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Ministry of defense PAO Media Analysis section Media Analysis Executive Summary for 17- May – 2015
Taliban kidnap tens of passengers in Paktia
GARDEZ (Pajhwok): Taliban gunmen have kidnapped dozens of passengers in Sayed Karam district of southeastern Paktia province on Saturday morning, local officials and residents said.
The residents said gunmen have taken passengers with them in Badam Kanda locality of the district around 6:00am.
Mohammad-ur-Rahman Qaderi, provincial council secretary, told Pajhwok Afghan News hundreds of Taliban fighters arrived on the streets and started searching for passengers.
He added militants' operation lasted several hours and the passengers were forced out from at least 30 vehicles and were taken to undisclosed location.
Security forces, he said did not take immediate action and the area was tense after the kidnapping of civilians.
Zalmai Oryakhail, provincial police chief, confirmed Taliban have made the passengers hostage. He said security operations were ongoing in the area but he had no more details to share.
Rahim Gul, a resident of the area, said hundreds of Taliban fighters were on the roads searching passengers’ vehicles. Hours later, he said, security forces arrived in the area.
But Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said he was unaware who was behind the kidnapping.
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Iran may consider to assist Afghanistan to fight ISIS terror group,……..Tolo news
The government of Iran may consider to assist the Afghan government in fight against ISIS terrorist group if Tehran receives a request from Kabul.
In an interview with the Afghanistan 1TV Channel, the Iranian ambassador to Afghanistan, Mohammad Reza Bahrami, said Iran is assisting the Iraqi government to fight ISIS group after receiving a request from Baghdad.
Bahrami said the terrorist group is a potential serious threat to Afghanistan and its neighboring countries.
He said the group could grow more strong in coming months and years to have a considerable strong presence in Afghanistan and even in the region.
The remarks by the Indian envoy comes as the Afghan national security advisor Hanif Atmar said earlier this month that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group is looking to have access to drugs market by starting operations in Afghanistan.
Atmar also warned that the terror group wants to expand its operations not only in Afghanistan but the whole region and wants infiltrate in Central Asian countries.
According to Atmar, the ISIS group is led by a Pakistani militant and the group recognizes no boundries since they have already declared the regional countries in their map as Khurasan province.
He insisted that all force must be used to fight the terror group and said the government of Afghanistan prepared a strategy two months ago where the group’s local commander was killed following an operation in Helmand province.
This also comes as President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani acknowledged for the first time last month that the terrorist group was gaining influence in the country.
Speaking during a press briefing ahead of his visit to United States, President Ghani said “Daesh’s characteristic is that it is man-eating. It swallows its competitors.”
“Here, it is not physical presence of people from Syria or Iraq. It is the network effect,” President Ghani added. 2 3
ا Drone strike in Nangarhar kills 4 rebels .pazhwak news
JALALABAD (Pajhwok): At least four militants, including a Taliban’s-designated district chief, were killed in a US drone strike in eastern Nangarhar province, an official said on Saturday.
Maj. Hazrat Hussain Mashriqiwal, provincial police chief, told Pajhwok Afghan News the slain Taliban’s shadowy chief for Achin district was involved in several anti-state activities.
Ulfatullah, a resident of the locality, said the unmanned aircraft left several rebels dead in Morday locality last night.
It merits mention that drone strikes have witnessed surge in recent past targeting Momandara, Nazyan and Achin districts of the province.
22 militants joined peace process in Kundoz.
Khaama press
A group of 22 militants who were fighting against government in northern Kundoz province have joined peace process after efforts being made by Afghanistan’s intelligence agency or National Directorate of Security (NDS).
The group laid down their guns during a special gathering attended by several government officials and local elders in Kundoz.
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Commander of the group after separating ways with insurgents and stepping back from war promised to live in peace.
The group was involved in fighting against government in Gur Tepe, Zarkharid and Logari localities of Kundoz city.
After laying down guns, the group apparently weakened the current resistance of Taliban against security forces in Kundoz city.
A few weeks before hundreds of Taliban rebels attacked security check posts in Imam Sahib District and Gor Tepe and other areas of Kundoz city which engulfed a serious gun battle between the two sides.
Security forces have pushed back Taliban from several areas but the resistance is not ended yet.
1,000 teachers to receive land plots in Paktika
Khaama press
Government is building a city for teachers in Paktika province where 1,000 teachers will receive plots of land to build houses for themselves.
Laying the foundation stone of the teacher’s city on Friday, local officials said that the decision was taken to convince professional teachers to come to this remote province that is in desperate need for professional teachers.
Ataullah Fazli, Deputy Governor of Paktika province told Khaama Press that the city is being built in 500 hectares of land, located close to the main city.
He said that the city will have schools, hospitals, mosques, parks, canalization system and other facilities as needed. All costs of the facilities are being paid by the government and teachers will only need to build their houses.
Kochai Zazai, director of the education department in Paktika told Khaama Press that they are planning more cities for teachers in this province.
He said by providing facilities, more teachers will be convinced to teach in Paktika.
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Nasir Ahmad a teacher and Saif-ur-Rahman a resident of Paktika said that these projects will bring big changes in the educational trend of this province.
EU to lift ban on Afghan airlines by the end of 2015. wadsam.com news
Afghan Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation (MoTCA) announced on Friday that the European Union (EU)P is expected to end ban on Afghan airlines by the end of this year.
The ban on Afghan airlines came in 2010 after Afghanistan failed to comply in time with a EU order to update aviation regulations dating back to 1972 and set up a Civil Aviation Authority.
According to the Ministry officials, Afghanistan has completed majority of the preconditions set by the EU for the Afghan airlines to be removed from EU’s blacklist. The conditions included independent civil aviation administration, approval of law on Afghanistan aviation, standardizing Afghan airlines to meet international standards and hiring international operators to run their fleets.
All state-owned and private airlines of Afghanistan were banned from entering the European Union airspace in 2010 for failing to meet the international safety criteria.
Safi, one of the major private airlines in Afghanistan, faced a major blow as a result of the ban, as it offered flies to Frankfurt, Germany five times a week.
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Suicide blast targets police check post in Kandahar, 5 militants killed
A suicide bomber was killed following an attack on a police check post in southern Kandahar province of Afghanistan earlier today.
According to the local government officials, at least five militants were also killed in the attack which took place around 5;00 am local time.
Provincial governor spokesman Samim Khpolwak said the militants launched the attack by detonated a vehicle packed with explosives near the police check post.
Khpolwak further addded that the incident took place in Arghistan district where a check post of the Afghan National Police and Afghan Local Police was targeted.
He said a gun battle triggered following the explosion which continued for several minutes before the assailants were shot dead.
According to Khpolwak the Afghan security forces did not suffer any casualties in today’s attack.
No group including the Taliban militants has so far claimed responsibility behind the incident.
Kerry: US concerned by China's actions in South China Sea…
US Secretary of State John Kerry says he is concerned by the pace and scope of China's reclamation projects in contested areas of the South China Sea.
He was speaking at a press conference with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing.
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China claims almost the whole of the South China Sea, resulting in overlapping claims with Brunei, Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia.
Mr Wang said that China was determined to safeguard its sovereignty.
Mr Kerry is due to hold a series of meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other top government officials in the Chinese capital.
US officials had been briefing in advance that Mr Kerry was planning to deliver a stern message to China about what is alleged to be its huge land reclamation operation around some of the disputed reefs and islands it controls in the South China Sea.
At the joint press conference, Mr Kerry said that one of the strengths of the modern US China relationship was that the two sides could speak candidly and he said he urged China, through Mr Wang, to take actions to reduce tension.
Ahead of the meeting though, China had already pushed back at any suggestion it should moderate its behaviour, with state media accusing the US of "thinly veiled hypocrisy".
The conflicting claims to island chains in the South China Sea, like the Spratlys and Paracels, go back decades. But the US concern is that new Chinese assets, like military capable runways, will alter the balance of power.
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