Taliban

Intelligence sources say when the bodies of local youth are brought back to Pakistan, there is a well laid-out ceremony conducted involving elders from the community and religious leaders. This procedure has been refined by local Afghan leaders based in Pakistan at the instance of the Pakistan Army with the aim of generating strong sentiments in favour of the so-called "martyrs" and ensure more recruitment.

Units of Special Force attacked Taliban hideouts and positions in Charkhab, Kandak Anayat and Tepa Murch villages early Friday morning, forcing the insurgents to evacuate after suffering casualties and leaving 10 bodies behind, Xinhua news agency quoted the official as saying.

"Strategic momentum appears to be sort of with the Taliban," Xinhua news agency quoted General Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, as saying at a press conference at the Pentagon on Wednesday. "There's a possibility of a complete Taliban takeover, or the possibility of any number of other scenarios," Milley said.

Hibatullah in his message said that foreign diplomats, embassies, consulates, welfare organisations and investors are of utmost importance and the Taliban will strive to ensure their security and safety. He added that other countries do not necessarily need to worry about the recent territorial gains of the Taliban and can carry on their operations as normal.

The official on condition of anonymity confirmed that the Dihrawud district fell to the armed insurgents earlier in the day, reports Xinhua news agency. Uruzgan Governor Mohammad Omar Shirza told Xinhua that "the security personnel made tactical retreat and reached Tirin Kot city last night" and the security forces would fortify the security of provincial capital Tirin Kot.

He tells IANS that "I live in Afghanistan, I am a British citizen and I am with my family in Turkey for another two weeks, and then I will return to Kabul". America has left Afghanistan in a big mess, just as their other allies have done in the past. They have left Afghanistan at the mercy of God and there is a lot of uncertainty moving forward.

Grand Ayatollah Lotfollah Safi Golpaygani, one of Iran's most senior clerics, lashed out at the Islamic Republic's "softened policy" at a moment of rapid Taliban advances and widespread atrocities in Afghanistan. Such an approach, he warned, "is a grave and irreparable mistake". He cautioned the Iranian government not to trust a "terrorist" group "whose evil and murderous nature is no secret, Al Monitor reported.

Officials in the Presidential Palace say that Pakistan has warned the Afghan Air Force against any strike on the Taliban fighters in the Spin Boldak border district. The editorial proved clearly that "Pakistan is Taliban's godfather and fully supports the terrorist group against the internationally recognised government and the people in their neighbourhood".

In Kapisa province, 18 militants were killed and 24 wounded after Afghan Air Force (AAF) conducted airstrikes in support of Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) in the Tagab and Nijrab districts, Xinhua news agency reported citing a Ministry statement as saying. Among the killed militants were three Taliban's divisional commanders, said the statement.

Indian officials made their first direct contact with the Taliban in 2013, when they issued a visa to senior Taliban leader Abdul Salam Zaeef for a conference. Zaeef was the Taliban's ambassador to Pakistan, but after 9/11 the Pakistani government arrested him and handed him over to the United States.