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Afghan forces kill mastermind of Nangarhar prison attack
Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS) on Tuesday confirmed Special Forces had killed the mastermind of this month’s Nangarhar prison attack.
The NDS said in a statement on Tuesday it had killed high ranking Daesh member, Abdullah Orakzai, the chief justice of ISIS-K/Daesh in Afghanistan.
According to the NDS, Abdullah Orakzai had masterminded the recent prison attack which left at least 30 people dead and more than 50 wounded.
The Afghan spy agency, however, did not provide further details.
Abdullah Orakzai had also been the deputy intelligence leader of Daesh.
Assadullah Orakzai, who was killed by the Afghan Special Forces near Jalalabad, in Nangarhar province, in late July, had been the head of intelligence for the terrorist organization.
However, Abdullah Orakzai was also suspected of being involved in several deadly attacks against both military and civilian targets in the country, the NDS added.
“Abdullah Orakzai, was military in charge for Daesh in Naziyan and Achin districts of Nangarhar province, and he had issued a fatwa allowing its insurgents to behead civilians and forcibly marry their girls,” the NDS said in a statement.
This latest development comes after Afghan Special Forces arrested another coordinator of the prison attack during a raid in Kunar province on August 5.
The key commander was identified as Mohammad Saeed son of Mohammad Afzal, who was involved in moving foreign ISIS insurgents along with their families around the country.
“He (Mohammad Saeed) was one of the masterminds of the recent attack in Nangarhar,” the NDS said.
The prison attack started when an Indian doctor, Ijas Kallukettiya Purayil, detonated an explosive-laden vehicle at the entrance gate of the jail.
Soon after 10 militants stormed the facility and it took security forces nearly 18 hours to bring the situation under control.
Meanwhile, an Afghan MP claimed that around 800 ISIS-K (Daesh) and Taliban prisoners had escaped during the attack. Afghan officials later confirmed that hundreds of Daesh and Taliban prisoners were missing.
Daesh has not yet commented in this regard.
Afghanistan’s Minister of Finance, Mohammad Nasir Akhund, has travelled to Iran at the head of a delegation following an official invitation from Iran’s Minister of Agriculture, the Ministry of Finance said.
During the visit, Akhund is expected to meet with various Iranian officials to discuss bilateral economic, trade, customs and other related issues.
The visit will also include discussions on key topics for an upcoming meeting of the joint economic commission between Afghanistan and Iran.
Afghanistan’s Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, on Saturday inaugurated the rehabilitated 110-kilovolt (kV) power transmission line connecting Maimana and Andkhoy in Faryab province.
According to the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office for Economic Affairs, the completion of the project will provide around 60,000 consumers with a more stable and reliable electricity supply.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Baradar said the project would help meet local electricity needs, expand industrial activities and contribute to the region’s economic and social development.
He said the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) had implemented several electricity generation and transmission projects in a relatively short period, reducing reliance on imported electricity and power outages while creating new opportunities for industrial growth.
Baradar also said several major electricity infrastructure projects would be implemented over the next year to ensure a sustainable power supply, adding that the country’s existing electricity capacity would increase several times.
Addressing Afghanistan’s security situation, Baradar said the country was currently experiencing a level of security that he claimed was unmatched in most countries. He added that foreign tourists and visitors had continued to travel to Afghanistan since the IEA returned to power, including to remote areas of the country.
He rejected security-related concerns raised by some countries over travel to Afghanistan, describing them as unfounded and politically motivated. He called on the international community to strengthen meaningful engagement with Afghanistan based on realities on the ground.
Baradar also invited domestic and foreign investors to invest in Afghanistan, saying a secure and suitable environment had been created for large- and medium-scale investments.
The UN refugee agency’s representative in Afghanistan has called on the international community to maintain their support for Afghanistan, warning that the return of more than 6.5 million Afghans over the past three years has placed significant pressure on the country.
Arafat Jamal, UNHCR Representative in Afghanistan, made the remarks during the eighth International Conference on Action with Women and Peace in Seoul, South Korea, where he highlighted the challenges facing returnees amid poverty, drought and climate-related disasters.
He said the returning population accounts for around 15 percent of Afghanistan’s total population, describing the influx as one of the world’s largest movements of people. He added that Afghanistan was struggling to absorb the large-scale returns due to its existing economic and humanitarian challenges.
Jamal also highlighted difficulties facing Afghan women, saying that the absence of war does not necessarily mean all citizens enjoy safety.
In a separate interview with The Korea Times during his visit to Seoul, Jamal said supporting refugees and vulnerable countries was not simply an act of charity but an investment in a safer and more stable international environment.
He stressed that Afghanistan’s strategic location, bordering seven countries including China, Pakistan and Iran, makes its stability a matter of wider international concern. Although the country is relatively calm at present, he cautioned that this situation should not be taken for granted without continued international support.
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