Heavy Rains Set Off Flash Floods, Killing 33 People in Afghanistan

 Afghan people wait to cross a flooded area in Spin Boldak district of Kandahar province on April 13, 2024, after a flash flood following a heavy rainfall. (AFP)
Afghan people wait to cross a flooded area in Spin Boldak district of Kandahar province on April 13, 2024, after a flash flood following a heavy rainfall. (AFP)
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Heavy Rains Set Off Flash Floods, Killing 33 People in Afghanistan

 Afghan people wait to cross a flooded area in Spin Boldak district of Kandahar province on April 13, 2024, after a flash flood following a heavy rainfall. (AFP)
Afghan people wait to cross a flooded area in Spin Boldak district of Kandahar province on April 13, 2024, after a flash flood following a heavy rainfall. (AFP)

Heavy flooding from seasonal rains in Afghanistan has killed at least 33 people and injured 27 others in three days, a Taliban spokesman said Sunday.

Abdullah Janan Saiq, the Taliban’s spokesman for the State Ministry for Natural Disaster Management, said Sunday that flash floods hit the capital, Kabul, and several other provinces across the country.

He added more than 600 houses were either partially or completely destroyed while around 200 livestock perished.

The flooding also damaged around 800 hectares of agricultural land, and more than 85 kilometers (53 miles) of roads, Saiq said.

Western Farah, Herat, southern Zabul and Kandahar are among the provinces that suffered the most damage, he added.

The weather department has warned that more rain is expected in the coming days in most of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces.



Iran Ministry Protests over Arrests in US of its Nationals

The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
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Iran Ministry Protests over Arrests in US of its Nationals

The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

Iran has summoned the Swiss ambassador in Tehran, who represents US interests in the country, and a senior Italian diplomat over the arrest by the US of two Iranian nationals this week, Iranian media reported on Saturday.

US prosecutors charged the two men on Monday with illegally exporting sensitive technology to Iran that they said was used in a January drone attack in Jordan that killed three US service members, Reuters reported.

The US blamed Iran-backed militants for the attack. Iran said at the time it was not involved.

Federal prosecutors in Boston identified the men as Mohammad Abedini, the co-founder of an Iranian-based company, and Mahdi Sadeghi, an employee of Massachusetts-based semiconductor manufacturer Analog Devices.

Abedini, a resident of both Switzerland and Iran, was arrested in Italy at the request of the US government. Sadeghi, an Iranian-born naturalized US citizen, lives in Natick, Massachusetts.

“We consider these arrests in violation of international law,” Iranian media quoted the foreign ministry as saying, adding that the Swiss ambassador and the Italian charge d'affaires were asked to pass on Iran’s protest.