Gunmen Kill 2 Taliban, 2 Civilians in Eastern Afghan City

Gunmen shot and killed two Taliban fighters and two civilians on Saturday in the eastern city of Jalalabad, a Taliban official said. (AFP)
Gunmen shot and killed two Taliban fighters and two civilians on Saturday in the eastern city of Jalalabad, a Taliban official said. (AFP)
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Gunmen Kill 2 Taliban, 2 Civilians in Eastern Afghan City

Gunmen shot and killed two Taliban fighters and two civilians on Saturday in the eastern city of Jalalabad, a Taliban official said. (AFP)
Gunmen shot and killed two Taliban fighters and two civilians on Saturday in the eastern city of Jalalabad, a Taliban official said. (AFP)

Gunmen shot and killed two Taliban fighters and two civilians on Saturday in the eastern city of Jalalabad, a Taliban official said.

Two other civilians were wounded in the attack, said Mohammad Hanif, a cultural official for the city's surrounding province, Nangarhar.

No one claimed responsibility for the shooting, but the ISIS group, which has a strong presence in Nangarhar and considers the Taliban an enemy, has previously claimed several attacks against them, including several killings in Jalalabad.

The two civilians killed were Sayed Maroof Sadat, a former spokesman for the Nangarhar department of agriculture, and his cousin, Sharif Sadat told the AP. Sadat’s son was among the two wounded, he added.

Since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in mid-August, attacks by ISIS militants against them have increased. The rise has raised the specter of a wider conflict between the two extremist groups.

On Friday, Taliban fighters raided a hideout of the ISIS group north of Kabul, killing and arresting an unspecified number of militants, a Taliban spokesman said. ISIS activity in Nangarhar province has also led to Taliban crackdowns there.



Iran Says 2025 ‘Important Year’ for Nuclear Issue

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi speaks as he meets with his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein, in Baghdad, Iraq, October 13, 2024. (Reuters)
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi speaks as he meets with his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein, in Baghdad, Iraq, October 13, 2024. (Reuters)
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Iran Says 2025 ‘Important Year’ for Nuclear Issue

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi speaks as he meets with his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein, in Baghdad, Iraq, October 13, 2024. (Reuters)
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi speaks as he meets with his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein, in Baghdad, Iraq, October 13, 2024. (Reuters)

Iran, bracing for a possible re-imposition of incoming US president Donald Trump's "maximum pressure" policy, said on Saturday that 2025 would be an important year for its nuclear issue.

Trump in 2018 reneged on a deal struck by his predecessor Barack Obama in 2015 in which Iran agreed to curb uranium enrichment, which can yield material for nuclear weapons, in return for the relaxation of US and UN economic sanctions.

"2025 will be an important year regarding Iran's nuclear issue," Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told reporters in Beijing, adding in remarks aired by Iran's state TV that he had discussed the issue in talks with his Chinese counterpart.

He did not mention Trump by name, however, or spell out how the year might be significant.

Iranian leaders' main concern may be that Trump could empower Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to attack Iran's nuclear sites, while further tightening US sanctions on its crucial oil industry.

The Iranian rial on Saturday hit a new all-time low against the US dollar amid uncertainty about Trump's arrival in the White House on Jan. 20.

The rial plunged to 820,500 to the dollar on the unofficial market, compared to 808,500 rials on Friday, according to Bonbast.com, which reports exchange rates. The bazar360.com website also said the dollar was being sold for about 820,500 rials.

Also facing an inflation rate officially put at about 35%, Iranians seeking to shelter their savings have been buying dollars, other hard currencies, gold or cryptocurrencies, and the rial has dropped about 18% in all since Trump was elected in November.