By Banafsha Binesh in TOLOnews Online, March 20,2023 at 10:14 PM
The Islamic Emirate has conducted 70 military operations in the past year with the aim of suppressing the Khorasan branch of Daesh group in Afghanistan, officials reported.
According to government-provided numbers, more than a hundred Daesh fighters have been killed in these operations.
The operations of the Islamic Emirate forces intensified against Daesh hideouts in Kabul, Herat, Balkh and other provinces. Ijaz Amin Ahangar, the head of Daesh in the Indian subcontinent, and Qari Fatih, the head of the security department of this group, were reportedly killed as a result of these operations.
In 1401 (solar year), Kabul, Balkh, Badakhshan and Kunduz provinces of Afghanistan were targeted by deadly attacks more than twelve times in total.
Based on available figures, in these attacks 110 people were killed and 270 others were wounded.
In the first three months of 1401 (solar year), most anti-security incidents occurred in Kabul, Balkh and Herat province.
On 30 of Hamal month (solar calendar), 20 students were killed and 30 others were injured in an attack on the Abdul Rahim School in Dasht-e-Barchi area of Kabul.
After that, a monastery in the Dar al-Aman area of Kabul, the International Cricket Stadium, Wazir Akbar Khan Mosque, Herat Grand Mosque, Kaaj Educational Center and Jihadiya Madrasa
in Samangan province were targeted by explosive attacks.
The attack on the employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate, in which some of the country’s diplomats were killed, provoked widespread reactions.
In Hoot 18 (solar calendar), Mohammad Dawood, the governor of Balk province, and two others were killed in a suicide attack on his office, and three others were injured.
Following that, five journalists were injured for the first time under the Islamic Emirate’s government in an attack at the Tabayian Culture Center in Mazar-e-Sharif.
Daesh took responsibility for most of these attacks in 1401 (solar year); the group whose presence in Afghanistan has caused concerns for the US and the West.
The head of US Central Command, Michael Kurilla, said that Daesh in Afghanistan will be able to attack American or Western interests outside the country in less than six months “with little to
no warning,” as reported by Star and Stripes.
He made the remarks at a Senate Armed Services Committee, saying that Daesh is rapidly developing the ability to conduct “external operations” in Europe and Asia.
“My commanders estimate that they can do an external operation against US or Western interests in under six months with little to no warning. In a classified session, I would talk about why I made that assessment. It is much harder for them to be able to do that against the homeland,” he said.
This year, diplomatic places also witnessed various attacks.
Various parts of the country have seen attacks by Daesh in the past year.
Among the most significant anti-security incidents are the attacks on the Russian and Pakistani embassies, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs staff, and the officials in Balkh province.
The Pakistani ambassador in Kabul survived the attack on the embassy, but two Russian diplomats were killed in the attack on the Russian embassy.
The residence of Chinese citizens in Kabul was also attacked. On the 21st of Qaws (solar calendar), three attackers targeted a residence of Chinese citizens. In this attack, three people were killed and 18 others were injured.
This attack caused widespread reactions.
According to the claim of the White House, the leader of al-Qaeda was killed in an American drone strike in one of the diplomatic areas of Kabul city.
US President Joe Biden said that on July 31, 2022, Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed in Kabul.
“On Saturday at my direction, the United States successfully concluded an airstrike in Kabul, Afghanistan, that killed the emir of al-Qaida, Ayman al-Zawahiri. You know, Zawahiri was bin
Laden’s leader. He was with him all that whole time. He was his number two man, his deputy at the time of the terrorist attacks on 9/11. He was deeply involved in the planning of 9/11,” Biden said.
In response to this, Mawlawi Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid, Acting Defense Minister, at a press conference criticized the patrolling of US drones in Afghanistan’s airspace.
Mawlawi Mohammad Yaqoob said at that time that American drones enter Afghanistan through Pakistan.
“Based on my information, they enter Afghanistan from Pakistan and use Pakistan’s airspace,” he said.
On the 9th of Sunbula (solar calendar), the current Afghan government held a military parade at Bagram base, which was once thought to be the largest American base. Several air and ground units, including the one the government refers to as the Fedayan unit, paraded.
Meanwhile, some citizens of the country said that the security events in the country in 1401 were less than in previous years.
“The security situation was better than during the previous government. But there is robbery in Kabul city, which means the security is not fully ensured,” said Waheed, a resident of Kabul.
Border tensions were high in 1401.
The Islamic Emirate forces clashed twice with Iran, once with Uzbekistan, and eight times with Pakistan.
The clashes between the Islamic Emirate’s forces and the Pakistani guards, especially at the Spin Boldak-Chaman crossing, caused casualties on both sides.
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-182588
