[AfghanDigest] LAST 24 HOURS- SUICIDE BOMBING JUST OVER PAKISTAN’S BORDER – A military convoy appears to have been targeted by a suicide bomber in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, very near the Afghanistan border. A suicide bomber, riding on a motorcycle drove into the lead vehicle of the convoy and detonated the device. The blast killed 1 non-combatant and wounded an additional 14. It was not clear if the bomber had come from Afghanistan and Police were trying to piece together fragments of documents thought to have been on the motorcycle to determine who may have owned the vehicle or, where it may have come from. No group has yet claimed credit for the attack.
- TALIBAN UNHAPPY WITH CHINA’S DECISION TO EVACUATE NATIONALS – A source within the Taliban said that the Taliban is furious with China’s decision to publicly urge their nationals to leave the country. An unidentified senior advisor to the Minister of the Interior said the announcement makes the Taliban look ‘impotent’ and will damage the credibility of the IEA administration. The source went on to say that China had informed the Taliban leadership of their intention to send their nationals home but that nobody in the leadership thought it would use a public announcement to do so. He finished by saying that it caught everyone ‘flat-footed’. There are rumors that other countries are quietly sending non-essential diplomatic and commercial personnel home. However, these rumors could be misattributing foreigners leaving with normal New Year holiday travel.
- IRAN MAY BE SIGNALLING INCREASED DEPORTATIONS ARE COMING – A meeting on the status of Afghan refugees in Iran concluded yesterday. The meetings took place over the course of two days (12-13 December) and included representatives from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, and the United Nations. A senior Iranian refugee official was quoted as saying, “In this meeting, it was decided that Afghanistan should provide the necessary preparations and conditions for the voluntary return of Afghan refugees to this country.” A source who attended the conference said that discussions in the hallways were focused on a scalable deportation program that would alleviate pressures on the Iranian regime. Specifics of any forthcoming plan were not available.
- TALIBAN FLOGS MORE PEOPLE IN HELMAND AND ZABUL – A total of 27 people were publicly flogged in both Helmand and Zabul for offenses ranging from pre-marital sex to robbery. A source who was present for the floggings in Helmand said that very few residents attended the public display and that Taliban fighters were pushing people into the stadium before the punishments were administered.
No Conflict Reports received.
NEXT 24 HOURS: NO KNOWN THREATS REPORTED