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What starts in Afghanistan does not stay in Afghanistan: China, India, and Iran grapple with the fallout
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Taliban and Al Qaeda: Putting a fox in charge of the chicken coop?
By James M. Dorsey Abu Omar Khorasani was taken from Kabul’s Pul-i-Charkhi prison and unceremoniously shot . The first and only person to have been executed since the Taliban gained full control of Afghanistan, Mr. Khorasani was the head of the Islamic State in South Asia until he was arrested by government forces last year. The precise circumstances of his execution are not known. His killing was, however, at least in part designed to send a message to the international community, and particularly Afghanistan’s neighbours, including China and Iran, as well as Russia, Central Asia’s security overlord. The message was that the Taliban were cracking down on foreign jihadists and militants in Afghanistan. Mr. Khorasani was an easy symbol. The Taliban and the Islamic State, whose ranks of foreigners are primarily populated by Pakistanis and a sprinkling of Central Asians, Uighurs, Russians, Turks, Iranians, Indonesians, Indians, and Frenchmen, have long been adversarial. The Is
Hot air messaging: Iran floats reports of imminent Shanghai Cooperation Organization membership
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