will china petroleum corp taking supply crude to russia which is itself a oil exporter??:rofl::rotflmao::rotflmao:

But sadly we are still stuck, steel plant is not yet ready on paper, here we see china already taking crude oil for them. :mad::tsk::sad::sad:
 

datguy79

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Afghanistan starting exports of crude oil this year

By taking it north will china petroleum corp taking supply crude to russia which is itself a oil exporter??:rofl::rotflmao::rotflmao:

But sadly we are still stuck, steel plant is not yet ready on paper, here we see china already taking crude oil for them. :mad::tsk::sad::sad:
China is also building a refinery.

However the whole deal is super shady since it is coordinated with the Afghan company Watan Group, which in turn is owned by Karzai's relatives.:tsk:
 

nrupatunga

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However the whole deal is super shady since it is coordinated with the Afghan company Watan Group, which in turn is owned by Karzai's relatives.:tsk:
It will be shady, as this is operated under "great wall of china" . Hopefully afghanistan does not become like its northern neighbors wherein all resources of the state work for welfare of ruling elite. But its a BIGGG ask.
 

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UK combat operations in Afghanistan effectively cease
Britain's war in Helmand is all but over, the commander of the military task force there, Brigadier Bob Bruce, has revealed to BBC Newsnight.

"We have reduced our profile to such an extent that we don't do ground combat type operations anymore," Brig Bruce said. While Nato forces will, in theory, remain in Afghanistan for the next year and a half, in the country's once rebellious south they are all but confined to their bases, begging the question why the drawdown cannot go even faster.
While three years ago the British had 120 bases in Helmand - many of them patrol bases or small forts - the figure had fallen to 37 by November last year, and is now down to 12.
 

datguy79

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Scores of Taliban Killed in Badakhshan: Local Officials

At least 60 Taliban insurgents have been killed in Afghan raids over the Nowruz holiday in north-eastern Badakhshan province, local officials said.:wave:

Military operations were launched over the last two days in the province's Warduj district with the security forces calling for air support, provincial spokesman Abdul Maroof Rasikh said.

The Taliban has denied the high number of casualties.

The operation comes two weeks after 16 Afghan policemen and soldiers were ambushed and killed in a Taliban attack.

The ground operation by the Afghan army, police and intelligence personnel is still in progress, according to Rasikh, who said the dead included some Taliban commanders.

However, he did not name the militant leaders killed.

Warduj is in the north-east of Badakhshan, close to the border of Tajikistan and the Wakhan corridor. There are areas with a strong insurgent presence where local Afghan security forces are frequently targeted.
 

Bhadra

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60 is a good number...

Taliban in that number togethr is doubtful... ??

Waht do you say..
 

datguy79

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60 is a good number...

Taliban in that number togethr is doubtful... ??

Waht do you say..
The BBC Persian article mentions that 8 locations within the district were attacked/bombed. Wurduj is a pretty big place.
 

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US army hands over Bagram prison to Afghanistan


Although a handover ceremony took place last September, US forces remained at the prison pending a deal over the fate of certain prisoners

The US has handed over to Afghanistan the only prison still under American control, resolving an issue that has strained ties between the countries.

A transfer ceremony took place at Bagram jail, now renamed the Afghan National Detention Facility at Parwan.

The handover came as US Secretary of State John Kerry made an unannounced visit for talks with President Karzai.
Full article and comments: BBC News - US army hands over Bagram prison to Afghanistan
 

datguy79

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Power struggle among Taliban leaders | Pajhwok Afghan News

KABUL (PAN): A serious power struggle has broken out among the Afghan Taliban's top leaders. Over the past few days, two top-ranking members of the Quetta Shura have been battling for control -- and according to one source, their feud has already resulted in the assassination of one senior Taliban official by members of an opposing faction.
The centre of the storm is the Taliban's top military leader, the former Guantanamo detainee Mullah Abdul Qayyum. Years ago he earned a reputation as a merciless fighter on the battlefield, but fellow insurgents say that as a commander he is often brutal to underlings and he seems incapable of responding quickly to changing conditions on the ground.
Recently complaints from senior commanders in the field have risen to crisis levels. According to both a senior member of the ruling council and a former cabinet minister in the Taliban regime, commanders accused him of showing no respect for his men in the field ground and ignoring their basic needs.
For the past two months he has also ignored the Quetta Shura's meetings. Last week the leadership council gathered in Pakistan near the city of Peshawar, and Akhtar Muhammad Mansoor, a longtime rival for control of the insurgency, called Zakir, asking him to attend and if possible to address the commanders' complaints. Zakir merely ignored the invitation.
The meeting took place anyway, and Mansoor took the occasion to declare his own control over the whole insurgency and to announce the dismissal of many commanders who had been appointed by Zakir. The sacked officials included Sayyid Ala ud-Din Agha, the overall commander of the insurgency's southern front; Mullah Ruhul Amin, the chief of the military council for Helmand province; Daro Khan, the shadow governor of central Daikundi province; and Mullah Abasa, the head of the Taliban's medical division. "All of them were members of Zakir's faction," says the former minister. "Now we're waiting to see how Zakir reacts."
It seems likely that Zakir will respond in much the same way as Mansoor Dadullah did five years ago, after he was canned as commander of the forces that had been led by his late brother, the notorious Mullah Dadullah Akhund. He demanded proof that the order had come from the Taliban's supreme leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar. There was no proof. There has been no confirmed sighting of Omar since he vanished into the Kandahar mountains 12 years ago amid the chaos of the 2001 invasion. "Zakir would say the same thing," the former minister predicts. "He would say, 'Only Mullah Omar can remove me, and unless I have verifiable proof, I will not step down.'"
"Yes, the insurgency is still going, but it's like a runaway camel," the former ministry official says. "In the end it will fall into a pit."
That's the basic problem. In the Omar's absence the Taliban have no indisputable lines of authority. "The Taliban were distinguished by their unity, but now each top leader is promoting his own loyalists and his own faction," says a former member of the Quetta Shura. "It's making the Taliban very much weaker." The organization has been deteriorating ever since Pakistan arrested Omar's second in command, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, in early 2010, and subordinates including Zakir and Mansoor began jockeying for power.
They derived their authority from having been appointed to lesser positions by Baradar in Omar's name. "The Taliban formula was that anyone who has been appointed must be followed, regardless of his ability." Things inevitably fell apart. "That formula worked when Mullah Omar was our operational leader," says a source who was a high-ranking official in the regime's Culture Ministry before the 2001 U.S. invasion. "But how could it work now that he is neither dead nor alive?"
Some insurgents blame Mansoor as well as Zakir for the Taliban's setbacks. Both men have failed to gain territory in the southern Afghan provinces of Kandahar and Helmand. On the contrary, they have lost control of former Taliban strongholds. "Since the situation on the ground has not improved in the Taliban's birthplaces, they've started pointing fingers at each other," says the former cabinet minister. "Now things have reached this stage." To make the situation worse, he says, none of the other current leaders have any outstanding abilities as military commanders or as leaders.
 

nrupatunga

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Karzai heads to Qatar to discuss peace with Taliban
Karzai's trip to Qatar would represent the first time the Afghan president has discussed the Taliban peace process in Qatar, and comes after years of stalled discussions with the United States, Pakistan and the Taliban.

"We welcome and fully support President Karzai's visit to Qatar as a sign of improved relations between the two U.S. allies," said Caitlin Hayden, a spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council. "The president and other world leaders continue to call on the Afghan armed opposition to join a political process."
If karzai himself is going in person for talks means that ANA (afghan national army) has zero stomach to fight taliban on its own. Very worrisome days for the region in general and india in particular.:sad::tsk:
 
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nrupatunga

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Actually this peace talks with Taliban is forced upon Karzai by US and Pakistan.
There is no point in "accommodating" taliban. Slowly they will take over. Anyone who thinks we can have peace with taliban will be surely disappointed. Sadly no one is interested in fighting taliban.

And then
Very worrisome days for the region in general and india in particular.
 

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