Daily Evacuation Brief | August 3, 2022
Discover more from The Afghan Digest
LAST 24 HOURS
Former Afghan military pilots were called to a meeting with the Taliban and reportedly invited to rejoin the Taliban’s security forces. It was not clear if any of the former aviation specialists agreed to join the Taliban. However, as the pilots were returning to their homes after the meeting, an ambush took place between two Taliban checkpoints, and several pilots were reported to have been shot and killed. The Taliban claim the attack was perpetrated by “bandits”. No further information was available, but this is not the first reported incident where former military and intelligence personnel have been asked to join the Taliban and then have been killed or imprisoned.
There are rumors that others were killed and/or injured in the drone attack carried out by the CIA. While the initial reports suggested that al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed without collateral damage while standing alone on his balcony, new reports suggest there may have been others in the home who were affected. The Afghan Digest will continue to monitor the situation.
House-to-house searches have begun in earnest in Kabul following the drone strike that killed Ayman al-Zawahiri. The Taliban have begun canvassing areas immediately adjacent to the Sherpur neighborhood where the drone strike took place. Sources claim the searches are being conducted to show the Afghan people that the Taliban are actively responding but have no substantive goal. No arrests have been reported as of the time of publication.
The Baloch Liberation Army and other affiliated groups are claiming they successfully shot down the Pakistan Army helicopter carrying senior army personnel the other day. There has been no confirmation of these claims by any official source at this time.
NEXT 24 HOURS
Upcoming evacuation operations planned for Kabul will likely be disrupted temporarily as the Taliban seeks to showily demonstrate their sense of outrage over the drone strike. This demonstration is necessary to assure the Haqqani faction and other groups/nation-states that the Taliban did not cooperate or sanction the strike. While we do not assess the disruption as permanent, at-risk Afghans who are currently awaiting extraction should be prepared for delays.
SPOTLIGHT HISTORICAL ANALYSIS
Negotiation Analysis: The US, Taliban, and the Bergdahl Exchange
By Harvard Law School
In this negotiation analysis, we study the exchange between the United States and the Taliban of Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl for five Taliban leaders held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, represented the first public prisoner exchange of a US soldier in the thirteen year US involvement in Afghanistan. The background of the deal including how Private First Class Bergdahl (promoted twice to Sergeant while in captivity) entered Taliban control, how the deal was crafted and executed, and what it means for the future have rapidly come forward in bits and pieces through media channels.
AFGHAN NEWS
Did Taliban Leak Zawahiri’s Kabul Location to US? Had They Asked Al-Qaida to Leave? Exclusive
By Manoj Gupta – News 18
The sources told News18 exclusively that the Taliban was negotiating with the AQ leadership to leave the…
Pakistani Doctors Visiting Kabul Offer Free Eye Care
By Imran Danish – TOLO News
"There are 12 doctors, all of them are professionals, they will do 500 eye operations for free in four days, and most of these operations will be…”
Islamic Emirate committed to fighting ISIS in Afghanistan: Haqqani
By Ariana News
In an interview with an Indian news channel on Friday, July 29, Afghanistan’s acting Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani said that…
REGIONAL NEWS
Turkmenistan: It’s good to talk
By Akhal-Teke – EurAsia Net
This point, that the international community needs to find ways to establish lines of communication with the Taliban, was made afresh on…
Chopper on relief mission missing in Balochistan, Pakistan
By Ariana News
A helicopter carrying senior military officials went missing in Balochistan on Monday night, Dawn news agency…
INTERNATIONAL NEWS RELATING TO AFGHANISTAN
Ayman al-Zawahiri: Who violated the Doha agreement?
By Faisal Edroos & Umar A Farooq – Middle East Eye
The Doha agreement, struck between the US and the Taliban some two years ago preceding the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, has been the…
Death of al-Qaida leader: US strike shows Afghanistan still terror base
By New Zealand Herald
The Biden administration is holding out the CIA operation that killed al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri as a monumental strike against the…
THE DAILY WTF
No militancy in Afghanistan, reports inaccurate
By The Kabul Times
The Islamic Emirate allows no militants; either from the so-called IS or other anti-system groups, to disturb security in the country or use Afghanistan as their…
Afghani to the Dollar: $1 – 89.75 AFN (as of 3 AUG 2022)