Afghanistan
Tuesday 19 January 2021
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Iran's Foreign Ministry “rejected the false news of the presence of al-Qaida members in Iran and refused certain media reports claiming that one official of the terrorist group was assassinated in Iran.”
Sources since mid-October have reported the likely assassination of al-Qaida’s No. 2 leader, Abu Muhammad al-Masri, in Tehran, where he was living under an alias. -
"Based on reliable information, planes operated by the NATO and the United States transport these illicit drugs in our neighboring country.”
NATO has been actively engaged in counter-drug trafficking operations in Afghanistan. The Iranians provided no evidence or identifiable sources for their claims, nor did the Russians -- the original source of the claim. -
“It has been reported that Mike de Andrea [sic] responsible for the assassination of the martyr Major General Qassem Soleimani was killed in the accident of the American plane that was shot down in Afghanistan. He is the most prominent figure of the CIA intelligence in the region.”
The Pentagon retrieved the remains of the two officers killed in the Jan. 27 crash. Neither was CIA Iran chief Michael D’Andrea. Afghanistan, NATO and the U.S. all said the plane was not shot down. -
“You will be judged by God, then you will know what kind of a man he was. Haj Qassem Soleimani, he was a man who prayed all night and fasted all day. He only fights in a place where the enemies of God and humans are, he never lifted his hand against any Muslim, he never lifted a weapon in the face of any Muslim.”
As a general of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force, Soleimani waged war against Muslims of various sects in several countries. -
“The Americans are using ISIS as a scarecrow. At the same time they are feeding ISIS, encourage them, protect ISIS leaders and help them move from one area to another.”
The United States has declared the self-proclaimed “Islamic State” a terrorist organization. There is abundant evidence the U.S. has played a leading role in defeating the group, including killing its leaders and significantly reducing of its numbers. -
"Actually, it doesn’t exist anymore. As a military and political organization, the Islamic State has been destroyed both in Syria and Iraq. The units and sleeper cells that still remain don’t pose a threat as they are unlikely to revive IS. The killing of al-Baghdadi is more important as a symbol indicating the group’s defeat.”
While Islamic State (IS) has suffered setbacks in Iraq and Syria, there is strong evidence that the terrorist group might be recovering, especially after the escape of IS prisoners from detention in Syria. IS also has active movements throughout the world. -
“The increase in the number of direct participants and countries that allegedly took part in this ‘operation’, as well as conflicting information about the details of how it was conducted, generates reasonable questions and doubts about its reality, and even more so about its success.”
Russia responded to the U.S. operation that killed al-Baghdadi with a disinformation campaign aimed at raising doubts about the success of the operation or whether it took place at all. However, there is evidence the U.S. conducted the operation and that al-Baghdadi was killed as a result. -
“Muslim man in India killed by mob after being accused of cow slaughter.”
Despite Yeni Safak’s headline, the article, written by Reuters, indicated the slain man was not a Muslim. -
“In 2009, independent research conducted by a team of international scientists discovered, after analyzing some dust samples from the debris in the area where the skyscrapers collapsed, that they all contained a red layer of active thermitic material, incorporating nanotechnology.”
The claim was debunked years ago. The “research” cited in the article did not actually find “thermitic material,” and thermite and similar compounds are not used – and, in fact, cannot be used -- in controlled demolitions. -
“The U.S. claims that its armed forces are fighting terrorism and drug trafficking in that country (Afghanistan). But UN data says otherwise. Since the beginning of this year alone, around 400 civilians have died through the fault of the U.S. troops and the forces of official Kabul enlisted by them. That is significantly more than the deaths at the hands of the Taliban, to whom were attributed 227 victims.”
The latest UN report on Afghanistan shows an overall increase in civilian casualties by pro-government forces. However, attributing all the civilian deaths at the hands of pro-government forces to the U.S. military is wrong. U.S. forces are part of an international coalition of 39 nations. -
“These [Freedom House] reports are politically motivated and are used as an additional element of pressure on the country … they made a bogeyman out of Russia and constantly throw in negative information.”
Russian officials label reports by independent watchdog groups as politically motivated. But Freedom House’s report finds a steady decline in freedom around the world over the last 13 years, and raises the alarm particularly about threats to democracy in the United States. -
“Objectively, for the Americans contacts with ISIL are more interesting… – for spreading sabotage actions beyond the pales of Afghanistan. On the border with Turkmenistan there is a major offensive is being cooked by Islamic State and allied groups. That is where they may surface.”
The Afghan Special Forces confirmed they conducted the operation arresting Islamic State members and transferring them under the Afghan National Directorate of Security control. The U.S. was not involved.