Daily Evacuation Brief |June 17, 2022
Discover more from The Afghan Digest
LAST 24 HOURS
Multiple reports claim that the NRF shot down a Taliban Mi-17 in the Arezoo Valley of Panjshir and captured 4 surviving Taliban soldiers. Journalist Tajuden Soroush reported that a source in the Taliban Ministry of Defense confirmed the crash and the identity of the pilot, Colonel Matin. Reportedly the Taliban returned to the crash site to try to recover survivors, but were rebuffed by the NRF and took further casualties. Fighting in the valley concluded during the night, and Taliban forces quit the field. This is the first aircraft that the NRF have downed. It represents a significant strategic loss with implications that will directly affect international and regional assessments of the Resistance’s capabilities.
House-to-house searches in Herat are confirmed to be ongoing. Former government employees and members of the military continue to be the target of the searches. Local sources claim the searches are an excuse to loot money and property.
Iran reportedly directly confronted the Taliban over concerns about the treatment of Shiites in the country. Sources indicated that Tehran is losing patience with the Taliban’s empty rhetoric about protecting the many communities within the country. Reportedly the tone of the discussions was not exactly threatening, but it was clear that Iranian leaders are expecting action.
A group of Shiite clerics was reportedly sent to Balkhab to attempt to mediate a solution to the problems between the Taliban and Mullah Mahdi Mujahid, the breakaway Hazara Taliban commander. Taliban troops stationed around Balkhab have reputedly withdrawn from their assault positions while talks are ongoing.
NEXT 24 HOURS
The Taliban will likely feel compelled to respond to the destruction of the helicopter and be ordered to launch punitive campaigns against the NRF. We assess that any offensive actions will be hastily planned and suffer from a lack of coordination. The Resistance will take advantage of the confusion to inflict more losses on the Taliban.
SPOTLIGHT ANALYSIS
Four Ways the U.S. Can Help Prevent Mass Atrocities in Afghanistan
By USIP
Following the Taliban’s August 2021 takeover, the risk of mass atrocities in Afghanistan has risen considerably, with multiple groups facing imminent threats of violence. Ethnic and religious minorities, including the Hazaras, have been subjected to violence emanating from both the Taliban and ISIS-Khurasan Province (ISIS-K). Tajik civilians in the northeast Panjshir province have suffered retributive attacks for their resistance to Taliban rule. Throughout the country, women and girls have been denied educational and economic opportunities and been pushed to the margins of society. And Afghans associated with the national government have been targeted for violence, including torture, murder and forced disappearance.
AFGHAN NEWS
Taliban: No Police Has the Right to Stand at a Police Checkpoint Wearing Civilian Attire
By Saqalain Eqbal – Khaama Press
The Taliban’s chief of police in Kabul, Wali Jan Hamza, said the process of distributing uniforms to the group forces had begun and that once the…
Taliban posters say women not wearing hijab ‘trying to look like animals’
By al Arabiya News
The Taliban’s religious police have put up posters across the southern Afghan city of Kandahar saying that Muslim women who do not…
IEA’s mujahideen to be integrated into mainstream security forces
By Ariana News
“We have three branches – Ministry of Defense, Interior and Intelligence, and we are trying to move all the mujahideen forces into departments of these ministries to secure their…”
REGIONAL NEWS
TOLONews Interviews Former Iran President Ahmadinejad
By Farshad Daryosh – TOLO News
Ahmadinejad criticized the international community’s policy toward…
Turkistan Islamic Party leader celebrated Eid in Afghanistan in May
By Bill Roggio – The Long War Journal
Abdul Haq’s public presence in Afghanistan directly contradicts the Taliban’s claim that no foreign fighters operate or are…
INTERNATIONAL NEWS RELATING TO AFGHANISTAN
Guards who protected British embassy from Taliban attacks still stranded in Afghanistan
By Ben Farmer – The Telegraph
More than 150 guards who protected the British embassy from Taliban attacks are still stranded in…
By Saqalain Eqbal – Khaama Press
Andisha told the UN Human Rights Council on Wednesday that the international community had tried every possible way to engage with the Taliban, but that…
THE DAILY WTF
Specific Reasons Not Given for Closed Girls’ Schools: UN's Bennett
By Toba Walizada – TOLO News
“The reason... they said there technical reasons. Specific reasons were not given and I was not told that they would remain…”
Afghani to the Dollar: $1 – 89.33 AFN (as of 17 JUN 2022)