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US Soldier, 32 Afghanis Killed in Suicide Bombing, Helicopter Crash, Insider Attack

November 4, 2018

 

Afghan prisoners prepare to be released from Pul-e-Charkhi prison in Kabul (file photo)	The 2014 prisoner exchange of Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl for five Taliban prisoners at a U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

 

US Service Member Slain In Afghanistan Identified As Mayor Of U.S. City

RFE 04 Nov 2018

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP

U.S. politicians and media are reporting that the service member killed in an apparent insider attack in Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, was the 39-year-old mayor of a city in the state of Utah.

The Salt Lake Tribune and other media reported on November 3 that North Ogden Mayor Brent Taylor was serving with the National Guard when he was killed earlier in the day.

U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah and the state's lieutenant governor, Spencer Cox, confirmed Taylor's death.

'Devastating news. North Ogden Mayor Brent Taylor was killed today while serving in Afghanistan,' Cox wrote on his Facebook page.

'I hate this. I'm struggling for words....This war has once again cost us the best blood of a generation. We must rally around his family,' he added.

North Ogden is a city of 17,000 people north of Salt Lake City.

Taylor was deployed to Afghanistan in January with the Utah National Guard. At the time, he told local media he would serve as an adviser to an Afghan commando battalion.

A statement from the Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan said another U.S. service member was wounded in the attack.

The assailant was a member of the Afghan security forces who was immediately killed by other Afghan forces, the statement said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the 'green-on-blue' attack -- in which Afghan forces turn their weapons on international soldiers with whom they are working.

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Afghan Army Helicopter Crash Kills 25

RFE/RL, October 31, 2018

Afghan National Army helicopter (illustrative photo) Share

An Afghan National Army helicopter carrying senior officials has crashed in bad weather in the western province of Farah, killing all 25 on board, a local official says.

Naser Mehdi, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said the helicopter crashed shortly after taking off from the mountainous Anar Dara district in the morning of October 31 heading toward the nearby province of Herat.

He said the helicopter crashed in bad weather. A Taliban spokesman said the militants shot it down.

Mehdi said the passengers included the deputy corps commander of Afghanistan's western zone and the head of the Farah provincial council.

Meanwhile, a suicide bomber struck outside Afghanistan's largest prison on the eastern edge of Kabul, killing at least seven people, including prison workers and security personnel, officials said.

Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish said that the attacker targeted a bus carrying prison workers early on October 31. The sprawling Pul-e Charkhi prison houses hundreds of inmates, including scores of Taliban militants.

According to Abadullah Karimi, a prison official, the attack occurred near the prison gate where a number of visitors were waiting to pass a rigorous security check before entering.

At least seven people were killed, and another five were wounded in the blast, the officials said.

There has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP.

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Suicide Bomber Kills At Least Seven Near Afghanistan's Largest Prison

RFE/RL, October 31, 2018

Afghan officials say a suicide bomber has struck outside the country's largest prison on the eastern edge of Kabul, killing at least seven people, including prison workers and security personnel.

Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish said that the attacker early on October 31 targeted a bus carrying prison workers. The sprawling Pul-e-Charkhi prison houses hundreds of inmates, including scores of Taliban militants.

According to Abadullah Karimi, a prison official, the attack occurred near the prison gate where a number of visitors were waiting to pass a rigorous security check before entering.

At least seven people were killed, and another five were wounded in the blast, the officials said.

No one has taken immediate responsibility for the attack.

Based on reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters

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Taliban Appoint Ex-Guantanamo Prisoners To Be Afghan Peace Negotiators

RFE/RL,  November 01, 2018

The 2014 prisoner exchange of Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl for five Taliban prisoners at a U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba Share

The Taliban say they have appointed five militants who spent more than a decade in the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay to be members of the group's political office in Qatar, where they will take part in any future Afghanistan peace talks.

The five former Taliban commanders -- Mohammad Fazl, Mohammed Nabi, Khairullah Khairkhwa, Abdul Haq Wasiq and Noorullah Noori -- were settled in Qatar following their release from the U.S. detention center in Cuba in 2014, but until now had not been directly involved in political activities, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said on October 31.

The men were released as part of a prisoner exchange in return for former Taliban captive U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl.

The Taliban announcement came amid gathering momentum for talks to end the 17-year war in Afghanistan.

Qatar has emerged as a principal contact point between the Taliban and the U.S. government. Earlier this month, Taliban officials met the recently appointed U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, in the Qatari capital, Doha, where the militants have a political office that serves as a de facto embassy.

They met there earlier this year with U.S. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Alice Wells.

Taliban officials said the five Taliban commanders were close to the militant group's late founder, Mullah Mohammad Omar, and are also close to its current leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada.

One Taliban official told Reuters that as former Guantanamo prisoners, they had been subject to restrictions on their movements, but they are now free to travel and attend peace negotiations.

The appointments follow the release by Pakistan last week of senior Taliban figure Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.

A Taliban official told AFP the group had requested the release of Baradar and several others at the meeting with Khalilzad.

Based on reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters

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