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Al-Qaeda’s second highest leader Was Killed in Iran: New York Times

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The New York Times quoting intelligence officials said, that Abu Muhammad al-Masri, al Qaeda’s second-highest leader, accused of being one of the masterminds of the deadly 1998 attacks on American embassies in Africa, was killed in Iran three months ago.

The report says that Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, who went by the nom de guerre Abu Muhammad al-Masri, was gunned down on the streets of Tehran by two assassins on a motorcycle on Aug. 7, the anniversary of the embassy attacks.

Al-Masri was killed along with his daughter, Miriam, the widow of Osama bin Laden’s son Hamza bin Laden, the report says.

The attack was carried out by Israeli operatives at the behest of the United States, according to four of the officials. It is unclear what role if any was played by the United States, which had been tracking the movements of Mr. al-Masri and other Qaeda operatives in Iran for years, the report says.

Al-Masri, who was about 58, was one of Al Qaeda’s founding leaders and was thought to be first in line to lead the organization after its current leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, according to NY Times.

US authorities had offered a $10-million reward for any information leading to his capture.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry “strongly” denied the report and said there were no Al-Qaeda "terrorists" on Iranian soil.

"From time to time, Washington and Tel Aviv try to tie Iran to such groups by lying and leaking false information to the media in order to avoid responsibility for the criminal activities of this group and other terrorist groups in the region," Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said.

The report of al-Masri's killing comes weeks after the killing of two other senior al Qaeda leaders in Afghanistan by local security forces.

In October, Afghan security forces killed Abu Muhsin al-Masri, another person on the FBI's terrorist list, while the Afghan government this month announced that it had killed yet another senior al Qaeda commander.

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Two Afghan diplomats posted to Germany under former government resign

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Afghanistan's ambassador to Berlin, Yama Yari, who was appointed by the former government, has resigned from his post, German broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported on Monday.

Afghanistan's Consul-General in Bonn, Sayed Lutfullah Sadat, who was also appointed before the Islamic Emirate regained power, has also stepped down, the outlet said.

Sadat said in a statement that the reason for the decision was "political considerations and restrictions by the host country.”

In July, the Islamic Emirate announced that they no longer recognize Afghanistan’s diplomatic missions set up by the former Western-backed government and that they will not honor passports, visas and other documents issued by diplomats associated with the previous administration.

In a statement posted on X at the time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that documents issued by missions in London, Berlin, Belgium, Bonn, Switzerland, Austria, France, Italy, Greece, Poland, Australia, Sweden, Canada and Norway are no longer accepted and the ministry “bears no responsibility” for those documents.

The documents included passports, visa stickers, deeds and endorsements.

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China’s envoy says Beijing never interferes in Afghanistan’s internal affairs

Yue also announced that he is negotiating with the Islamic Emirate to provide humanitarian aid of 1 billion yuan ($138 million) from China.

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China’s Special Envoy for Afghanistan Affairs Yue Xiaoyong has said his country not only refrains from interfering in Afghanistan’s internal affairs but also respects the country’s independence and territorial integrity.

In an interview with Beijing International Dialogue Center on Sunday, Yue said China is not seeking to establish a sphere of influence in Afghanistan.

“Afghanistan should become a platform for cooperation among all parties instead of turning into a field for geopolitical competition,” he said.

Expressing concern over the presence of militant groups in Afghanistan and the need for an inclusive government, Yue said: “Before the U.S. presence, one or two terrorist groups were active in Afghanistan, but now there are more than 20 terrorist groups operating in the country.”

The Chinese envoy also addressed the situation of women and human rights, stating: “The issue of women is only a small part of Afghanistan’s problems and is not the root cause of its challenges. Furthermore, addressing poverty, hunger, and famine is essential to ensuring human rights.”

In the past three years, U.S. officials have repeatedly expressed concerns about China’s influence in Afghanistan. Similarly, Donald Trump, during his election campaigns, repeatedly claimed that the Bagram airbase had fallen into China’s hands.

Yue meanwhile also criticized Western countries for what he called "double standards" and said: "In order to ensure human rights, the issue of poverty, hunger and famine in Afghanistan must be addressed."

Yue also announced that he is negotiating with the Islamic Emirate to provide humanitarian aid of 1 billion yuan ($138 million) from China.

He said that part of this aid will go to Afghanistan, as well as Pakistan and Iran, so that an arrangement can be made for the return of migrants to their country.

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Saudi Arabia executed 101 people, including three Afghans this year 

The European-Saudi Human Rights Organization in Berlin condemned the executions and said this was three times higher then last year

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Saudi Arabia has executed 101 foreign nationals this year, including three Afghan citizens. 

AFP reported that 21 Pakistanis, 20 Yemenis, 14 Syrians, 10 Nigerians, nine Egyptians, eight Jordanians, seven Ethiopians, three Sudanese, three Indians, three Afghans and one Sri Lankan, one Eritrean and one Filipino. 

The European-Saudi Human Rights Organization in Berlin condemned the executions and said this was three times higher then last year. 

The organization’s legal director stated: “This is the largest number of foreign nationals executed in a single year. Saudi Arabia has never executed 100 foreign nationals in one year before.”

Amnesty International meanwhile stated that Saudi Arabia was the third highest country for the number of executions in 2023, after China and Iran.

 

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