(1/8) On the morning of April 19, a series of explosions targeted educational institutions in Dasht-e-Barchi, #Kabul - an area with a predominantly #Hazara Shia population.
✅AW verified the attack at Abdul Rahim Shahid High School
🗓️ April 19
📍Dasht-e Barchi, Kabul
(2/8) The next day, an explosion occurred at the front of Kandahari market in Kabul, where a Taliban-operated vehicle was targeted.
ISKP claimed the attack.
✅AW verified the incident
📅April 20
🕐Shortly after noon
📍Qua-e Markaz, Kabul
(3/8) On April 21 a large explosion took place at the Sih Dokan mosque in PD3, Mazar-i-Sharif.
'Sih Dokan' is a Shia mosque predominantly frequented by #ShiaHazaras.
ISKP claimed the attack.
✅AW verified the incident
📅April 21
🕐Between 1200-1300
📍Mazar-i-Sharif
(4/8) Following the attack in #MazariSharif, an explosion was reported in the ‘Sardawar’ neighbourhood in #Kunduz city.
ISKP again claimed the attack.
✅AW verified the incident
📅April 21
📍Kunduz
(5/8) On the same day, there were reports of further blasts in #Kabul and #Nangarhar.
Both were claimed by ISKP.
AW are working to verify these incidents.
(6/8) More detail of the attacks up to this point, here:
1/ On the evening of Feb 8, at least several hundred people gathered at #Kabul International Airport after rumours circulated of flights to Turkey being arranged for Afghans to support the earthquake relief effort, with all visa requirements being waived.
2/ On Feb 19, the Taliban’s GDI released a video showing the ‘confession’ of two #Afghan satirists, Imran Ahmadzai and Sadullah Didan, who were accused of spreading the rumours of the flights to #Turkey, as well as anti-regime propaganda.
3/ AW found three posts by Ahmadzai on Feb 8, when the rush to the airport was underway, and he pretended to be among the crowds. All the posts generated a reasonable level of engagement but not at a level likely to have been a major catalyst to the rumours of flights to #Turkey.
🚨 #OSINT | Iranian Border Guard Detained by the Taliban
AW investigators geolocated a video showing the moment an Iranian border guard was detained by the Taliban near Abresham bridge in #Nimruz province.
🧵1/4
🗓️ Feb 27, 2023
🌆 Nimruz, #Afghanistan
📍 30.965234, 61.823105
From the insignia on the guard's uniform, it is evident he is a Sergeant first class of the Iranian Military's Ground Forces. 2/4
🗓️ Feb 27, 2023
🌆 Near Abresham Bridge, Nimruz, #Afghanistan
📍 30.965234, 61.823105
Images of the guard ‘in captivity’ surfaced on social media after his alleged arrest - the man photographed can be seen wearing the same dark t-shirt with yellow lettering underneath his uniform. 3/4
🗓️ Feb 27, 2023
🌆 Near Abresham Bridge, Nimruz, #Afghanistan
On Feb 13, explosions and gunfire were reported in the Kart-e-Naw area (PD8) of #Kabul city.
The Taliban’s GDI claimed that three ISKP members were killed and one captured as a result of the special operation. (1/5)
The GDI released a video of the alleged ISKP raid on Feb 14, which showed various aerial views of the area. Tolo News published a video showing the damage to the residence after the raid. (2/5)
AW used the videos to geolocate the property in an upscale area of Kart-e-Naw:
The video shared by the GDI shows Taliban forces actively firing on the alleged ISKP hideout, with no visible return fire. (3/5)
Towards the end of the confrontation, the Taliban threw an explosive device into the building, collapsing the entire front section:
🧵The Taliban and Twitter Blue subscriptions | #OSINT
Afghan Witness found 13 Taliban-linked accounts with the blue tick, though several have since lost their mark of verification. (1/4)
On January 6, Afghan Witness detected that Hedayatullah Hedayat, the Taliban Head of Access to the Information Department, and 12 other #Taliban-linked accounts, had signed up for the Twitter Blue service. (2/4)
On January 10, Mobeen Khan, a pro-Taliban social media activist and former spokesperson for the Kabul police, highlighted to his followers that Afghan phone numbers can now be used as a means of verification when creating a new #Twitter account. (3/4)
Today marks 500 days since the Taliban closed secondary schools for Afghanistan's teenage girls.
🧵This thread highlights reports and stories regarding secondary school students in #Afghanistan. (1/6)
(2/6) On March 23, 2022, the Taliban's U-turn to reopen girls' secondary #schools sparked outrage, with girls turned away at school gates. Videos of their distress spread rapidly online.
(3/6) Girls' secondary schools in #Afghanistan have been closed for 500 days, but teenage girls, with the help of international volunteers led by Angela Ghayour, are finding alternative ways to learn.
🧵One year on: Afghanistan’s education sector under the Taliban, a thread
Since the #Taliban’s return last August, the group has demonstrated determination to regulate, shape, and control access to #education in #Afghanistan…
The Taliban’s U-turn on girls’ secondary #schools in March attracted widespread condemnation.
The Ministry of #Education announced that the schools would remain closed until a policy was formulated in accordance with “Sharia and #Afghan” culture...
#OSINT | A video published by Aamaj News on March 23 shows girls arriving and gathering outside Zulaikha Female High School in #Kabul whilst Taliban men stood at the door, preventing them from entering: