Afghanistan

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Parliamentary candidate killed in Afghanistan — media

An explosion occurred on Wednesday in the office of a parliamentary candidate in Afghanistan, the 1TV channel reported.

The explosion took place in the Helmand province in the south of the country and killed parliamentary candidate Abdul Jabar Qahraman, the TV channel reported.

The parliamentary election in Afghanistan is to take place on October 20. The election of local government members will be carried out simultaneously with the parliamentary election.

 

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NATO convoy attacked near US base outside Afghan capital

A bomber has killed two Afghan civilians and wounded at least three foreign troops in an attack near the largest US military base near the Afghan capital, Kabul, local officials say.

Mohammad Mahfouz Walizada, police chief of Parwan province, where the military base is located, said a bomber on foot targeted foreign forces while they were on patrol.

The soldiers' nationality was not immediately known.

Waheda Shahkar, a spokeswoman for Parwan's governor, confirmed the attack in the Sey Dukan area of Bagram district.

"Two civilians were killed and two others injured," Shahkar said. The injured, both women, were taken to the airbase for medical treatment.

The Taliban militant group claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement, saying that NATO forces were their main target.

Bagram Airfield, close to Kabul, has frequently come under attack by Taliban over the past years.

Early on Wednesday, Taliban attacked checkpoints in Baghlan province, killing six policemen and wounding two others in a four-hour battle. According to provincial police chief General Ekramuddin Sarih, about 10 insurgents were also killed in the fierce fighting.

In the eastern province of Maidan Wardak, a car bomber targeted a military vehicle, killing two army troops, said Hekmat Durani, spokesman for the provincial police chief. Durani said Abdul Razeq, the commander of an army battalion, was wounded in Wednesday’s attack in Chek district.

In other violence, a bomb accidentally detonated inside a local Taliban commander’s home in the western province of Herat, killing five people, four men and a woman. Gelani Farhad, spokesman for the provincial governor, said two other women were wounded in the blast late Wednesday afternoon in Push Koh district. The victims were all family members and relatives.

Separately, a Taliban bombing in the southern province of Helmand killed a candidate running in the parliamentary elections this weekend. The blast in Helmand occurred inside the campaign office of Abdul Jabar Qahraman, killing him and wounding seven people.

Taliban militants on Tuesday killed and wounded dozens of Afghan police forces, including a provincial police chief, in heavy fighting in the northern and central parts of the country.

Taliban have vowed to target Afghan security forces in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Militants have killed six other candidates, both before and after the 20-day campaign period started. Two candidates have been abducted and three others have been wounded in the ongoing violence.

Afghan people still face insecurity 17 years after the United States and its allies invaded the country as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror.

Although Taliban were removed from power as a result of the invasion, many areas are still threatened by insecurity.

 

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October 18, 2018 - Top Afghan Police Chief killed in shooting, US General unhurt
Top Afghan police chief killed in shooting, U.S. general unhurt | Reuters


FILE PHOTO: Gen. Abdul Razeq, who was killed in today's attack, is seen at his office in Kandahar province, Afghanistan August 4, 2016. REUTERS/Stringer

FILE PHOTO: Incoming Commander of Resolute Support forces and command of NATO forces in Afghanistan, U.S. Army General Scott Miller speaks during a change of command ceremony in Resolute Support headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan September 2, 2018. REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail

General Abdul Razeq, one of Afghanistan's most powerful security commanders, was killed on Thursday in a shooting attack by a bodyguard that dealt a severe blow to the Afghan government ahead of parliamentary elections on Saturday, officials said.

General Scott Miller, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan who had been at a meeting with Razeq and the governor of the southern province of Kandahar only moments earlier, was not injured in the attack.

But Razeq, the Kandahar police commander, and the local head of the NDS intelligence service were both fatally wounded before the attacker was himself killed. Kandahar Governor Zalmay Wesa was severely wounded and contradictory reports about whether he had survived could not immediately be resolved.

Taliban militants claimed responsibility for the assault, which decapitated the security command in one of the country’s most strategically important and contested provinces.

The Taliban said they said they had targeted both Miller and Razeq, who had a fearsome reputation as a ruthless foe of the Islamist insurgents in their southern Afghan heartland.

Security officials had warned of likely attacks ahead of the election but the death of Razeq caused deep shock that officials fear may keep away voters, after Taliban warnings not to take part in what they consider a foreign-imposed ballot.

“General Razeq’s death will have a huge impact on security and the election in the south because a lot of voters may not feel safe to go to vote,” said a senior security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Taliban released a picture of a young man in military-style uniform who they said was the attacker and Afghan officials identified him by the name of Gulbuddin. It remained unclear how the insurgents managed to infiltrate a gunman so close to such senior commanders.

Officials said Razeq, Miller and the other officials were walking toward a landing zone as the helicopter taking the U.S. general’s party back to Kabul approached to land when the gunman, who was waiting outside, opened fire on the group.

“Provincial officials including the governor, the police chief and other officials were accompanying the foreign guests to the aircraft when the gunshots happened,” said Said Jan Khakrezwal, the head of the provincial council.

The attack underlined how precarious the situation remains in Afghanistan even after Taliban and U.S. officials have opened preliminary contacts aimed at establishing the basis for future peace talks.

But a Pentagon spokesman said Washington remained committed to its strategy of maintaining heavy military pressure on the Taliban to force the insurgents to the negotiating table.

“This attack will not change U.S. resolve in our South Asia strategy. If anything, it makes us more resolute,” U.S. Defense Department spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Kone Faulkner told Reuters.

BODY ARMOR
President Ashraf Ghani said a team led by the head of the NDS, Masoom Stanekzai, would be sent to Kandahar to bring the situation under control and investigate the incident, which sharply heightens security concerns around Saturday’s election.

At least two hand grenade explosions and sporadic gunfire from around the compound were also reported by officials, in a sign the attack was carefully coordinated.

The three Afghan officials were all hit in the fusillade from the gunman and two Americans and a coalition contractor were hit in the crossfire. But Miller, who took command of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and the NATO-led Resolute Support mission last month, was not harmed.

“The brutal police chief of Kandahar has been killed along several other officials,” a Taliban statement said.

A flamboyant commander, whose men wore badges bearing his name, Razeq had survived several attempts on his life over the years and narrowly escaped an attack last year in which five diplomats from the United Arab Emirates were killed in Kandahar.

A U.S. Embassy official said eyewitness reports indicated that claims Miller was a target in the attack were false, but he gave no detail.

Local officials said Miller appeared to have been saved by his body armor but there was no immediate confirmation from NATO headquarters.

Razeq was criticized by human rights groups but highly respected by U.S. officers who saw him as one of Afghanistan’s most effective commanders, largely responsible for keeping Kandahar under control.

Although technically only a police commander, he was a powerful political figure in his own right and had clashed repeatedly with Ghani in the past, using his unchallenged position in Kandahar to resist attempts to sack him.

A cameramen working for Afghanistan’s RTA state television was also killed on Thursday, according to the director of the Afghanistan journalists center, Ahmad Quraishi.


Wed Oct 17, 2018 - Afghanistan: Election Candidate Killed in Helmand Blast
Farsnews

Jabar Qahraman, an election candidate from Southern Helmand province was killed in an explosion at his office on Wednesday morning, local officials confirmed.

The explosion happened on Wednesday morning at the office of election candidate Jabar Qahraman, in addition, seven other people were wounded in the blast, TOLOnews reported.

The incident took place at his campaign office in Lashkargah city, a spokesman for the provincial governor, Omar Zwak confirmed, adding that "explosives were placed inside his sofa."

He said that the wounded people have been taken to a nearby hospital.

The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the explosion.

This comes after last Tuesday’s attack at a campaign office also in Helmand which claimed the lives of eight people including the election candidate, Saleh Mohammad Achakzai.

Since July 1, at least 9 candidates have been killed in attacks.

On October 3, an explosion targeted an election rally in Nangarhar, killing 14 people killed.

On September 25, Nasir Mubarez, a candidate for the Kochis, from Kandahar, was killed by unknown armed men in a shooting in Kandahar City’s PD2.

On September 2, Anwar Niazi, a Parwan candidate, was killed and two others wounded when a magnetic IED was detonated against the vehicle they were traveling in. The incident took place in Kabul city center, in Shirpoor, in PD10, at about 7pm local time.

In August, Jalal Salehi, a candidate from Kabul, was killed during a security forces operation in Kabul’s Shakar Dara district.

Another candidate, former member of Ghazni provincial council, Sayed Obaidullah Sadat, was killed in Ghazni on July 14 by unknown armed men.

On July 1, the Afghan Sikh and Hindu community leader, Ottar Singh Khalsa, who was running for parliamentary elections, was killed in a suicide attack in Jalalabad city in Nangarhar province.

And on July 30, another Nangarhar candidate, Hayatullah Khan Rahmani, was killed when a suicide bomber targeted him in Rodat district in the province.

More than 2,500 candidates are running for 249 parliamentary seats in the October 20 elections.


October 18, 2018 - Afghanistan shooting will not change US resolve in South Asia strategy: Pentagon
Afghanistan shooting will not change U.S. resolve in South Asia strategy: Pentagon | Reuters

A shooting in Afghanistan which killed one of the country’s most powerful security officials will not change U.S. resolve in its South Asia strategy, the Pentagon said on Thursday.

General Abdul Razeq, one of Afghanistan’s most powerful security commanders, was killed on Thursday when a bodyguard opened fire following a meeting at the governor’s office in the southern province of Kandahar, officials said.

“This attack will not change U.S. resolve in our South Asia strategy, if anything it makes us more resolute,” Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Kone Faulkner told Reuters.

General Scott Miller, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan who had been at the meeting with General Abdul Razeq only moments earlier, was not injured in the attack.


October 18, 2018 - Afghan Taliban issue fresh call to boycott 'foreign plot' of elections
Afghan Taliban issue fresh call to boycott 'foreign plot' of elections | Reuters

The Taliban issued a fresh call for Afghans to boycott this week’s parliamentary elections on Thursday, denouncing the vote as a foreign-imposed process that went against both Islam and Afghan culture.

The statement was the third such call and followed a similar message on Wednesday telling teachers not to participate as election workers in polling stations, many of which are located in schools.

It said the elections “have no Islamic or Afghan essence but are a foreign plot to prolong occupation” and said it was the duty of every Afghan and Muslim to oppose them.

“Consequently, preachers and prayer leaders must inform their constituency, while tribal leaders and influential figures must prevent participation by the public,” the statement said.

The elections for the lower house of parliament are due to take place on Saturday but preparations have been dogged by chaotic organization and allegations of widespread fraud as well as worries that polling stations will be attacked.

Thousands of police and soldiers have been deployed across the country to ensure security but already nine candidates have been assassinated and hundreds of people have been killed and wounded in election-related attacks.

Although the Taliban say they will not deliberately target civilians, security officials say attacks are likely on Saturday morning to deter voters from going to polling stations.

The Taliban’s strong opposition to the vote comes against a backdrop of contacts with U.S. officials over possible talks to end the 17-year war in Afghanistan, with both sides attempting to secure the upper hand before any formal negotiations begin.

The elections, which have been repeatedly delayed, are seen as a key credibility test for Afghanistan’s democratic institutions but with two days left until the vote, officials were still rushing to complete preparations.

Untested biometric voter registration equipment introduced at the last minute at the demand of political parties was still being sent out and set up in remote provincial voting centers and it was unclear whether it would be ready in time.

Some 8.8 million names have been registered but millions of these are believed to be fraudulently recorded and the real number of likely voters is unknown.

The lower house of parliament, with 249 seats and an extra seat reserved for the small Sikh community, has little power but the elections are seen as a vital step before more important presidential elections in April next year.

District council elections, which were due to be held alongside the parliamentary elections, have been abandoned and in Ghazni province voting will be delayed because of arguments over the representation of different ethnic groups.


Wed Oct 17, 2018 - Bomb-Laden Car Destroyed, Several Militants killed in Afghan Forces' Raid in Nangarhar
Farsnews

A vehicle-borne Improvised Explosive Device was destroyed and several militants were killed during a raid of the Afghan Intelligence, National Directorate of Security (NDS), operatives in Eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan.

The provincial government media office in a statement said the raid was conducted in the vicinity of Sherzad district, Khaama Press reported.

The statement further added that the NDS Special Forces stormed a hideout of the militants in Marak Khel area of the district and as a result a car bomb which was prepared for an attack was destroyed and several militants were killed.

The raid was conducted with an aim to arrest key Taliban group members Ehsanullah who is also famous as Sajid, Omar Tangiwal, and Abdul Raziq also famous as Khalid.

However, the named militants had escaped from the area before the operations were launched but several of their comrades were killed during the raid, the statement added.

The provincial government also added that the local residents and security personnel have not sustained casualties during the operation.

 

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has accused the US government of transferring the ISIL/Daesh terrorists from Syria to neighboring Iraq and Afghanistan. A formidable opponent against Daesh/Taliban, General Abdul Razeq, police commander of the southern province and one of Afghanistan’s most powerful security officials, were fatally shot - just after leaving a meeting with US General Scott Miller. Was Miller "in" on the assassination plot?


October 19, 2018 - US General says he may not have been target of Kandahar attack
U.S. general says he may not have been target of Kandahar attack | Reuters


Commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan U.S. General Scott Miller attends a meeting in the Kandahar Governor's Compaund in Kandahar, Afghanistan, October 18, 2018. REUTERS/ via REUTERS TV

The top U.S. general in Afghanistan said on Friday he did not believe he was the target of an attack that killed a powerful police chief, and Afghan officials said the gunman may have deliberately avoided hitting him.

The gunman assassinated the police chief of Kandahar province on Thursday along with a top Afghan intelligence agency officer, but the U.S. commander of Afghanistan’s NATO-led force, General Scott Miller, who was standing nearby when the attack occurred, was not hurt. (Comment - Miller was "in" on the planned assassination?)

“My assessment is that I was not the target. It was a very close confined space. But I don’t assess that I was the target,” Miller told Afghanistan’s Tolo News TV in an interview.

General Abdul Razeq, police commander of the southern province and one of Afghanistan’s most powerful security officials, was fatally wounded by a bodyguard of the provincial governor as he came from a meeting with officials on Thursday.

In addition, the local head of the NDS intelligence service was killed and the provincial governor severely wounded, while the attacker himself was killed. Miller was also at the meeting and was heading to his helicopter to return to Kabul when the gunman opened fire.

The Taliban claimed the attack in a statement saying both Razeq and Miller were the targets.

Two Americans and a coalition contractor were wounded, however Afghan security officials, who believe Pakistan was involved in the plan, said they believed the attacker deliberately avoided killing Miller.

“They didn’t want repercussions from the U.S. and the international community. It was a pure warning for Miller that they can hit him if they want to,” one of the Afghan officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.

Razeq himself was a fierce critic of Pakistan and its intelligence service, which Afghan officials regularly accuse of supporting Taliban operations, a charge Islamabad denies.

On Friday, the chief of the Pakistan army staff issued a statement condemning the Kandahar violence and saying it supported initiatives towards peace in the region.

A foreign security official said Razeq had stopped visiting the governor’s house in recent months because he feared it had been infiltrated and had only gone because Miller and his delegation were there.

The identity of the killer, named by Afghan officials as Gulbuddin, was known immediately, and police have made three arrests, but details of his background or why he carried out the attack remained unclear.

One senior foreign security official briefed on the case said the attacker had been recruited this year as part of the governor’s security detail.

No one had claimed his body, but his colleagues in the security team said his family members lived in the outskirts of Kandahar.


October 19, 2018 - Afghanistan delays vote in strategic Kandahar after killing Commander
U.S. general says he may not have been target of Kandahar attack | Reuters

Saturday’s parliamentary election in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar will be delayed by a week after the assassination of one of the country’s most powerful security chiefs dealt a stunning blow to the Western-backed government.

General Abdul Razeq, the Kandahar police commander, was killed outside the provincial governor’s office on Thursday, when a bodyguard opened fire on a group of officials as they left a meeting with General Scott Miller, the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Miller was not wounded but the regional intelligence agency commander was killed and the provincial governor severely wounded, crippling the leadership of one of the country’s most strategically important provinces.

Although nominally a provincial police chief, Razeq was one of the most powerful political figures in Afghanistan and a formidable opponent of the Taliban, with unchallenged authority across the volatile south of the country.

The decision to suspend the vote was taken over the objections of some officials who warned that any delay would threaten the whole process and hand the Taliban a major propaganda victory.

Miller himself gave a show of confidence on Friday, filming a television interview on the street outside the U.S. embassy in Kabul and assuring Afghanistan of continued support.

“My message to the people of Afghanistan has been very consistent: you have every right to be proud of your security forces and the preparations that made for this election despite this unfortunate event, tragic event, down in Kandahar,” he said.


Saturday’s election has been seen as a major test of the government’s ability to organize a nationwide ballot ahead of the more important presidential election next April.

But the shock of Razeq’s death meant the people of Kandahar were “morally not ready to vote”, Hafizullah Hashimi, spokesman of the Independent Election Commission, said.

The Taliban issued a fresh warning not to vote on Friday, telling people to stay at home and saying they would shut down roads and would be “closely monitoring all developments”.

The United Nations mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) issued a statement of its own expressing concern at Taliban threats to attack schools and other buildings used as polling centers.

“UNAMA urges the Taliban to respect and protect civilians and not to threaten them or carry out violence,” it said.

On top of mounting security concerns, the elections have been dogged by technical and organizational problems, notably around the use of untested biometric voter verification equipment rushed in after allegations of widespread voter fraud.

PRECARIOUS
Thursday’s attack underlined how precarious the situation remains in Afghanistan after more than 17 years of war despite preliminary contacts between Taliban and U.S. officials to find a basis for future peace talks.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said it was too soon to say what effect Razeq’s death would have but added that the U.S. military’s mission was unaltered.

“We need to find who’s done this,” Mattis told reporters traveling with him in the Southeast Asian city-state of Singapore. “But right now, we are going toward the election and we will continue to defend the Afghan people.”

He said the attack would not affect U.S. military movements around Afghanistan or security arrangements for General Miller, who said he did not believe he was the target of the attack.

It was unclear how the attack would affect moves toward a peace process, following a meeting last week of Taliban officials and the U.S. special envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad, but it complicates an already difficult situation.

“You’re going to start asking questions about, ‘Well, how trustworthy are they? What influence do they really have?’” said one former Defense Department official who left the Pentagon recently, referring to the Taliban.

“And you know the bottomline question is, ‘Why are we still dealing with them?’ or ‘Should we deal with them?’”

However Mattis said the U.S. aim of finding a negotiated political solution was unchanged.

“We remain absolutely committed to an Afghan-led Afghan reconciliation,” he said.

ELECTION THREAT
Miller, who knew Razeq well from his previous tours of duty in Afghanistan, issued a statement saluting a “great friend”.

“Afghanistan lost a patriot,” he said on Twitter. “The good he did for Afghanistan and the Afghan people cannot be undone.”

A disarmingly youthful-looking figure, with a toothy smile belying a fearsome reputation, the 39-year-old Razeq was regularly accused of building a fortune by extracting millions of dollars from traders and businesses.

He was also accused of torturing prisoners and other abuses, which he denied.

Last year, the United Nations Committee against Torture cited “numerous and credible allegations” that Razeq was complicit in severe human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings and secret detention centers.

He clashed frequently with President Ashraf Ghani, defying attempts to sack him, but was adept at navigating the region’s complex tribal politics and enjoyed popular support in Kandahar and the surrounding provinces.

He was also highly respected by U.S. officers who saw his ruthless methods as the most effective weapon against the Taliban in both Kandahar and the wider south.

“Razeq was, kind of, the embodiment of security, not just in Kandahar. It is Uruzgan, it’s Zabul province,” said the recently retired Defense Department official. “He had a lot of sway over other senior officials and certainly in the police.”


Fri Oct 19, 2018 - Pakistan Closes Afghanistan Border-Crossings at Kabul’s Request
Farsnews

The move comes at the request of the government in Kabul, which is worried about the security situation during parliamentary elections this weekend, RT reported.

The crossings will be closed on Friday and on Saturday – the day of the elections in Afghanistan – “for all kinds of traffic except emergency cases,” Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said.

One of the crossings is at Chaman, in Pakistan’s Southwestern Baluchistan province, which borders Afghanistan’s Kandahar province.

The powerful provincial chief was assassinated there on Thursday in an attack claimed by the Taliban.

The other crossing is at Torkham, in Northwestern Pakistan.

Afghanistan has routinely accused Pakistan of harboring Taliban insurgents, a charge Islamabad denies.


Fri Oct 19, 2018 - Russia Accuses US of Transferring ISIL from Syria to Afghanistan, Iraq
Farsnews

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the US government of transferring the ISIL terrorists from Syria to neighboring Iraq and Afghanistan.

“Moscow is concerned with Washington’s transfer of Daesh (ISIL) militants to Iraq and Afghanistan,” Lavrov said during a press conference, Interfax reported. “Russia calls on the US to explain relocation of Daesh fighters to Iraq and Afghanistan,” he added.

Russia has accused the United States of transferring Daesh terrorists to Afghanistan on a number of occasions in the past.

Washington has repeatedly denied these allegations from Moscow.

 

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Three Blasts Rock Polling Stations in Afghan Capital of Kabul - Reports

Two attacks in northern Afghanistan have injured two women and scared voters going to vote in the country’s first parliamentary elections since 2010, provincial officials said.

"At this moment, we have data about three explosions, there is no confirmed information about the dead or injured," said a police department official.

Voters were seen fleeing from a school in the north of the Afghan capital after a blast, according to AFP, with witnesses talking about several explosions at other polling centers.

People are reportedly continuing to cast their votes amid at least three security incidents around polling stations in Kabul.

The deployment of Afghan National Security Forces has been increased from 50,000 military personnel to 70,000 across the country to protect the country's 21,000 polling stations, Afghanistan's Interior Ministry stated.

According to AFP reports, elections in the two provinces of Kandahar and Ghazni have been postponed as well as in 11 of the country's nearly 400 districts.

So far, none of the terrorist groups operating in the country has claimed responsibility for the explosions.

Afghans headed to the polls to elect members of the lower house of parliament for the first time since 2010. At least nine candidates have been killed since July 1.

The election was supposed to take place in 2016; however, it had been postponed because of the unstable security situation in the country.

 

[angelburst29]

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has accused the US government of transferring the ISIL/Daesh terrorists from Syria to neighboring Iraq and Afghanistan. A formidable opponent against Daesh/Taliban, General Abdul Razeq, police commander of the southern province and one of Afghanistan’s most powerful security officials, were fatally shot - just after leaving a meeting with US General Scott Miller. Was Miller "in" on the assassination plot?


October 19, 2018 - US General says he may not have been target of Kandahar attack
U.S. general says he may not have been target of Kandahar attack | Reuters

The American Press is distorting the facts surrounding this security meeting and the Kandahar attack. The main purpose of the meeting was the upcoming Elections for this Saturday Oct. 20. The Election date is now pushed a week ahead - with no definite date given, as yet. Quotes from previous articles:

Quote: "The U.S. commander of Afghanistan’s NATO-led force, General Scott Miller, who was standing nearby when the attack occurred and was not hurt" is given the propaganda spin - he was the main target". First news reports coming out of the Middle East suggest this incident was a US/NATO pre-planned assassination?

Quote: "The gunman assassinated the police chief of Kandahar province on Thursday along with a top Afghan intelligence agency officer. In addition, the local head of the NDS intelligence service was killed and the provincial governor severely wounded, while the attacker himself was killed. Miller was also at the meeting and was heading to his helicopter ... to return to Kabul when the gunman opened fire." Note - only one gunman is highlighted - where the American Press spin is "their own guards"? The gunman didn't open fire until Miller was "out of the way" heading for his helicopter. Miller set them up - to be assassinated!

Quote: "Jabar Qahraman, an election candidate from Southern Helmand province was killed in an explosion at his office on Wednesday morning (Oct. 17), local officials confirmed. The incident took place at his campaign office in Lashkargah city. Since July 1, at least 9 candidates have been killed in attacks." So, any candidate who might pose a problem for NATO is being eliminated. And the American public can't figure out "how it is" that we're in Afghanistan for 17-18 years? It's NATO's home base!

Oct. 18, 2018 - 3 major Afghan officials assassinated by their own guards; top U.S. commander escapes
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-afghanistan-officials-killed-20181018-story.html

The head of NATO troops in Afghanistan, Gen. Scott Miller, center left, and Kandahar Gov. Zalmay Wesa, center right, and their delegations attend a security conference in Kandahar province on Oct. 18, 2018. The meeting was attacked and Wesa was killed, along with two other top Afghan officials. A Taliban spokesman said the target was Miller, who escaped without injury, according to NATO.
The head of NATO troops in Afghanistan, Gen. Scott Miller, center left, and Kandahar Gov. Zalmay Wesa, center right, and their delegations attend a security conference in Kandahar province on Oct. 18, 2018. The meeting was attacked and Wesa was killed, along with two other top Afghan officials. A Taliban spokesman said the target was Miller, who escaped without injury, according to NATO.
(Associated Press)

A high-level meeting on security plans for Afghanistan's parliamentary elections had just concluded when an elite Afghan guard turned his gun on the departing delegation Thursday, killing the powerful Kandahar police chief but missing the top U.S. commander in the country, Gen. Scott Miller.

At least one other senior Afghan official was killed in the audacious assassination strike that was claimed by the Taliban and underscored the harrowing insecurity in Afghanistan two days before the elections and more than 17 years after the militant group was driven from power. A Taliban spokesman said Miller was the intended target.

However, Army Col. David Butler, who attended the meeting with Miller, said the powerful Kandahar police chief, Abdul Raziq, was clearly the target, not the U.S. general.

"It was pretty clear he was shooting at Raziq," Butler told The Associated Press, adding that Miller was nearby but not in the line of fire.

The delegates had just gathered for a group photo when gunfire broke out inside the provincial governor's compound in Kandahar city, according to an AP television cameraman who was there. Everyone scattered, and the U.S. participants scrambled toward their helicopter. But a firefight broke out between the U.S. service members and Afghan police when they tried to stop the U.S. delegation from reaching their helicopter, said the cameraman.

Besides Raziq, Kandahar's intelligence chief, Abdul Mohmin was killed in the attack, according to deputy provincial governor Agha Lala Dastageri. He said Kandahar Gov. Zalmay Wesa also died after being taken to a hospital, although security officials in the capital maintained Wesa was wounded but survived.

Afghan General Abdul Raziq, police chief of Kandahar, poses for a picture during a graduation ceremony at a police training center in 2017. Raziq was killed in a Taliban-claimed attack on Oct. 18, 2018, when a gunman opened fire on a high-level security meeting attended by top U.S. commander Gen. Scott Miller. (Jawed Tanveer/AFP/Getty Images)

Three Americans — a U.S. service member, a coalition contractor and an American civilian — were injured and in stable condition, said NATO spokesman U.S. Col. Knut Peters.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi said the militant group carried out the attack, and Miller was the target.

Butler, however, said the assailant shot at Raziq and then appeared to spray the area with gunfire before he was killed.

He said Miller and the Afghan leaders had moved outside the palace after several hours of meetings and were standing in small groups in the compound. He said he heard several shots "and we all took cover. It was over in seconds."

"We stabilized and treated the wounded and secured the area," said Butler, adding that Miller made sure the scene was secure and the wounded were taken away by medivac before he left the area and returned to Kabul.

Razik was a particularly powerful figure in southern Kandahar and a close U.S. ally despite widespread allegations of corruption. He ruled the former Taliban heartland with an iron fist and had survived several past assassination attempts, including one last year that killed five diplomats from the United Arab Emirates.

Kandahar Gov. Zalmay Wesa, left, stands with the head of NATO troops in Afghanistan, U.S. Gen. Scott Miller, and a translator, during a meeting, in Kandahar, Afghanistan, on Oct. 18, 2018. The three top officials in Afghanistan's Kandahar province were killed, including Wesa, when their own guards opened fire on them at the security conference. A Taliban spokesman said the target was Miller, who escaped without injury, according to NATO. (Associated Press)

Raziq's killing "may have major implications on the security situation in southern Afghanistan. As the chief of police in Kandahar, he has kept a lid on the Taliban's insurgency, which has intensified over the past several years," analyst Bill Roggio wrote in the Long War Journal.

The Taliban have vowed to disrupt Saturday's parliamentary elections, warning teachers and students not to allow schools to be used for polling and warning Afghans to stay away from the polls.

Within hours of the attack, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani addressed the nation to assure Kandahar residents it was safe to go to the polls. In an AP interview, his adviser, Ziaulhaq Amarkhil, said the attack was meant to disrupt elections and urged voters to defy Taliban threats, saying casting their ballot "would be a big slap on the face of the enemy."

At a news conference in Kabul, army chief Gen. Mohammad Sharif Yaftali said additional troops had been moved from neighboring Helmand province to Kandahar.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the killing of the Kandahar police chief is unlikely to fundamentally weaken the security situation. Speaking while in Singapore for a conference, Mattis called Raziq's death a tragic loss but said he believes the Afghan security forces have matured to the point where they can continue fighting the Taliban without him.

The U.N. Security Council condemned the attacks and others recently in Afghanistan and said violence or threats intended to disrupt the elections were unacceptable.

Pakistan's new prime minister, Imran Khan, and its military chief condemned the assault.

"The people and the security forces of Afghanistan have been paying a heavy price due to continued instability and threats from the enemies of peace," Khan said in a statement. "Pakistan stands by the government and the people of Afghanistan in their quest for lasting peace and stability."

Security has been steadily deteriorating in Afghanistan with increasingly brazen attacks being carried out by insurgents and Afghanistan's security forces have been on high alert ahead of Saturday's elections.

Late Wednesday, a NATO convoy was attacked near the Afghan capital, killing two civilians and injuring five Czech troops, Afghan officials and the Czech military said Thursday.

The attack in the Bagram district of Parwan province, also wounded three Afghan civilians, said Wahida Shakar, spokeswoman for the provincial governor.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in Bagram, which is the home of a sprawling U.S. military base.

In recent months, Afghan troops have come under near-daily attacks. NATO troops, which handed over security to Afghan forces at the end of 2014, mostly train and assist with air power.

So far this year, eight U.S. soldiers and three other NATO service members have died in Afghanistan.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Three Blasts Rock Polling Stations in Afghan Capital of Kabul - Reports

Two attacks in northern Afghanistan have injured two women and scared voters going to vote in the country’s first parliamentary elections since 2010, provincial officials said.

"At this moment, we have data about three explosions, there is no confirmed information about the dead or injured," said a police department official.

Afghanistan: 15 dead in Kabul polling station suicide bombing

At least 15 people were killed and 25 wounded in a bombing at a polling station in the Afghan capital Kabul on Saturday, as the country's parliamentary elections got underway.

According to reports, at least 10 civilians and 5 police officers were killed in the bombing of the polling station in the northern part of the city.

Multiple explosions reportedly hit other polling stations, resulting in dozens of injured voters.

The elections, which are already three years late, have been marred by violence and further delays. The Taliban and Daesh have been intimidating potential voters to stay at home and boycott the elections.


192 ATTACKS THROUGHOUT AFGHANISTAN ON ELECTION DAY

October 20, Afghanistan’s Minister of Interior Wais Barmak told the TOLO TV that militants carried out 192 attacks throughout Afghanistan in an attempt to sabotage the long-awaited parliamentary elections.

The attacks didn’t stop the election process. However, it resulted in the death of at least 17 civilians and the injury of 83 others. Barmak also revealed that the Afghan National Police lost 10 of its personnel in different attacks, while securing the elections.

The Afghan capital of Kabul witnessed the most brutal attack. Afghan sources reported that a suicide bomber blew himself up outside of a polling stations killing 10 civilians and 5 policemen. Despite of the attack, the election process continued in the capital.

In an official statement released by Taliban’s spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, the Afghan group claimed responsibility for 166 attacks on polling stations and other facilities around the country. Furthermore, Mujahid claimed that the election process was halted in many regions as a result of these attacks.

“Looking at the operations by the Mujahedeen of Islamic Emirate up until noon time today, we can confidently say that this electoral process was a merely a regime process with only regime workers participating. The rest of the nation announced a boycott and the Mujahedeen have also been successful in neutralizing the enemy plot,” Mujahid said in the statement.​

Despite Taliban attempts to sabotage the elections, the Afghan Independent Election Commission (IEC) stated that approximately 3 million registered voters had cast their ballot, out of supposed 9 million. The number is considered a success considering the situation in the war torn country that delayed the elections for three years. However, the attacks confirm that the Afghan government is still incapable of securing the country on its own.

 

[angelburst29]

Why wasn't this mentioned in earlier reports - instead of waiting 4 days after the attack?

The officials in the US Department Defense, Pentagon, have confirmed that a US General had also sustained injuries during last week’s deadly incident in Southern Kandahar province.

Mon Oct 22, 2018 - Pentagon: US General Also Wounded in Kandahar Incident
Farsnews

The US General wounded in the attack has been identified as US Army Brigadier General Jeffrey Smiley, Khaama Press reported.

Navy Commander Grant Neeley, a spokesman for the NATO Resolute Support mission, has told the US media “I can confirm that he is recovering from a gunshot wound he received during the attack in Kandahar.”

“He is being treated at a Resolute Support hospital in Kandahar,” Neeley added.

The incident in Southern Kandahar province last Thursday left the Police Chief of the province Gen. Abdul Raziq dead along with the provincial intelligence chief Gen. Abdul Momin Hussain Khel.

The provincial Governor of Kandahar Zalmay Weesa also sustained injuries in the attack along with some other individuals.

The Taliban group in Afghanistan claimed the assassination of Gen. Raziq and Kandahar intelligence chief.


21.10.2018 - Local Taliban Leader killed in Eastern Afghanistan - Reports
Local Taliban Leader Killed in Eastern Afghanistan - Reports

A shadow district administrative chief of the Taliban* movement was killed in a US-led coalition strike in Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province, Khaama Press reported on Sunday.

Taliban shadow district chief for Hesarak district Abdul Jabar and six other militants were killed in a drone strike on Saturday,
according to the Khaama Press news agency citing the provincial government press office.

 

[angelburst29]

October 22, 2018 - Brother appointed to succeed killed Afghan Commander
Brother appointed to succeed killed Afghan commander | Reuters


FILE PHOTO: People attend a burial ceremony of General Abdul Razeq, the Kandahar police commander, who was killed in an attack, in Kandahar province, Afghanistan October 19, 2018. REUTERS/Ismail Sameem/File Photo

The brother of the powerful police commander of the southern Afghan province of Kandahar assassinated last week was named as his successor on Monday in move that underlines the pressures facing President Ashraf Ghani's government.

General Abdul Razeq, one of Afghanistan’s most feared anti-Taliban commanders, was shot dead when a member of the provincial governor’s bodyguard opened fire on officials leaving a meeting with NATO forces commander General Scott Miller.

Razeq, nominally the Kandahar police chief, was one of the most powerful figures in the whole of southern Afghanistan.

He had a range of business interests and was accused of extracting millions of dollars from the border crossing into Pakistan at Spin Boldak, his home region and power base.

A member of the powerful Pashtun Achakzai tribe and a skillful operator in the region’s complex tribal politics, he regularly clashed with Ghani’s government in Kabul but enjoyed wide support and was impossible to remove.

The nomination of Razeq’s younger brother Tadeen Khan as acting police chief of Kandahar followed heavy pressure from powerful tribal elders who forced the government to overlook his lack of experience and training.

Ghani’s government initially rejected the demand on the grounds that Khan lacked qualifications, a senior Afghan official said, but gave way after the Achakzais threatened to boycott parliamentary elections.

“Ghani knows he will need the support of many tribes to retain power, so he has to listen to them and accept their demands,” said Abdul Rashid Khan a political science professor at Kabul University.

Parliamentary elections, a dry run for the more important presidential election next year, will be held in Kandahar on Saturday after they were postponed for a week following Razeq’s death in an insider attack at the provincial governor’s office.

His death left a power vacuum in Kandahar, one of the most strategically important provinces in Afghanistan, on the southeastern border with Pakistan.

“It would require a lot of consultations and appeasement to convince general Razeq’s supporters and his tribe to approve someone else as the police chief,” said a senior government official as he explained the reason behind Khan’s appointment.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

In unusual move, Army trainers will leave Afghanistan, return months later to help next unit

About 100 members of a U.S. Army training brigade scheduled to leave Afghanistan next month will take the unusual step of returning in February to help the next unit of advisers coming in, U.S. military officials said.

The advisers’ return is intended to help compensate for a monthslong break in the training of Afghan forces, between the time the first unit leaves and the second brigade arrives next year. It comes amid a surge in Taliban violence as Afghanistan enters its 18th year of war, and reflects concerns that progress made by the first brigade of elite Army advisers could be eroded by the pause in training.

Army Gen. Robert Abrams, head of U.S. Army Forces Command, who oversaw the creation of the training brigades, said the initial plan was to “accept the risk of having a gap” during the usually quieter winter season.

That way, the units doing a nine-month tour wouldn’t eventually have to change over in the peak summer fighting time. But he said the Army approved sending the advisers back to Afghanistan to serve the first three weeks with the 2nd Brigade when it deploys.

Army Brig. Gen. Scott Jackson, who leads the 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade currently in Afghanistan, will return to the warfront with his soldiers. The goal, he said, is to help the incoming unit “understand their areas of operation, see our best practices and, most importantly, personally hand off the relationships with our Afghan partners that are critical to successful conventional force advising.”

Some of his advisers, he said, will also help train the new unit in January before it deploys.

Abrams also said some members of the 2nd Brigade will go to Afghanistan next month for a couple weeks to see it firsthand. “It’s one thing to read a report, this way they can live it,” he said.

“This is fundamentally about knowledge transfer,” Abrams said. He said members of the 1st Brigade volunteered to return to Afghanistan because they want the program to succeed.

“Even though they will have just recently redeployed, they’re willing to go back to Afghanistan for a couple more weeks just to help them transition because they’ve got so much investment in it,” said Abrams, who will soon move to take over U.S. Forces Korea.

Development of the new Army advisory brigades began early last year, designed to create permanent military training teams that can be deployed worldwide to help local forces better learn how to fight. It’s a reflection of the new reality of America at war: Army soldiers advising and building indigenous security forces, not doing the fighting for them on foreign soil.

There are about 14,000 U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

The Army plans to build six training brigades, with about 800 soldiers each, over the next few years.

Already the 1st Brigade has suffered casualties when their Afghan partners turned on them. Two brigade soldiers were killed and three wounded in two separate attacks this summer.

Abrams said the 2nd Brigade has gone through additional security instruction, and overall time at the training academy was doubled to 30 days. Language training has also been expanded.

“The more successful we are, the more desperate our enemy becomes,” said Abrams. “So, it’s going to be a challenge.”

 

[sToRmR1dR]

TALIBAN CAPTURES MORE THAN 20 VILLAGES IN NORTHERN AFGHANISTAN

On October 25, Taliban fighters imposed control of 28 villages in the district of Sholgara in the northern province of Balkh following a successful large-scale military operation there, according to the Taliban news agency Voice of Jihad.

“The villages with 400 families pledged their support to Mujahedeen of the Islamic Emirate [Taliban],” Voice of Jihad said in an official press release.​

The Afghan group has not released any further information regarding the operation in Balkh so far. However, Voice of Jihad reported that Taliban fighters had killed eight personnel of the Afghan National Police (ANP) and injured three others during two separate attacks in the districts of Chamtal and Chahar Bolak in the northern province.

Since the beginning of October, the Taliban has stepped up its operations in Balkh in what appears to be an attempt to expand its control in northern Afghanistan. The Afghan group is following a similar strategy in the southern part of the war torn country. However, it is yet to make any significant advance.


Pakistan releases top Taliban commander 'at US request'

Pakistan has released Mullah Baradar, a senior Taliban commander, as a “confidence-building” measure requested by the US, which is engaged in so-called peace talks with the insurgents.

Abdul Ghani Baradar, the former right-hand man of Taliban founder Mullah Omar, had been held in Pakistani detention for over eight years, sources said Thursday.

The move is said to be aimed at aiding the so-called peace talks between the US and the militant group, after the two sides agreed in Doha, Qatar to continue the secretive negotiations.

Less than two weeks ago, US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad met with Taliban representatives in Qatar to discuss a "peace" deal.

"Baradar was freed yesterday afternoon and he joined his family," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP in a WhatsApp message.

A Pakistani intelligence official also noted that Baradar was "released a couple of days ago".

Baradar was the most high-profile Taliban leader detained by Pakistan since the 9/11 attacks in 2001. He was arrested in the southern port city of Karachi in 2010, reportedly in an operation that was described as a huge blow to the militant group.

Apart from Baradar, several other senior Taliban leaders were freed this week following direct talks with Khalilzad on October 12, a senior Taliban official told AFP, adding that they believe the releases were made at US request.

According to the official, Baradar will likely stay in Pakistan and shuttle between the group's Doha office, Kabul and Islamabad.

The Taliban announced on October 13 that they would continue talks with the US, even though no tangible agreement was reached in the first round of meeting in Doha.

Washington's repeated outreach to the Taliban contradicts its efforts to link other countries, including Iran and Russia, to the militant group.

Early this week, the US Treasury Department blacklisted nine men, including two Iranian military officers, over allegations that they were "linked with the Taliban".

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin claimed that the Iranians were providing financial and material support to the Taliban.

Washington has a long history of liaison with the Taliban, starting with the militant group's years of war with the Soviets over their occupation of Afghanistan.

Following the Soviet withdrawal, the US saw the group as a counterbalance to Iran's Islamic Republic and maintained its links with the Taliban.

The Taliban government, however, was toppled during the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 because the group refused to expel the al-Qaeda which Washington blames for the 9/11 attacks.

Senior US politicians have said the CIA also created al-Qaeda with the help of British, Pakistani and Saudi intelligence agencies to counter Iran.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Bomb attack hits near HQ of Afghan election commission, kills police officer

A bomb attack hits near the head office of Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission (IEC) in the capital, Kabul, leaving multiple casualties.

A bomber, who was on foot, blew up at 8:00 a.m. local time on Monday near a vehicle at the gate of the IEC’s sprawling compound located near an arterial road in Kabul.

The attacker was “identified and gunned down by police before reaching his target,” Kabul police spokesman Basir Mujahid told reporters.

One police officer was killed and six others, including election workers and policemen, were wounded in the blast.

No group has claimed responsibility for the blast, which took place as thousands of ballot boxes are being delivered to the IEC following the war-torn county’s parliamentary elections.

The long-delayed parliamentary elections, which were held over two weekends, were targeted in some 250 militant attacks across the country, which killed at least 50 people and wounded more than 100 others.

Figures by the electoral body indicate that around four million people risked voting in the parliamentary elections, which the Taliban militant group had vowed to attack.

The ballot was also marred by lengthy delays at polling stations and allegations of fraud.

People in Kandahar Province went to the polls on Saturday, while elections have yet to be held in central Ghazni Province, which is still reeling from the Taliban’s takeover in August.

Preliminary results of nationwide voting are not expected before mid-November.

The elections in Afghanistan have been regarded as a major test for the government as the Taliban militants wreak havoc across much of the country.

The US invaded Afghanistan in 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. The war toppled the militant group; however, some 17 years on, the Taliban are still active in two-thirds of the country and involved in widespread militancy, killing thousands of civilians as well as Afghan and US forces despite the presence of US-led foreign troops.

To add to the war-torn country’s woes, Daesh has also established a foothold in eastern and northern Afghanistan.

The terrorist group has mostly been populating the eastern province of Nangarhar, from where it has carried out high-profile brutal attacks at major population centers across the country.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Seven Killed, Five Injured in Bomb Explosion Near Afghan Prison - Reports

A suicide bomb attack near a prison in Afghan capital of Kabul has killed at least seven people and injured five, local media reported.

A suicide bomb that exploded early Wednesday morning near Pul-e-Charkhi prison targeting a prison staff vehicle in Afghan capital of Kabul killed at least seven people and injured seven, Tolo News reported, citing security sources.

The security sources also told the news channel that most of the employees in the targeted vehicle were women.

This is the second time this week when a blast rocks the Afghan capital. Another suicide bomb explosion hit Kabul early on Monday, injuring 6 people. The suicide attack struck in front of the headquarters of Afghanistan's election commission office.

The suicide attacks came amid this year's elections in the country, which are the first parliamentary election in Afghanistan since 2010. In 2016, the election was postponed over unstable security situation in the country, where various militant groups, including the Taliban and Daesh* carrying out regular terrorist attacks and fight for power against Kabul.

*Taliban and Daesh, also known as ISIS, Islamic State are terrorist groups, banned in Russia and many other countries.


Military Helicopter Crashes in Afghanistan, Killing at Least 20 - Reports

There have been no survivors in the deadly crash of a military helicopter that had at least 20 people on board in Anar Dara district of Afghanistan's Farah province, TOLOnews reported on Wednesday, citing local officials.

According to TOLOnews, there were provincial council members and military officials among people on board of the crashed helicopter.
There were no survivors of the crash, Tolo News reports, citing an army representative.

Two helicopters flew together, and one of them crashed. The reason has not yet been established, according to media reports.

On September 15, in the west of Afghanistan, a military helicopter crashed in the province of Farah, killing five people.

Earlier in September, a Moldovan MI-8 MTV helicopter, belonging to the Valan International Cargo Charter carrier, crashed in the Afghan northern province of Balkh, with two crew members and 10 passengers killed.

 

[angelburst29]

Nope ... something doesn't feel right here? I'm getting the feeling, "the suicide bomb attack near a prison in the Afghan capital of Kabul" was set up as a diversion - to take media play and attention away from this Military helicopter crash in Anar Dara? The suicide bomber walked up to a parked car, in front of the security gate, that was waiting for clearance to go in?

In this Military helicopter crash that SToRmR1dR Posted - "there were provincial council members and military officials among people on board of the crashed helicopter." I'll explain in a moment - why I see that as important?

Military Helicopter Crashes in Afghanistan, Killing at Least 20 - Reports

There have been no survivors in the deadly crash of a military helicopter that had at least 20 people on board in Anar Dara district of Afghanistan's Farah province, TOLOnews reported on Wednesday, citing local officials.

According to TOLOnews, there were provincial council members and military officials among people on board of the crashed helicopter.

There were no survivors of the crash, Tolo News reports, citing an army representative.

Two helicopters flew together, and one of them crashed. The reason has not yet been established, according to media reports.

Here's another article of the helicopter crash with more detail:

October 31, 2018 - Afghan Army Helicopter crash kills 25, including a Top Commander
Afghan army helicopter crash kills 25, including a top commander | Reuters

An army helicopter crashed in southwestern Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing 25 people on board, including a top commander and the head of the provincial council key in fighting off a Taliban attack in May, officials said.

Taliban insurgents fighting the Western-backed government said they shot it down.

Two army helicopters were on their way from Farah province to neighboring Herat when one lost control in low visibility and crashed into a mountain, Naser Mehri, a spokesman for the provincial governor, told Reuters.

Among the passengers were Nematullah Khalil, deputy army corps commander for the western region, and Farid Bakhtawar, the outspoken head of Farah’s provincial council. The other victims, apart from the crew, were soldiers and council members, Mehri said.

Bakhtawar was a major figure in battling the Taliban in the battle for the city of Farah which the militants besieged and threatened to take over in May.

The Taliban are seeking to remove the government and reimpose strict Islamic law after their ouster by U.S.-led forces in 2001.

A suicide bomber blew himself up near the gate of Afghanistan’s largest prison on Wednesday, killing at least six people, officials said, but there was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The sprawling Pul-e-Charkhi prison in Kabul houses hundreds of inmates, including scores of Taliban.

Interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish said the attacker detonated his explosive near a vehicle carrying prison employees.

Six people died near the gate of the prison on the eastern outskirts of the city and eight were wounded, another government official said.

The attacker walked towards a vehicle that was parked at a gate for security clearance. He blew himself up before the vehicle could enter the prison premises,” the official said.

An Afghan news website said women security officials were in the vehicle at the time of the attack.

~~~
So, in the Military helicopter crash above -

* A top Afghan commander - Nematullah Khalil, deputy army corps commander for the western region was killed.

* Farid Bakhtawar, the outspoken head of Farah’s provincial council and a major figure in battling the Taliban in the battle for the city of Farah was killed in the crash.

* The other victims, apart from the crew, were soldiers and (other) council members.

Just 13 days ago, on October 18th, another incident - which claimed the life of General Abdul Razeq, who was also a Police Chief and was "the most feared of anti-Taliban commanders". A provincial Governor was also severely wounded and later died in the hospital, along with the local head of the NDS intelligence service.

It appears - that anyone who doesn't tow-the-line or poses a threat to NATO and the US Command are being eliminated - so NATO has full control?

October 18, 2018 - Top Afghan Police Chief killed in shooting, US General unhurt
Top Afghan police chief killed in shooting, U.S. general unhurt | Reuters

* "The gunman assassinated the police chief of Kandahar province on Thursday along with a top Afghan intelligence agency officer. In addition, the local head of the NDS intelligence service was killed and the provincial governor severely wounded, while the attacker himself was killed."

* General Abdul Razeq, one of Afghanistan’s most feared anti-Taliban commanders, was shot dead when a member of the provincial governor’s bodyguard opened fire on officials leaving a meeting with NATO forces commander General Scott Miller.

* Raziq's killing "may have major implications on the security situation in southern Afghanistan. As the chief of police in Kandahar, he has kept a lid on the Taliban's insurgency, which has intensified over the past several years," analyst Bill Roggio wrote in the Long War Journal.

* However, Army Col. David Butler, who attended the meeting with Miller, said the powerful Kandahar police chief, Abdul Raziq, was clearly the target, not the U.S. general.

"The U.S. commander of Afghanistan’s NATO-led force, General Scott Miller, who was standing nearby when the attack occurred and was not hurt"

 

[angelburst29]

November 2, 2018 - Russia reaches out to Afghan Leaders for Taliban talks, angering Kabul
Russia reaches out to Afghan leaders for Taliban talks, angering Kabul | Reuters


FILE PHOTO: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani speaks during a news conference in Kabul, Afghanistan July 15, 2018. REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail/File Photo

Russia has quietly invited a group of senior Afghan politicians to talks with the Taliban in Moscow, bypassing President Ashraf Ghani's government in a move that has angered officials in Kabul who say it could muddle the U.S.-backed peace process.

The invitations, extended over the past two months by Russian diplomats in Kabul, were confirmed to Reuters by six of the eight leaders, who include former Afghan President Hamid Karzai, or their aides, and by other leading politicians with ties to the Afghan government.

The Russian Embassy in Kabul declined to comment.

Russia in August proposed holding multilateral peace talks in Moscow and invited 12 countries and the Taliban to attend a summit the following month. But the meeting was postponed after Ghani rejected the invitation on the grounds that talks with the Taliban should be led by the Afghan government.

The United States had also declined to attend. The U.S. Embassy in Kabul declined to comment further.

Three senior Afghan officials said the government was unhappy that Moscow was pressing ahead with plans for talks.

“We requested Russia to cancel the summit because talking to the Taliban at multiple forums will further complicate the peace process backed by the U.S., but they rejected the request,” said a senior Afghan official who has been holding discussions with Russia.

Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday that she hoped to be able to announce details of the conference “in the coming days”.

Zakharova told reporters at a briefing that the date and participant list were being finalised, but that Russia wanted to be absolutely sure before announcing anything publicly.

NEW PLAYERS
Diplomatic engagement between the Taliban and the United States gained momentum in October, after U.S. special envoy for peace in Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad met Taliban leaders in Qatar.

But many Afghan politicians say they have been left out of the process.

Karzai, who ran the country for 13 years following the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001 but has become a vocal critic of U.S. policy, is among those planning to travel to Moscow.

“Karzai will travel to Moscow because any opportunity for peace talks with the Taliban must not be ignored,” said Mohammad Yusof Saha, a spokesman for the former president.

Atta Mohammad Noor, a leader in the Jamiat-i Islami party and former governor of the strategic Balkh province, said he too would attend.

Noor, a powerful figure among Afghanistan’s ethnic Tajiks who was once a commander in the anti-Soviet Mujahiddin, said he had no problem with the United States and Ghani holding private talks with the Taliban, “but they cannot decide whether we should talk to the Taliban or not”.

He said many Afghans were realizing that “a single fixed formula prescribed by one foreign power will not help Afghans attain peace”.

Senior Taliban members in Afghanistan said they would send a delegation to Moscow, as it would give them an opportunity to engage with neighboring countries including China, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, who have previously said they would send representatives.

“Most countries have acknowledged our status and invited us as a separate political force. This is, in fact, our victory,” said a senior member of the Afghan Taliban.

GREATER LEVERAGE
Moscow’s strategy of going around Ghani directly to opposition politicians is a concern for the Afghan government and its U.S. sponsors, who see it as unwelcome meddling, according to government officials and diplomats in Kabul.

“Russia is trying to create its own regional table to hold peace talks, they are clearly attempting to limit the U.S. role in Afghanistan,” said a western diplomat in the Afghan capital.

The Moscow talks underline the increasingly active role Russia is playing in Afghanistan, decades after Soviet forces withdrew from the country, with business investment plans, diplomatic and cultural outreach, and small military support for the central government.

In 2014, it reopened a cultural center in Kabul. Since 2016, it has provided thousands of Kalashnikov rifles to the Afghan government, said a senior foreign ministry official in Kabul.

The talks come also at a time when the Afghan government is struggling to recover control of districts lost to Taliban insurgents while casualties among security forces have reached record levels, a U.S. watchdog agency said.

“It’s obvious that the situation in Afghanistan is not improving, that the threat is growing and that the ground is ripe for radical Islamists or followers and participants of the Islamic State project,” said Fyodor Lukyanov, a foreign policy expert close to the Kremlin who edits the Russia in Global Affairs journal.

“The dynamic is negative. I think that’s why political and diplomatic efforts are being activated.”


November 2, 2018 - 'Father of Taliban' Mullah Sami ul-Haq killed in Pakistani City - Deputy
'Father of Taliban' Mullah Sami ul-Haq killed in Pakistani city - deputy | Reuters


FILE PHOTO: Maulana Sami-ul Haq, a Pakistani cleric and head of Darul Uloom Haqqania, an Islamic seminary and alma mater of several Taliban leaders, talks during an interview with Reuters at his house in Akora Khattak, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province September 14, 2013. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra/File Photo

Muslim cleric Sami ul-Haq, known as the "Father of the Taliban" for having taught some of the Afghan Islamist movement's leaders, was found killed on Friday in a Pakistani city, a relative and his deputy said.

Unknown attackers killed the cleric, who runs an Islamic seminary in northwestern Pakistan, his deputy Yousaf Shah said.

There were conflicting reports of exactly how he was killed and why his bodyguard and driver were apparently not there to defend him at the time of the attack. Shah initially said that Haq had been shot dead.

Haq’s nephew Mohammad Bilal told Reuters that his uncle was found with stabbing and gunshot wounds in a house he owns in an upscale area on Islamabad’s outskirts. “When the assailants entered his house ... They first started hitting Mullah Sami ul-Haq with knives and daggers and then shot him dead,” he said. Further details remained unclear.

Haq has run the Darul Uloom Haqqania seminary in Pakistan’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, near the Afghanistan border, for decades.

One of his students from the 1980s, known later as Mullah Mohammad Omar, went along with classmates to Afghanistan to join mujahideen groups fighting against the Soviet occupation of the country.

Mullah Omar went on to found the Taliban, which seized power in Afghanistan in 1996 after years of chaos and civil war following the Soviet military’s withdrawal.

The ultra-conservative Taliban imposed an extreme version of Islamic sharia law on Afghanistan that included forbidding women to leave home without a male relative, imposing minimum lengths on men’s beards and banning sports, radio and television.

Haq’s seminary has continued to thrive in Pakistan, including being allocated funding in provincial government budgets.

Pakistan’s Interior Ministry confirmed Haq’s death in a statement on Friday evening, and expressed condolences.

(Comment: Haq's seminary might be thriving on hand outs from the Government but ...
November 2, 2018 - China promises Pakistan support as Khan tells of 'very difficult' economy
China promises Pakistan support as Khan tells of 'very difficult' economy | Reuters

Pakistan last month received a $6 billion rescue package from Saudi Arabia, but officials say it will still have to seek a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to avert a balance of payments crisis.

It would be Pakistan’s 13th rescue package from the multilateral lender since the late 1980s.

Meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, Khan said he had come to China to learn.)