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Ministry of defense
PAO
Media Analysis section
Media Analysis Executive Summary for
1-April– 2015
15 Taliban Insurgents Held in Maidan Wardak
Tolo news
At least 15 Taliban insurgents including a son of Mullah Sher, a Taliban commander, were arrested in a joint operation of Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) on Monday in central Maidan Wardak province, local officials said.
The operation was conducted in the Jang-e-Payen and Jang-e-Bala areas of Sayed Abad district, the Police Chief Mohammad Khalil Andarabi said.
"We conducted the operation to clear the area from the insurgents who killed a number of civilians last week on the Kabul-Ghazni highway. And we have arrested some of them," Andarabi said.
He asked the residents of Sayed Abad to not allow the insurgents take shelter in their district.
Mullah Sher is a Taliban commander who was involved in the shooting of 13 civilians last week along the Kabul-Ghazni highway. However, he is not arrested yet but his son is under the custody of security forces.
Seven family members killed in landmine explosion in Ghazni
Khaama press
Seven family members have been killed in a landmine explosion in central Ghazni province.
Shafiq Nang Sapay, spokesman for the acting governor of Ghazni province toldKhaama Presson Tuesday that the incident took place in Alizai area of Andar District yesterday.
He said a Flying Coach model vehicle in which the family was travelling ran over a landmine leaving all seven passengers of the vehicle dead.
He added that the dead included three children, three women and a man.
Sapay saidthat security agencies have began an investigation into the incident but have not made any arrest so far.
No group has claimed responsibility for the explosion.
Andar located in the eastern part of the province is one of the restive districts of Ghazni.
About two weeks before another vehicle ran over a landmine in Gandir area of Andar which left two women dead and five others including a newborn child wounded.
Uzbek militants in Afghanistan pledge allegiance to ISIS in beheading video
Khaama press
The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) militant group has released a new video which purportedly shows the beheading of an Afghan soldier while the group pledges allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group.
The group is actively operating in northern provinces of Afghanistan and was previously operating under the shadow of the Taliban group.
However, a militant identified as Sadullah Urgenji appears in the video and distances the group from the Taliban group insisting that the Taliban supreme leader Mullah Omar is no longer viewed as their leader, Radio Free Europe (RFE) reported.
Urgenji says Mullah Omar has not been seen for some 13 years and, “according to Shari’a,” can no longer be leader.
Urgenji ALSO said his group was recognizing the authority of the Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of the Islamic State group.
According to Urgenji the Afghan soldier was beheaded since numerous female IMU members were captured by the Afghan security forces in Faryab province recently.
He said a group of 30 Afghan soldiers have been taken hostage by Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan militants in retaliation for the detention of the female IMU members.
Urgenji warned that more Afghan soldiers will be beheaded unless the Afghan government does not consider their demand to swap prisoners.
The Afghan government officials have not commented regarding the report so far.
An exhibition of Afghanistan’s economic achievements to be held in Dushanbe
Wadsam news
A delegation of the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI) met with the Tajikistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries representatives in Dushanbe to discuss expansion of trade and economic cooperation between the two nations.
The two parties reportedly reached an agreement on holding an exhibition of economic achievements of Afghanistan in Dushanbe in August of this year.
According to reports, as many as 85 Afghan enterprises are currently operating in Tajikistan.
Last year, the trade between Afghanistan and Tajikistan was valued at USD 106mn, which consisted of USD 54mn worth of exports from Tajikistan to Afghanistan and Tajikistan’s USD 52mn worth of imports from Afghanistan.
Hours Before Deadline, Gaps Remain in Iran Nuclear Talks
VOA news
Negotiations on curbing Iran's nuclear program entered their final hours Tuesday before a self-imposed midnight deadline, with teams from Iran and a group of six world powers trying to resolve 18 months of talks into the outline of a comprehensive agreement.
Officials in Lausanne, Switzerland, expressed a mix of hope and caution about the work that remained to overcome differences on pieces such as how long the deal should last, how quickly economic sanctions against Iran should be lifted, and what to do if Iran violates the terms.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said "some difficult issues" remain, while Iran's chief negotiator, Abbas Aragchi, said a deal could be reached perhaps Tuesday or Wednesday.
Iran and the group that includes Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany have a history of extending their deadlines, having done so twice since agreeing to an interim nuclear deal in November 2013.
But U.S. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said Monday that the two sides are focused on keeping the Tuesday deadline.
"It has to mean something and the decisions don't get easier after March 31," Harf said.
A framework agreement would be followed by additional negotiations to craft the final deal by the end of June.
The United Nations and Western governments have imposed multiple rounds of sanctions demanding Iran suspend enrichment activity and other aspects of its nuclear program. Iran wants those to be lifted under the deal. In exchange, the group of world powers wants to ensure Iran's nuclear program is peaceful, and in case Iran does work to develop a weapon, to leave the country no closer than a year away from doing so in order to have time to respond.
Iran has long denied wanting to build nuclear weapons and insists its program is solely for civilian purposes.
FBI: Fatal Shooting Near NSA 'Not Related to Terrorism'
VOA news
One person was killed and another injured Monday when a car with two people inside tried to ram security gates near the U.S. National Security Agency outside Washington.
The National Security Agency said security officials shot at a vehicle carrying two men dressed as women after the driver accelerated toward a police car guarding the Fort Meade complex, where the intelligence agency is headquartered.
An occupant of the rogue vehicle died at the scene. Another was transported to a local hospital, as was a police officer with non-life-threatening injuries.
Aerial images show two damaged sports utility vehicles near a guard gate - including one with NSA police markings.
The FBI, which is leading the investigation, tells VOA it does not believe the incident is "related to terrorism."
"The incident has been contained and is under investigation," said Colonel Brian Foley, garrison commander at Fort Meade, the military compound where the NSA and several other federal agencies are based. "The residents, service members and civilian employees on the installation are safe."
NSA security personnel blocked the car from entering the premises, Foley added.
"The shooting scene is contained and we do not believe it is related to terrorism. ... We are working with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Maryland to determine if federal charges are warranted," a spokeswoman for the FBI Baltimore field office said in an emailed statement.
U.S President Barack Obama has been briefed on the incident, a White House spokesman said.
The National Security Agency, a pillar of the United States intelligence program, is based at the Fort George Meade U.S. Army base about 40 kilometers (24 miles) northeast of Washington, D.C, in the U.S. state of Maryland.
The military installation is home to other federal agencies, including Defense Informations Systems Agency and U.S. Cyber Command.
Approximately 29,000 civilian employees and 11,000 military personnel work at the base, according to Fort Meade's website.
Asia up on Wall St. rally and China hopes, euro sags on Greece
(Reuters) - Asian stocks rose across the board on Tuesday after a rally on Wall Street and steps byChinato shore up its economy boosted risk appetite, while Greek debt worries again haunted the sagging euro.
Spreadbetters expected European shares to pull back slightly after Monday's rise, calling for Britain's FTSE.FTSE, Germany's DAX.GDAXIand France's CAC.FCHIto open a touch lower.
Tracking overnight gains in U.S. stocks, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was up 0.5 percent. The index was on track for a 4 percent gain this quarter.
Australian shares .AXJO rose 0.9 percent. Bourses in South Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia rose as well. Japan'sNikkei.N225bucked the trend and lost 0.2 percent.
The often volatile Shanghai Composite Index.SSECfollowed up Monday's rally, scaling seven-year highs on hopes for more infrastructure spending and monetary easing. The index led its Asian peers with a 17 percent gain this quarter.
The Dow.DJIand S&P 500.SPXboth climbed more than 1 percent Monday with sentiment buoyed by robust Chinese equities.
After unveiling details over the weekend for a modern "Silk Road" that could pump tens of billions of dollars into investment,Chinalate on Monday announced steps to ease housing taxes and lending rules to prop up sliding house prices that have threatened economic growth.
"Tax cuts, reductions to down payments on second homes, along with further moves to (reserve) requirement ratios have all been introduced to assist China's slowing housing sector and will be a medium-term positive in the global growth story," Evan Lucas, market strategist at IG in Melbourne, said in a note to clients.
Chinese central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan's recent warning thatChinaneeds to be vigilant for signs of deflation have also helped fuel hopes for more easing.
"We believe policymakers are increasingly concerned about
weakening growth and inflation, and will deploy more monetary and fiscal easing measures in the coming weeks," economists at HSBC said.
Incurrencies, the euro was down 0.4 percent at $1.0788EUR=, adding to an overnight loss of 0.5 percent. The euro looked to lose about 10 percent this quarter versus the dollar.
The common currency fell against the dollar on worries whetherGreececan secure aid before it runs out of cash in three weeks.Germany, Greece's biggest creditor, demanded that it show more commitment to reform while Athens said it cannot make an "unconditional" agreement with lenders.
The dollar was little changed at 120.20 yenJPY=after surging from an overnight low of 119.105. The greenback was poised for a modest 0.4 percent rise this quarter.
The Australian dollar found little support from prospects of more stimulus and monetary easing fromChina, Australia's key trading partner.
The Aussie lost 0.4 percent to $0.7626AUD=D4after skidding more than one percent overnight amid persistent expectations of further interest rate cuts by the Reserve Bank ofAustralia.
U.S. crudeextended losses as the Mar. 31 deadline loomed forIranand six world powers negotiating a deal for Tehran's nuclear program.
If agreement to end Western sanctions is reached OPEC-memberIranwould be able to ship more crude into an already saturated market. [O/R]
U.S.crudewas down 1.3 percent at $48.06 per barrel.
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