LAST 24 HOURS
FOUR BLASTS REPORTED IN AFGHANISTAN – Kabul and Mazar-i-Sharif reported blasts yesterday. At this time, the casualties resulting from the blasts are in dispute. Official tallies of those killed and/or wounded appear to be low..
Mazar-i-Sharif Attack: A blast was reported in Police District 4 of the city at approximately 1500hrs local. Taliban security forces immediately cordoned off the area and there has been no confirmation of casualties in the attack. Taliban security personnel reportedly collected cell phones from some onlookers who were seen taking photos and videos. Several eyewitnesses reported that the Taliban beat some of the eyewitnesses.
Kabul Attack 1: Another hand grenade attack took place near the shopping center in the Dasht-e-Barchi area yesterday (Police District 18) at approximately 1430hrs local. 2 non-combatants were killed and 12 others were injured in the attack.
Kabul Attack 2: A large blast was reported near the Abu Muslim Khorasani Mosque at approximately 0700hrs local. The cause of the blast is not known and there has been no confirmation of whether casualties resulted. Photos of the blast shared on social media show a large plume of smoke and dust blanketing several blocks.
An unconfirmed report arrived stating that a Taliban sedan had struck a mine that had been put in place by members of the Afghanistan Liberation Movement in Zafar, Herat. There has been no information about casualties and this incident has yet to be confirmed.
TALIBAN PLANNING PUSH TO ERADICATE ISIS-K FROM BADAKHSHAN STRONGHOLDS – Two sources in Kabul say that with Iran’s public revelations about the Kerman bomb plot which has been connected to Badakhshan, leaders in the regime are planning a large ‘clearing operation’ in the Province. One of the sources said that Taliban Ministers were miffed that Iran had released the information publicly at such an early stage. A plan that had been drafted in November to ‘sanitize’ Badakhshan of terrorist organizations is being reviewed and updated. It was not clear when any proposed operation would commence in the troubled Province.
IRAN IDENTIFIES SOME OF THOSE INVOLVED IN KERMAN ATTACK, SUPPORT CELL ARRESTED – Iranian intelligence officials announced that it had determined the identity of the individual responsible for planning the Kerman bomb attacks. The officials said the man was a Tajikistan national and used the alias Abdullah Tajik. Officials claim to have followed his movements in the months leading up to the attack and established a trail that led from Turkey to Afghanistan and eventually to Kerman in Iran where he rented a flat. One of the suicide bombers was also identified as Baziroof Israeli (also a Tajk national) who, according to Iranian officials, traveled to Turkey and Badakhshan, Afghanistan before entering Iran. While in Afghanistan, the perpetrators reportedly spent time at an ISIS-K training camp in Badakhshan. It is not clear if Iranian authorities know where the suspect is currently located. A video was released to Iranian media that shows the arrests of the support team in Kerman and an inventory of explosives and suicide vests.
NEXT 24 HOURS
POSSIBLE COUNTER TERRORISM OPERATIONS IN BADAKHSHAN – Sources say that a possible ‘clearing operation’ is under consideration for the Province of Badakhshan. After Iran alleged it had identified at least two of the individuals involved in the Kerman bombings, it added that both had spent time in Badakhshan at an ISIS-K training facility. Sources in Kabul say the Taliban appear to feel compelled to take action rapidly to appease its Western neighbor. At-risk Afghans in the Province could soon see search operations and significant military traffic on the roadways. In past situations, the Taliban often closed roads in/out of Provinces while such operations were conducted. It is possible that transportation could be disrupted if this takes place.
REGIONAL ROUNDUP
IRAN
Conspiracy theories have begun developing over the noticeable difference in precipitation in Turkey compared to Iran. Several media figures have suggested Turkey is responsible for ‘cloud stealing’ (using technology to manipulate the weather).
Iranian maritime forces seized another oil tanker off the coast of Oman yesterday. The tanker is thought to be the same one that was previously seized in US waters in 2023.
The father of a student who was placed in prison in 2020, Mir Yousef Younesi, was sentenced to a five-year prison sentence yesterday. Younesi served prison time under the Shah’s regime as well as an earlier term after the revolution, The charges against him are not clear.
PAKISTAN
PayPal payment system set to begin limited ‘test run’ in February. The initial target demographic that will be invited to use the system is tech freelancers. A larger rollout of PayPal and Stripe is expected in March.
Former PM Imran Khan casts doubt on the legitimacy of the upcoming elections from his prison cell. His accusations span the political breadth of the Pakistani government and also cast aspersions toward the US and its rumored role in his downfall.
The Finance Minister announced that $700 million of the $3 billion loan was issued yesterday by the International Monetary Fund.
SPOTLIGHT ANALYSIS
Resisting the Taliban’s New Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan
By Tony Blair Institute for Global Change
Since the fall of Kabul in August 2021, the Taliban has created a system of governance based on the wholesale subordination of women, institutionalising discrimination within the regime’s political, legal and cultural structures. Before the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, women held 27 per cent of seats in parliament; today they hold none. They had filled 21 per cent of civil-service jobs and just under 30 per cent of roles in civil-society organisations while in the more informal private sector, at least 54,000 businesses were estimated to be run or owned by women in 2021. In less than two years, that progress has been systematically reversed, with female civil servants, private-sector workers and business owners losing their livelihoods and the 3.5 million young women and girls previously enrolled in school banned from both secondary and tertiary education today.
AFGHAN NEWS
Magnitude 6.4 earthquake shakes parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan but no damage is reported
By Munir Ahmed - AP
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake shook parts of Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan on Thursday, sending panicked residents fleeing from their homes and offices and…
Blasts Hit Kabul, Balkh Leaving Several Killed
By Mujeeb Rahman Awrang Stanikzai - TOLO News
At least two civilians were killed and 12 others were injured in a grenade blast in PD 18 of Kabul today, a spokesman for the Kabul security…
UN ‘concerned’ Taliban detaining Afghan women for dress code violations
By Al Jazeera
The United Nations mission in Afghanistan is “deeply concerned” about Taliban authorities arbitrarily arresting and detaining women and…
REGIONAL NEWS
There is no promise to grant visas, residence permits to Afghan migrants: Turkish foreign minister
By Aynur Ekiz - Anadolu Agency
The question concerned allegations that “legalization of Afghan migrants and work visas for Afghans” were discussed during a meeting between the…
Pakistan's caretaker govt used threats, abuse, and detention to coerce Afghans: Report
By ANI
Pakistan's caretaker government clamped down on dissenting media, the political opposition, and nongovernmental organisations in 2023, Human Rights Watch said in…
INTERNATIONAL NEWS RELATING TO AFGHANISTAN
US Lawmakers Question Whether Aid Is Benefiting Taliban
By Katherine Gypson - VOA
U.S. officials overseeing assistance to Afghanistan told U.S. lawmakers Thursday that aid is rigorously monitored to prevent financial benefits from…
Reopening of UK Embassy in Kabul is Under Review: UK Official
By TOLO News
Andrew Mitchell MP, Minister of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, said the government will keep “very much under review” calls to…
THE DAILY WTF
Haqqani Urges MoI Spokespersons to Use Good Behavior With Media
By TOLO News
Speaking at an Interior Ministry seminar to train spokespersons, acting Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani said that the media should be treated in such a way that they are…
“Not particularly sophisticated but the candor is refreshing.” TAD Staff
Afghani to the Dollar: $1 – 70.77 AFN (as of 12 JAN 2024)