LAST 24 HOURS
MADRASSA BLAST IN SAMANGAN – A massive explosion was reported at the Al-Jihad Madrassa in Aybak yesterday afternoon. Conflicting reports about the death toll from the blast are being printed in varying outlets but at least 10 are confirmed dead with some estimates suggesting over 30 were killed. An additional 20-40 people are said to have been wounded. The Taliban have said little about the attack but did confirm that the majority of the casualties were students. The majority of those who attend the school are of Uzbek ethnicity. No details were given on the type of device that was used to carry out the attack and no group has yet claimed credit for the bombing.
IRANIAN NEWS AGENCY CLAIMS THAT HUNDREDS ARE MISSING ALONG BORDER – IRNA news agency issued a report that claims more than 100 Afghan citizens have gone missing in the border areas over the last six months. The majority are said to be children. It is thought the children became separated from their families during illegal border crossings. The Red Crescent Society of Iran has been accepting requests for information from family members who are looking for their missing family members and Afghan citizens who may be dealing with a disappearance are urged to contact the organization to begin a case file.
NEW KABUL GOVERNOR APPOINTED – Mawlavi Zahir Khan Khalid has been appointed to be the new Governor of Kabul and has already assumed office. His appointment is seen as another capitulation to the hard-liners in the regime.
NEXT 24 HOURS
MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR PERSONNEL HEADING TO SAMANGAN – GDI Agents were dispatched immediately after the reports of the bomb blast at the Madrassa were received in Kabul. Approximately 20 agents are traveling to the Province and are expected to be accompanied by a heavy security detachment. Sources in the Ministry of Defense stated the Taliban leadership has empowered local Commanders in the province to hunt down ISIS-K suspects as soon as possible. While ISIS-K has yet to claim credit for the attack, the leadership believes they carried out the operation. At-risk Afghans in Samangan should expect to see increased patrolling and heightened security for the foreseeable future.
INCREASED SECURITY PATROLLING EXPECTED IN PAKISTAN – After the deadly suicide bombing in Quetta, Pakistani police and military units were placed on heightened alert, and checkpoints along roads have been reinforced. Vehicles are expected to be searched thoroughly and pedestrians may find themselves asked to confirm their identities in more stringent patrolling. It is believed the new Military Chief will prosecute
REGIONAL ROUNDUP
IRAN
A strong earthquake struck southern Iran yesterday. Reports of damage and casualties have yet to be reported.
Secret documents attributed to the IRGC and which are said to contain comments from the Supreme Leader have been released. Some of the comments suggest the protests will not end quickly and Khamenei is said to have reprimanded his cabinet for a failure to win the ‘media war’.
Protests were reported in at least 27 urban areas across Iran last night. Yesterday marked the 75th night of the uprising. Violence was reported but could not be verified and it was unclear who may have initiated the clashes.
PAKISTAN
A blast was reported in Quetta yesterday which appeared to target a polio vaccination team. The attack was carried out by a suicide bomber who rammed a police escort vehicle. 4 people were killed and over 30 are injured. The TTP has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Imran Khan’s party backed down from threats for all PTI party members to resign from their government positions. The threat has been criticized as a ‘political stunt’.
TAJIKISTAN
Russian authorities extradited a Tajik citizen yesterday. The man, Firuz Mamadyorbekov, was arrested in Moscow and extradited. He hails from the disputed Gorno-Badakhshan region and had been living in Russia for the past five years. His whereabouts and disposition are currently unknown.
SPOTLIGHT ANALYSIS
How to build (or lose) legitimacy during war
By Florian Weigand - Global Policy
Not a day passes in which Afghanistan’s Taliban do not make the headlines for their harsh treatment of people, especially women, who in many cases got stripped of access to education and employment when the Taliban took control of the country in August 2021. Nonetheless, the movement is not without domestic support. A young man in a rural province of Afghanistan described his motivation to fight as part of the Taliban movement against international and Afghan forces. He argued that the United States forces “came as occupiers not as guests, not behaving like guests doing construction, but targeting innocent people.”
AFGHAN NEWS
16 killed, 24 wounded in north Afghanistan blast
By ANI
At least 16 people were killed and 24 wounded in the north Afghanistan blast on…
Post Taliban takeover: Riding a bike is out of the question for Afghan women
By Diaa Hadid
As Afghanistan's economy declines, more people are relying on bikes to get around. But women and girls who rode…
Afghans Adapting to Economic Decline, Social Restrictions
By William Byrd - US Institute of Peace
Newly released household data paint a bleak picture of the ongoing human tragedy in Afghanistan and how the Afghan people are adapting as best they…
REGIONAL NEWS
Pakistani FM meets with deputy prime minister, reiterates need to avoid ‘mistakes of the past’
By Ariana News
Visiting Pakistani Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar said in a meeting with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s…
Suicide bomber attacks Pakistan police guarding polio vaccination team, kills four
By Gul Yousafzai - Reuters
A Pakistani Taliban suicide bomber rammed a police escort for a polio vaccination team in southwestern Pakistan on…
INTERNATIONAL NEWS RELATING TO AFGHANISTAN
By Allison P. Erickson - The Texas Tribune
Two brothers stand across from each other at the Val Verde Correctional Facility in this border city, speaking reverently…
Afghanistan Discussed in UN Press Briefing in Geneva
By BIbi Amina Hakimi - TOLO News
Speaking to a Geneva press briefing, the director of operations at the International Committee of the Red Cross, Martin Schuepp, highlighted the…
THE DAILY WTF
Afghan defence minister Mullah Yaqoob refuses to meet Khar?
By Daily Times Mirror
Afghan media claimed on Tuesday that Mullah Yaqoob, the Taliban’s defense minister, has rejected Pakistan’s request to meet with the country’s deputy…
Afghani to the Dollar: $1 – 88.29 AFN (as of 1 DEC 2022)