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Afghan Rights Activist, 3 Other Women Slain; 2 Suspects Held

Women march to demand their rights under the Taliban rule during a demonstration near the former Women's Affairs Ministry building in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021.(AP Photo)
Women march to demand their rights under the Taliban rule during a demonstration near the former Women's Affairs Ministry building in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021.(AP Photo)
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Afghan Rights Activist, 3 Other Women Slain; 2 Suspects Held

Women march to demand their rights under the Taliban rule during a demonstration near the former Women's Affairs Ministry building in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021.(AP Photo)
Women march to demand their rights under the Taliban rule during a demonstration near the former Women's Affairs Ministry building in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021.(AP Photo)

Two suspects have been arrested in connection with the killings of a civil society activist and three other women whose bodies were found in a house in northern Afghanistan last week, a senior Taliban security official and a co-worker of the slain activist said Saturday.

The suspects confessed to luring the women to the house in the city of Mazar-e-Sharif, Sayed Khosti, the spokesman of the Taliban-run Interior Ministry, said in a video statement posted on Twitter.

He did not say whether the suspects also confessed to the killings. He did not offer a motive for the killings or identify the victims. The case is being referred to a court, he said, according to The Associated Press.

One of the victims was Frozan Safi, 29, according to a local cultural center where she worked. Safi had been desperate to leave Afghanistan because she feared for her future under restrictive Taliban rule and because she wanted to join her fiance, also an activist, who fled the country previously, said Sayed Azim Sadat, director of the Zainuddin Mohammad Babar Cultural Center.

Safi left her home close to three weeks ago to meet someone who claimed he could help her get out of Afghanistan, Sadat told The AP. Khosti said the suspects confessed during interrogation that they had invited the women to the house.

Some activists have reported receiving phone calls and emails from suspicious people who claimed they could help those wanting to leave Afghanistan. The activists were asked to share their personal details and were invited to come to certain locations, according to posts in reporters' WhatsApp groups.

Since the Taliban overran the capital of Kabul on Aug. 15, tens of thousands of Afghans have left the country. Most managed to get out during a chaotic airlift overseen by U.S. and NATO troops before their departure from Afghanistan at the end of August.

The Taliban have since reassured the international community that they would not block the departure of Afghans and foreign citizens with valid passports and visas. Hundreds of people have left Afghanistan on flights and by land since the end of August.

However, those without passports or visas don't have an immediate departure option.

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Spain Searches for Bodies after Flooding Claims at Least 158 Lives

People work on a mud-covered street with damaged cars in the aftermath of torrential rains that caused flooding, in Paiporta, Spain, October 31, 2024. REUTERS/Eva Manez
People work on a mud-covered street with damaged cars in the aftermath of torrential rains that caused flooding, in Paiporta, Spain, October 31, 2024. REUTERS/Eva Manez
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Spain Searches for Bodies after Flooding Claims at Least 158 Lives

People work on a mud-covered street with damaged cars in the aftermath of torrential rains that caused flooding, in Paiporta, Spain, October 31, 2024. REUTERS/Eva Manez
People work on a mud-covered street with damaged cars in the aftermath of torrential rains that caused flooding, in Paiporta, Spain, October 31, 2024. REUTERS/Eva Manez

Crews searched for bodies in stranded cars and sodden buildings Thursday following monstrous flash floods in Spain that claimed at least 158 lives, with 155 deaths confirmed in one region alone.

More horrors emerged from the debris and ubiquitous layers of mud left by the walls of water that produced Spain's deadliest natural disaster in living memory, The Associated Press reported. Officials said Thursday that 155 people were killed by the floods in the hardest-hit region of Valencia.

The widespread damage recalled the aftermath of a hurricane or tsunami.
Cars were piled on one another like fallen dominoes, uprooted trees, downed power lines and household items all mired in mud that covered streets in dozens of communities in Valencia.

An unknown number of people are still missing and more victims could be found.

“Unfortunately, there are dead people inside some vehicles,” said Spain’s Transport Minister Óscar Puente.
Rushing water turned narrow streets into death traps and spawned rivers that tore through homes and businesses, sweeping away cars, people and everything else in its path. The floods demolished bridges and left roads unrecognizable.

Regional authorities said late Wednesday it seemed no one was left stranded on rooftops or in cars in need of rescue after helicopters had saved some 70 people.
“Our priority is to find the victims and the missing so we can help end the suffering of their families,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said after meeting with regional officials and emergency services in Valencia on Thursday, the first of three official days of mourning.

While the most suffering was inflicted on municipalities near the city of Valencia, the storms unleashed their fury over huge swaths of the south and eastern coast of the Iberian peninsula. Two fatalities were reported in the neighboring Castilla La Mancha region and one in southern Andalusia.

The regional president for Castilla La Mancha, Emilion García-Page, said that at least one Guardia Civil police officer was among several missing people in the town of Letur.

Homes were left without water as far southwest as Malaga in Andalusia, where a high-speed train derailed on Tuesday night although none of the nearly 300 passengers were hurt.

Greenhouses and farms across southern Spain, known as Europe’s garden for its exported produce, were also ruined by heavy rains and flooding. The storms spawned a freak tornado in Valencia and a hail storm that punched holes in cars in Andalusia.

Heavy rains continued Thursday farther north as the Spanish weather agency issued a red alert for several counties in Castellón, in the eastern Valencia region, and for Tarragona in Catalonia. An orange alert was issued for southwest Cadiz.
“This storm front is still with us,” the prime minister said. “Stay home and heed the official recommendation and you will help save lives.”