SECURITY
Security Forces Push Taliban back from Kunduz City
Kunduz: The Kunduz fight has been pushed back almost two kilometers from the city as the battle entered its seventh day. The Kunduz-Takhar Highway is still closed to traffic due to ongoing clashes between Afghan forces and the Taliban in the province. Four out of nine districts of Kunduz are under control of Taliban. Any type of causalities from both sides has not been yet reported. Tolonews
Seven Civilians Killed in Road Side Blast in Herat
Herat: At least seven people were killed in Herat province when a civilian vehicle hit a roadside mine. The explosion occurred yesterday afternoon in Adraksan district of the province. No group including the Taliban has claimed responsibility. Tolonews
Explosion Targets Taliban Vehicle in Kandahar Leaving Eleven Dead
Kandahar: At least eleven people were killed in a roadside mine explosion in southern Kandahar province of Afghanistan. The incident took place in the vicinity of Maiwand district of Kandahar. A four by four vehicle belonging to the Taliban insurgents struck an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). Khaama
Taliban’s Shadow District Chief Killed during Gun Battle with Nangarhar Residents
Nangarhar: A shadow district chief of the Taliban group has been killed during clashes with the local residents in eastern Nangarhar province. The district chief of the Taliban for Khogyani has been identified as Waifullah, aka Omar. Another key Taliban group member identified as Enayatullah was also wounded during the clash. Khaama
Shadow District Chief among 15 Taliban Slain
Herat: At least 15 militants, including the Taliban -shadow administrative chief for Adarskan, were killed during military operation in western Herat province. They were killed during the military operation. Pajhwok
Helmand Roadside Bomb Leaves One Dead, Four Wounded
Helmand: One civilian was killed and four others wounded when a roadside bomb hit a vehicle in southern Helmand province. Pajhwok
POLITICAL
‘Deteriorating Security’ in North has MPs Worried
A number of lawmakers in the Wolesi Jirga (Lower House of Parliament) said that they are concerned about the ‘deteriorating security situation’ in northern and north-eastern parts of the country. Mirdad Nijrabi, head of the internal security commission of the Wolesi Jirga further said that there was another problem – the poor management among security forces. Meanwhile, the hiring and employment in security agencies has posed another challenge for security forces. Tolonews
MPs Concerned Over Hizb-e-Islami’s Refusal to Give up Arms
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar’s Hizb-e-Islami members have so far refused to hand over their weapons, which has in turn sparked concern among MPs. MP, Nahid Farid, said that it was very dangerous to move our forces towards a factional force, because it politicized and further weakened our army. While on the other hand, Qariburrahman Saeed, Hizb-e-Islami spokesman, said that there was no solid guarantee for the safety of these fighters and that they needed to be armed for their own safety. Tolonews
We all responsible to Heal Past Wounds: President
President Ashraf Ghani, stressing increased coordination in the unity government said that the government should expand its political field. He further said that we all had the responsibility to heal the past wounds and find ways and solutions to problems. The unity government since coming into power had been making efforts to change the war into peace. Pajhwok
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
U.S, NATO Say Fight against Daesh ‘Will Go on’
James Mattis, U.S Secretary of Defense, said in NATO’s fight against Daesh inside Afghanistan would go on. He further said that we continued to integrate our military and our non-military efforts to defeat insurgents and IS inside Afghanistan. We had to remember that the battlefield that we were fighting on was also a humanitarian field where innocent people lived and sometimes forced to stay on a battlefield by ISIS. Tolonews
Pakistan’s Notion Regarding Spin Boldak Clash was challenged: Zakhilwal
Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal, the Afghan Ambassador to Islamabad, said that Islamabad’s notion regarding the recent clash between the Afghan and Pakistani security forces was challenged during a meeting with the country’s foreign affairs adviser. He further said that the Pakistani forces had crossed the Durand Line into Afghan villages in Spin Boldak area for carrying out a survey. This was not only a violation of Afghan sovereignty and territorial integrity but also a clear provocation as we had informed Pakistani Security leadership prior to the incident that carrying out a survey in our villages would be challenged. Khaama
No Deadline for New Strategy: White House
President Donald Trump’s winning strategy in Afghanistan meant reducing the threats posed by Taliban and the Islamic State, the White House said. However, the White House press secretary made clear that there was no deadline for the new strategy. Pajhwok
Decision on Troop Surge in Afghanistan soon: NATO
NATO, Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, said that the alliance was assessing a request from the military authorities to send more troops to Afghanistan. Afghanistan is in the grip of intense security problems. Peace and stability inside Afghanistan would be established by defeating insurgents and IS. Pajhwok
