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Fuel tanker explosions on Afghan-Iran border spotted from space

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Two explosions of fuel tankers at the Islam Qala border crossing between Afghanistan’s western province of Herat and Iran were powerful enough to be spotted from space by NASA satellites on Saturday afternoon. 
 
One of the explosions happened at about 1.10pm Afghanistan time and the other about half an hour later at 1.42pm local time. 
 
According to local officials the fire started at about midday when a fuel tanker exploded at the customs facility at the border crossing. 
 
This caused a massive fire that consumed more than 500 trucks carrying natural gas and fuel, sources and Iranian state media indicated. 
 
Younus Qazizada, the head of the Herat Chamber of Commerce and Industries, said the fire had caused millions of dollars in damage. “Preliminary investigations show that more than $50 million of damage has been caused by the fire so far,” he said.
 
The Islam Qala border crossing is around 120km west of the city of Herat, and is a major transit route between Afghanistan and Iran.
 
The US allows Afghanistan to import fuel and oil from Iran as part of a special concession that exempts Kabul from US sanctions against Iran. 
 
It wasn’t clear early Sunday what caused the blast but officials said the fire was being investigated. The exact number of casualties was also not known although at least a dozen people had been taken to hospitals on Saturday night for injuries sustained in the fire. 
 
Wahid Qatali, Herat’s provincial governor, told The Associated Press on Saturday night: “For the time being, we can’t even talk about the casualties.”
 
The intensity of the flames meant ambulances were having trouble reaching the wounded or getting close to the site of the blast, said Mohammad Rafiq Shirzy, spokesman for the regional hospital in Herat city. 

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Khalilzad: Another US citizen to be released from Afghan custody soon

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Zalmay Khalilzad, the former U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan, has announced the release of another American citizen in the country.

Khalilzad said in a post on his X account that, according to information from the Islamic Emirate’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Faye Dai Hall, an American citizen who has been in custody in Afghanistan, will be released soon.

Earlier, George Glezmann, an American citizen whom the Islamic Emirate had held for over two years, was also released.

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About $80 billion worth of US military equipment abandoned in Afghanistan: Vance

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US Vice President JD Vance said on Friday that Joe Biden administration left about $80 billion worth of military equipment in Afghanistan, which was a “catastrophic error.”

Vance made the remarks during a visit to a military base in Greenland.

He also said the Biden administration’s “catastrophic error” led to the deaths of 13 US soldiers in an attack during the evacuation at Kabul airport in August 2021.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump also criticized the abandonment of military equipment in Afghanistan and called for its return.

The Islamic Emirate, however, has said that the weapons left by the US in Afghanistan belong to the Afghans and will not be returned.

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IEA frees over 2,400 prisoners on the occasion of Eid

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The Supreme Court announced on Saturday that based on the ruling of the supreme leader of the Islamic Emirate, 2,463 prisoners have been pardoned and released on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr.

The court said in a statement that the prison terms of another 3,152 prisoners have been reduced.

Eid in Afghanistan will be celebrated on Sunday or Monday, depending on the moon sighting.

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