Taliban

Lyons said at the Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board (JCMB) meet in Kabul that the world has now recognised that the Taliban must be a partner in Afghanistan's transition to self-reliance. International donors have signaled their willingness to continue to support Afghanistan after a peace agreement is reached.

Local Afghan authorities say that Siddiqui had travelled with an Afghan National Army team to the Spin Boldak region to cover the clash between Afghan forces and the Taliban to control the lucrative border crossing with Pakistan. When they got to within one-third of a mile of the customs post, a Taliban attack split the team, with the commander and a few men separated from Siddiqui, who remained with three other Afghan troops.

In the operations launched on Wednesday afternoon, a large number of arms and ammunitions as well as four motorbikes were also destroyed, the official said. According to the official, the government forces will continue to pursue the militants elsewhere in the restive province. Taliban militants are reportedly in control of major parts of Faryab province and have been fighting to overrun the provincial capital Maimana city.

"The reports by verified independent resources and media indicate that the Taliban forces perpetrate in areas under their control unpardonable and prosecutable crimes, including illegal arrests, arbitral killings, torturing civilians, forced marriages, and violation of basic human rights, particularly women's rights," the Foreign Affairs Ministry said.

In a statement on Sunday, the Defence Ministry said that fighter jets targeted taliban hideouts and positions in parts of Helmand's Nad Ali and Sangin districts, reports Xinhua news agency. A weapon cache of the militant group was also destroyed during the attacks, the statement added. The Taliban controls at least six districts in Helmand province. Meanwhile in Badakhshan province, the fighter planes struck a Taliban gathering in Argo district, according to an army statement.

Afghanistan National Security Advisor Hamdullah Mohib fired another salvo at Pakistan, as he said that as many as 15,000 militants could enter Afghanistan from Pakistan to fight the Afghan forces. Mohib said Pakistan has been a safe haven for the Taliban and that the group has been using Pakistani madrasas to recruit fighters.

The sorties were launched on Saturday in parts of the restive Kaldar and Chamtal districts, leaving 81 insurgents dead and injuring 43 others, reports Xinhua news agency. A large number of arms and ammunition, as well as over two dozen vehicles and motorbikes of the militants, were also destroyed during the air raids, the statement added.

The watchdog body said that after Taliban forces took control of Kandahar's Spin Boldak border crossing with Pakistan on July 8, 2021, and the Spin Boldak district center on July 16, they conducted searches to identify residents who have worked for the local government or security forces. Taliban forces that control areas around Kandahar city have carried out similar searches and have evicted some residents.

Aside from the capital Kabul and two other provinces, no movement will be allowed between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. Fighting between the Taliban and Afghan government forces has escalated over the past two months as international troops withdraw from the country, the BBC reported. The militant group is estimated to have captured up to half of all territory.

The report by the UN Security Council, published on Thursday, said that despite territorial, leadership, manpower and financial losses during 2020 in Kunar and Nangarhar provinces, Daesh's Khorasan branch, or ISIL-K, has moved into other provinces of Afghanistan, including Nuristan, Badghis, Sar-e-Pul, Baghlan, Badakhshan, Kunduz and Kabul, where the fighters have formed sleeper cells.