Daily News Brief

January 13, 2017

Afghanistan

 

SECURITY

12 Militants Killed in Helmand’s Garamser District

Helmand: Local officials on Thursday said 12 militants including a commander have been killed in an airstrike in Garamser district of southern Helmand province. The district chief, Ayub Omar Omari, told that Afghan forces conducted the air raids in Gimak and Kharki areas of the district on Wednesday night. He said 12 militants were killed, including Mualvi Attiqullah, a notorious Taliban commander, and several others were wounded. Pajhwok

Taliban Find Access to Russian Weapons

Farah: Local officials on Thursday cited Taliban’s access to Russian weapons and night vision binoculars, the reason behind increased casualties among Afghan forces and falling of some areas in western Farah province. A letter from Farah police headquarters says 84 policemen were killed and 38 others wounded in Taliban attacks in two months in the province. The letter cites insufficient strength of the police force and asks the governor’s house to resolve the problem. Pajhwok

33 Civilians Killed in Kunduz Operation, US Confirms

Kabul: At least 33 civilians were killed and 27 others wounded during a joint operation by American and Afghan forces in northern Kunduz province, the US military confirmed on Thursday. The joint operation was conducted in Boz village on November 2-3 when the Afghan and US forces returned fire in self-defense at  Taliban using civilian houses.”Regardless of the circumstances, I deeply regret the loss of innocent lives,” said Gen. John Nicholson, commander of US forces in Afghanistan, at the end of investigations into claims of civilian casualties. Pajhwok

Captive Professors Want Trump to Negotiate their Release

Kabul: The Taliban have released a new video of two professors from the US and Australia who they abducted near the American University in Kabul in August last year. Seized from their car after classes on the campus, the professors have not been named publicly on the request of authorities. A month later, US forces raided a compound in Jalalabad, but the captives were not found there. In the video, the professors requested US President-elect Donald Trump to strike a deal with the captors for their release. The video of Kevin King and Timothy Weeks was posted online by the Taliban. Pajhwok

Atmar Sees Foreign Hands behind Kandahar Bombing

Kandahar: National Security Advisor Mohammad Hanif Atmar has said a technical team had been tasked by the president with investigating the attack on the governor house in southern Kandahar province. Atmar said he had arrived in Kandahar following directives from the president to step up the investigations, condole the death of senior officials and inquire after the health of the wounded. The advisor called the attack a high-profile and painful incident that targeted Afghans and foreign diplomats. Without naming any country or group, he said after a few days it would be known who carried out the heinous attack. Pajhwok                         

POLITICAL

Taliban Buying Fuel, Ammunition from Soldiers  

The Taliban bought equipment and supplies like fuel and ammunition directly from Afghan soldiers, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan reconstruction  said. In a report on stabilization efforts at high risk of failing, the federal watchdog said on Wednesday there were tens of thousands of ghost soldiers as the Afghan forces struggled to wrest back strategic areas from insurgents. Pajhwok

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

UK, US, UNSC Condemn Kabul, Kandahar Attacks

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) United Kingdom (UK) and the US embassy have condemned as heinous and cowardly terrorist attack in Kabul on January 10, which resulted in more than 120 people killed and injured. In a statement, the UNSC also condemned the suicide bomb attack in Helmand province, in which more than 13 people were killed and injured. The Taliban claimed responsibility for both assaults. Pajhwok

Afghanistan Needs Attention in War against Daesh

Afghanistan requires attention in the fight against Islamic State, US President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for the secretary of state said on Wednesday. Rex Tillers said the fight against Daesh would be one of the top priorities for the incoming president. “The most urgent step in thwarting radical Islam is defeating ISIS. The Middle East and its surrounding regions pose many challenges which require our attention, including Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan,” he said. Pajhwok

 

Parliamentary Exchanges Proposed to Boost Pak-Afg Ties

Parliamentary exchanges could boost cooperation between Afghanistan and Pakistan, the speaker of Sindh Assembly said on Wednesday. At a meeting with members of the Pakistan-Afghan Joint Committee (PAJC) at Provincial Assembly, Agha Siraj Durrani said: “I would love to visit the Afghan parliament along with other Pakistani MPs.” Pajhwok

NATO Praises New Zealand’s Afghan Contribution

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said the aim of their presence in Afghanistan was to prevent the country from once again becoming a safe haven for international terrorists. Welcoming New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English to the NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Stoltenberg said he was grateful for the contribution of New Zealand for many years to the NATO presence in Afghanistan. He said he was glad that New Zealand continued with personnel and mentors to the Afghan National Army Defense Academy. Pajhwok

Afghans have been Long Victims of Terror

The Saudi king, conveying his condolences to President Ghani and the Afghan nation, denounced recent Kandahar and Kabul bombings as a violation of Islamic teachings. It said the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques denounced the attacks in Kabul, Kandahar and Helmand and conveyed his condolences to Ghani and the Afghan people. The Afghan people had been victims of terrorism, he noted, pledging joint efforts for eradicating the threat. Saudi Arabia stood with Afghanistan in the fight against terror, he added. Pajhwok