EnglishEdward
Deity
...or to pay for the resettlement of those Afghan refugees outside Afghanistan....
The POTUS decides to be a chicken, pulls out of Afghanistan
- Thread starter caketastydelish
- Start date
...or to pay for the resettlement of those Afghan refugees outside Afghanistan....
Gelion
Retired Captain
Sounds like great ideas.
Nearly 300 killed after strong earthquake hits Afghanistan
At least 280 people have been killed and more than 200 others injured after a powerful earthquake hit remote parts of southeastern Afghanistan and neighbouring Pakistan, the country’s disaster management authority says.
Most of the confirmed deaths were in the eastern Afghan province of Paktika, where 255 people had been killed, interior ministry official Salahuddin Ayubi said on Wednesday.
“The death toll is likely to rise as some of the villages are in remote areas in the mountains and it will take some time to collect details,” he said.
The magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck about 44km (27 miles) from the city of Khost, near the Pakistani border, at a depth of 51km (31 miles), the United States Geological Survey said on Wednesday.
Unfortunately, the quake hits at a time Afghanistan is suffering from a big economic crisis, with little access to basic needs and medical facilities, Paktin told Al Jazeera from the Afghan capital.
Most of the confirmed deaths were in the eastern Afghan province of Paktika, where 255 people had been killed, interior ministry official Salahuddin Ayubi said on Wednesday.
“The death toll is likely to rise as some of the villages are in remote areas in the mountains and it will take some time to collect details,” he said.
The magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck about 44km (27 miles) from the city of Khost, near the Pakistani border, at a depth of 51km (31 miles), the United States Geological Survey said on Wednesday.
Unfortunately, the quake hits at a time Afghanistan is suffering from a big economic crisis, with little access to basic needs and medical facilities, Paktin told Al Jazeera from the Afghan capital.
FriendlyFire
Codex WMDicanious
It dose say that Afghan will be able to now use some of the Frozen money for Humanitarian aid now.
Id imagine that much of the funds came from NATO and NGOs in the first place.
Afghan officials fled to luxury homes leaving millions to suffer
In the past few weeks multiple reports have emerged of Afghan elites and several former officials from the West-backed Kabul government escaping to luxury condos in Dubai and beachside villas in California during the Taliban takeover of the country last August.
But tens of thousands of Afghans, who also left the country, still languish in cramped refugee camps across the world, while back home, millions of others face hunger.
Former Afghan officials, including aides of former President Ashraf Ghani, spent millions to buy properties in Dubai and the US during the last years of the West-backed government, according to a recent report by the Wall Street Journal.
A US watchdog said earlier this month that millions of dollars disappeared from the presidential palace and the National Directorate of Security during the Taliban takeover last August. The money remains unaccounted for, though Ghani unlikely fled with millions of cash, according to the watchdog.
The former president moved to the world-renowned five-star St Regis hotel in Abu Dhabi after leaving Afghanistan. He now lives in the UAE.
But tens of thousands of Afghans, who also left the country, still languish in cramped refugee camps across the world, while back home, millions of others face hunger.
Former Afghan officials, including aides of former President Ashraf Ghani, spent millions to buy properties in Dubai and the US during the last years of the West-backed government, according to a recent report by the Wall Street Journal.
A US watchdog said earlier this month that millions of dollars disappeared from the presidential palace and the National Directorate of Security during the Taliban takeover last August. The money remains unaccounted for, though Ghani unlikely fled with millions of cash, according to the watchdog.
The former president moved to the world-renowned five-star St Regis hotel in Abu Dhabi after leaving Afghanistan. He now lives in the UAE.
SAS unit repeatedly killed Afghan detainees
SAS operatives in Afghanistan repeatedly killed detainees and unarmed men in suspicious circumstances, according to a BBC investigation.
Newly obtained military reports suggest that one unit may have unlawfully killed 54 people in one six-month tour.
The BBC found evidence suggesting the former head of special forces failed to pass on evidence to a murder inquiry.
The BBC understands that General Sir Mark Carleton-Smith, the former head of UK Special Forces, was briefed about the alleged unlawful killings but did not pass on the evidence to the Royal Military Police, even after the RMP began a murder investigation into the SAS squadron.
General Carleton-Smith, who went on to become head of the Army before stepping down last month, declined to comment for this story.
Individuals who served with the SAS squadron on that deployment told the BBC they witnessed the SAS operatives kill unarmed people during night raids.
They also said they saw the operatives using so-called "drop weapons" - AK-47s planted at a scene to justify the killing of an unarmed person.
Several people who served with special forces said that SAS squadrons were competing with each other to get the most kills, and that the squadron scrutinised by the BBC was trying to achieve a higher body count than the one it had replaced.
Internal emails show that officers at the highest levels of special forces were aware there was concern over possible unlawful killings, but failed to report the suspicions to military police despite a legal obligation to do so.
In 2019, the BBC and the Sunday Times investigated one SAS raid which led to a UK court case and an order to the UK defence minister to disclose documents outlining the government's handling of the case.
For this latest investigation, the BBC analysed newly obtained operational reports detailing the SAS's accounts of night raids. We found a pattern of strikingly similar reports of Afghan men being shot dead because they pulled AK-47 rifles or hand grenades from behind curtains or other furniture after having been detained.
"Once somebody is detained, they shouldn't end up dead. For it to happen over and over again was causing alarm at HQ. It was clear at the time that something was wrong" said a senior officer who worked at UK Special Forces headquarters/
Internal emails from the time show that officers reacted with disbelief to the reports, describing them as "quite incredible" and referring to the squadron's "latest massacre". An operations officer emailed a colleague to say that "for what must be the 10th time in the last two weeks" the squadron had sent a detainee back into a building "and he reappeared with an AK".
"Then when they walked back in to a different A [building] with another B [fighting-age male] to open the curtains he grabbed a grenade from behind a curtain and threw it at the c/s [SAS assault team]. Fortunately, it didn't go off…. this is the 8th time this has happened... You couldn't MAKE IT UP!"
As the concerns grew, one of the highest-ranking special forces officers in the country warned in a secret memo that there could be a "deliberate policy" of unlawful killing in operation. Senior leadership became so concerned that a rare formal review was commissioned of the squadron's tactics. But when a special forces officer was deployed to Afghanistan to interview personnel from the squadron, he appeared to take the SAS version of events at face value.
The BBC understands that the officer did not visit any of the scenes of the raids or interview any witnesses outside the military. Court documents show that the final report was signed off by the commanding officer of the SAS unit responsible for the suspicious killings.
Leigh Neville, an expert on weapons used by UK Special Forces, said the bullet patterns suggested that "targets were low to the ground, either prone or in a sitting or crouching position close to the wall - an unusual position if they were actively involved in a firefight".
The same pattern was visible at two other locations examined by the BBC. Ballistics experts who reviewed images said the bullet holes were suggestive of execution-style killings rather than firefights.
The MOD say it is the fault of the BBC for telling peopleNewly obtained military reports suggest that one unit may have unlawfully killed 54 people in one six-month tour.
The BBC found evidence suggesting the former head of special forces failed to pass on evidence to a murder inquiry.
The BBC understands that General Sir Mark Carleton-Smith, the former head of UK Special Forces, was briefed about the alleged unlawful killings but did not pass on the evidence to the Royal Military Police, even after the RMP began a murder investigation into the SAS squadron.
General Carleton-Smith, who went on to become head of the Army before stepping down last month, declined to comment for this story.
Individuals who served with the SAS squadron on that deployment told the BBC they witnessed the SAS operatives kill unarmed people during night raids.
They also said they saw the operatives using so-called "drop weapons" - AK-47s planted at a scene to justify the killing of an unarmed person.
Several people who served with special forces said that SAS squadrons were competing with each other to get the most kills, and that the squadron scrutinised by the BBC was trying to achieve a higher body count than the one it had replaced.
Internal emails show that officers at the highest levels of special forces were aware there was concern over possible unlawful killings, but failed to report the suspicions to military police despite a legal obligation to do so.
In 2019, the BBC and the Sunday Times investigated one SAS raid which led to a UK court case and an order to the UK defence minister to disclose documents outlining the government's handling of the case.
For this latest investigation, the BBC analysed newly obtained operational reports detailing the SAS's accounts of night raids. We found a pattern of strikingly similar reports of Afghan men being shot dead because they pulled AK-47 rifles or hand grenades from behind curtains or other furniture after having been detained.
- On 29 November 2010, the squadron killed a man who had been detained and taken back inside a building, where he "attempted to engage the force with a grenade".
- On 15 January 2011, the squadron killed a man who had been detained and taken back inside a building, where he "reached behind a mattress, pulled out a hand grenade, and attempted to throw it".
- On 7 February, the squadron killed a detainee who they said had "attempted to engage the patrol with a rifle". The same justification was given for the fatal shooting of detainees on 9 February and 13 February.
- On 16 February, the squadron killed two detainees after one pulled a grenade "from behind the curtains" and the other "picked up an AK-47 from behind a table".
- On 1 April, the squadron killed two detainees who had been sent back inside a building after one "raised an AK-47" and the other "tried to throw a grenade".
"Once somebody is detained, they shouldn't end up dead. For it to happen over and over again was causing alarm at HQ. It was clear at the time that something was wrong" said a senior officer who worked at UK Special Forces headquarters/
Internal emails from the time show that officers reacted with disbelief to the reports, describing them as "quite incredible" and referring to the squadron's "latest massacre". An operations officer emailed a colleague to say that "for what must be the 10th time in the last two weeks" the squadron had sent a detainee back into a building "and he reappeared with an AK".
"Then when they walked back in to a different A [building] with another B [fighting-age male] to open the curtains he grabbed a grenade from behind a curtain and threw it at the c/s [SAS assault team]. Fortunately, it didn't go off…. this is the 8th time this has happened... You couldn't MAKE IT UP!"
As the concerns grew, one of the highest-ranking special forces officers in the country warned in a secret memo that there could be a "deliberate policy" of unlawful killing in operation. Senior leadership became so concerned that a rare formal review was commissioned of the squadron's tactics. But when a special forces officer was deployed to Afghanistan to interview personnel from the squadron, he appeared to take the SAS version of events at face value.
The BBC understands that the officer did not visit any of the scenes of the raids or interview any witnesses outside the military. Court documents show that the final report was signed off by the commanding officer of the SAS unit responsible for the suspicious killings.
Leigh Neville, an expert on weapons used by UK Special Forces, said the bullet patterns suggested that "targets were low to the ground, either prone or in a sitting or crouching position close to the wall - an unusual position if they were actively involved in a firefight".
The same pattern was visible at two other locations examined by the BBC. Ballistics experts who reviewed images said the bullet holes were suggestive of execution-style killings rather than firefights.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has taken the extraordinary step of accusing the BBC of engaging in “irresponsible, incorrect” journalism hours before a Panorama documentary that will accuse SAS soldiers of killing Afghan civilians in cold blood.
But before the programme was broadcast, the MoD warned it could put British soldiers at risk because it “jumps to unjustified conclusions” from allegations that the department said had been subject to two investigations by military police, which resulted in no prosecutions.
“Neither investigation found sufficient evidence to prosecute. Insinuating otherwise is irresponsible, incorrect and puts our brave armed forces personnel at risk both in the field and reputationally,” the MoD said.
In 2014, military police launched Operation Northmoor, an investigation into allegations of more than 600 alleged offences by British forces in Afghanistan, including the killing of civilians by the SAS. It was would down in 2017 and closed in 2019, and the MoD said no evidence of criminality was found.
The files obtained by the BBC related to police investigations and the broadcaster said members of the Northmoor team dispute the conclusion reached by the MoD that there was no case to answer.
One of those killed was a former district governor, Haji Ibrahim, who had worked with the British. The SAS report of events on the night of 29-30 November 2010 states that Ibrahim was detained, then sent to help with a search at a building, where he was shot dead “when he demonstrated hostile intent by brandishing a hand-grenade”.
However, his family told the BBC that his hands were bound and he was summarily executed. His son described having to remove plastic handcuffs from his father’s wrists before the family were able to bury his body.
But before the programme was broadcast, the MoD warned it could put British soldiers at risk because it “jumps to unjustified conclusions” from allegations that the department said had been subject to two investigations by military police, which resulted in no prosecutions.
“Neither investigation found sufficient evidence to prosecute. Insinuating otherwise is irresponsible, incorrect and puts our brave armed forces personnel at risk both in the field and reputationally,” the MoD said.
In 2014, military police launched Operation Northmoor, an investigation into allegations of more than 600 alleged offences by British forces in Afghanistan, including the killing of civilians by the SAS. It was would down in 2017 and closed in 2019, and the MoD said no evidence of criminality was found.
The files obtained by the BBC related to police investigations and the broadcaster said members of the Northmoor team dispute the conclusion reached by the MoD that there was no case to answer.
One of those killed was a former district governor, Haji Ibrahim, who had worked with the British. The SAS report of events on the night of 29-30 November 2010 states that Ibrahim was detained, then sent to help with a search at a building, where he was shot dead “when he demonstrated hostile intent by brandishing a hand-grenade”.
However, his family told the BBC that his hands were bound and he was summarily executed. His son described having to remove plastic handcuffs from his father’s wrists before the family were able to bury his body.
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r16
not deity
- Joined
- Nov 10, 2008
- Messages
- 11,213
situation in Ukraine is on balance , American weapon deliveries are hurting the Russians . Hence this is Boris Johnson approved move to "punish" bad , bad SAS , instead of their units on thecground start getting targeted . It is a standart thing , that always happens .
Sounds like "driving while black" in the US.
Broken_Erika
Play with me.
Afghanistan: The quiet Afghan valley standing up to the Taliban
Travelling through the scenic Andarab valley north of Kabul there is no visible sign of conflict.But whilst the Taliban are more powerful and better armed than ever before, here and in neighbouring province of Panjshir they are facing a nascent armed resistance to their rule in Afghanistan.
Small groups of guerrillas, hidden away on mountain tops, led by soldiers from the former Afghan army, have been launching ambushes and engaging in clashes with the Taliban.
Driving past fertile, green fields, we are accompanied by the Taliban at all times, and under their watchful eye locals praise improved security under their rule and are dismissive of the rebels. Some of the praise does appear genuine, but in the side street of one bazaar, a man tells us darkly: "I can't tell you the truth - if I did, I could be killed."
It is difficult to get a sense of the true scale of the fighting - the resistance forces often exaggerate their strength, whilst the Taliban outright deny their presence. In Panjshir, however, anti-Taliban fighters managed to shoot down a military helicopter and capture those on board.
Elsewhere in Baghlan Province, resistance fighters have recently filmed themselves pulling down a Taliban flag from a military post.
When the BBC travelled to the Andarab valley in June, however, the Taliban appeared in firm control of the territory.
We visit the village of Qais Tarrach and are assured by the local military commander that "there are no problems".
"You can see for yourself, we only have a very small military presence here," Qari Jumadin Badri, who leads a battalion from the army's Omari Corps, tells me from a hilltop overlooking the valley.
But we have been reliably told of an ambush by resistance forces on a Taliban vehicle close to here in May, in which two Taliban members were killed.
"That was a long time ago," Mr Badri says. "We launched some operations in the mountains and now there is nothing."
In Panjshir videos have emerged of long convoys of Taliban reinforcements, but there too Taliban officials have denied consistent reports of clashes.
Andarab, the other bastion of anti-Taliban sentiment, appears less heavily militarised, but speaking secretly to local residents we have been told of repeated and serious allegations of human rights abuses carried out by the Taliban in trying to stamp out the resistance movement.
A relative of a villager named Abdul Hashim tells us he and three other men were detained and killed by the Taliban immediately after the ambush near Qais Tarrach, after wrongly being accused of involvement in the attack.
"He had his hands tied and was shot in the head and chest," the relative said.
He shared photographs of Abdul Hashim's body and said his brother-in-law, Noorullah, had also been killed in the incident.
"They didn't let men attend Abdul Hashim's funeral," he told the BBC. "Only women were allowed to bury him."
One resident, who was also detained alongside the men by the Taliban during the search operation following the ambush, told the BBC around 20 men had been taken away from their village by the Taliban towards the location of the ambush, where they were beaten on their legs with metal cables and sticks.
"They put me in the back of one pick-up truck, someone pushed our heads down… Noorullah and Abdul Hashim were in another truck - they took them down and behind a Humvee and shot them by a small stream," he said.
Two other men from the same village were also killed that day.
There are other worrying allegations. A group of four men, travelling towards Tagharak village, a hotspot of resistance activity, were stopped and questioned by the Taliban in June, then allegedly killed.
Last year, shortly after the Taliban takeover of Kabul in August, resistance fighters in Andarab said they had briefly "liberated" a number of districts.
After they were recaptured by the Taliban, a doctor named Zainuddin was murdered at his home along with five of his relatives including young children. A relative alleged he had been killed for having provided treatment to resistance fighters.
"As a doctor, it was his duty to treat everyone," said the relative angrily.
In February this year another doctor, Dr Khorami, from Deh Salah district, was also killed. A relative alleged he had previously received threats from the Taliban warning him to stop treating those linked to the resistance.
Locals said a third doctor remained in custody, whilst a number of families accused of having links to the resistance said they had been told to leave their villages.
The Taliban's head of information in Baghlan province, where Andarab is situated, Asadullah Hashimi, rejected the allegations.
A doctor had been killed in the area, he admitted, but he ascribed the incident to "personal enmity".
As for the allegations of extra-judicial killings, Mr Hashimi was categorical in denying any detainee had been killed, though he added, if anyone "violently resists government forces" during an operation they could be killed or arrested.
"That happens everywhere in the world."
Mr Hashimi refused to recognise the presence of resistance forces in the region, instead referring to a small number of "terrorists", but the area has a long history of opposition to the Taliban.
Both Andarab and Panjshir are dominated by the Persian-speaking Tajik community, whereas the Taliban are predominantly Pashtun.
The Taliban have managed to successfully recruit some locals into their ranks, unlike their previous regime in the 1990s. A number of local Taliban intelligence and police chiefs are Tajik or Persian-speaking, as are some of the soldiers stationed in Andarab.
Most others, however, are Pashtun. Many in Andarab worked in the security forces of the previous Afghan government and now strongly oppose the Taliban, regarding them as outsiders.
Some of the relatives of the victims of extra-judicial killings, however, also criticised the resistance forces, saying their guerrilla tactics left the civilian population vulnerable to Taliban reprisals.
The BBC managed to establish contact with one senior resistance fighter in Andarab, Commander Shuja.
In a pre-recorded message, responding to questions sent to him, he told the BBC: "Our fight is for justice, for brotherhood, equality and for the real Islam, not the Islam of the Taliban - which defames the religion…
"Our fight is for the rights of our sisters. The Prophet Muhammad said education is compulsory for both men and women."
The violence in Andarab and Panjshir is localised and does not yet represent a serious threat to the Taliban's overall control of the country, but they look to be at risk of repeating some of the same mistakes as their old opponents.
Over the past two decades, intrusive raids and allegations of the killing of innocent civilians by Afghan and international forces helped fuel the Taliban's popularity in parts of the country where they already had a presence and a degree of support.
Now, they are accused of using those same counter-insurgency tactics, whilst there appears to be little sense of accountability.
Speaking angrily, the relative of Abdul Hashim, who was allegedly detained and killed by the Taliban, told the BBC: "The Taliban claim to be a government, so they should investigate someone, not just kill them straight away."
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-61887714
The Taliban have decided on their response to the US drone strike on Kabul: We do not think al-Zawahiri was really there
After a number of day when the Taliban were tight lipped about what actually happened when the US fired a missile into the posh bit of Kabul, they have announced they are investigating a claim by the US that it killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. They indicate that they did not know he was there, if indeed he was. Probably the best strategy, avoiding hurting their international reputation by acknowledging their support for the group while also not alienating the more extreme members and having them defect to ISIS.
Pull my finger, said Ayman al-Zawahiri, an Egyptian doctor
After a number of day when the Taliban were tight lipped about what actually happened when the US fired a missile into the posh bit of Kabul, they have announced they are investigating a claim by the US that it killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. They indicate that they did not know he was there, if indeed he was. Probably the best strategy, avoiding hurting their international reputation by acknowledging their support for the group while also not alienating the more extreme members and having them defect to ISIS.
Pull my finger, said Ayman al-Zawahiri, an Egyptian doctor
EnglishEdward
Deity
Interesting.
No obvious claim in that article of innocent Afghans killed there then.
No obvious claim in that article of innocent Afghans killed there then.
sendos
Immortal
We're nearly at 12 months since the Taliban took over. Has anyone kept a tally of how many promises they've broken?
Thorgalaeg
Deity
The most interesting thing here is the missile apparently used. A version of the Hellfire without warhead but with several blades to cut the target in bits:
So, if the Taliban don't know if he was really Al Zawahiri they only have to get some adhesive tape.
So, if the Taliban don't know if he was really Al Zawahiri they only have to get some adhesive tape.
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Zardnaar
Deity
Thorgalaeg
Deity
Two impacts can be seen here. One on the roof and other on the windshield. Clean cuts through the car body and even the glass are clearly visible. The precision is impressive too.
Thorgalaeg
Deity
I bet jaundice is even more impressive.
EnglishEdward
Deity
I suppose the USA might buy a sample for a DNA check !
The Taliban might provide a sample on the grounds that if it confirms that it was indeed
Al Zawahiri, the USA will be less likely to fire more missiles at reported sightings of Al Zawahiri.
