KABUL, Afghanistan: A Taliban ambush of a police convoy in western Afghanistan left 20 policemen dead, officials said Monday as minority Shiite residents in the capital, Kabul, took to the streets for the second day to protest the arrest of local militia commander.
The ambush took place on Sunday afternoon in western Farah province, according to Dadullah Qaneh, a member of the provincial council. Four policemen, including the deputy provincial police chief, were wounded in the attack near Lash wa Juwayn district.
The convoy was on its way to the district to introduce newly appointed district police chief when it came under attack, said another council member, Abdul Samad Salehi. The newly appointed chief was also killed, said Qaneh.
The Taliban, who in recent years have taken over nearly half of Afghanistan, claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest in a series of brutal, near-daily Taliban assaults on Afghan military and security forces throughout the country.
The Taliban view the US-backed government in Kabul as a dysfunctional Western puppet and have refused repeated offers to negotiate with it.
Meanwhile, demonstrators blocked all roads in the western section of Kabul for a second day Monday, protesting the arrest of Alipoor, who leads a Shiite militia in the western Ghor province and who goes by one name. It was not clear what he is charged with, but state-allied militias are often accused of extortion and other mafia-like behavior.
On Sunday, hundreds clashed with police during the protest. Three policemen were shot and wounded and another 20 were hit by stones thrown by the protesters, who torched two police checkpoints.
“I can hear sporadic sound of shooting form the area,” said lawmaker Nasrullah Sadeqizada of Monday’s protest. The member of parliament lives near the area and spoke to The Associated Press over the phone.
Mahobullah, another a resident form the area who also uses only one name, said that hundreds of protesters are carrying posters of Alipoor, shouting: “Alipoor is innocent” and demanding that the commander be set free.
During a previous attempt to arrest Alipoor, in June, security forces in Ghor clashed with his followers, leading to the deaths of seven civilians and four policemen.
Taliban ambush police convoy in Afghanistan, killing 20
Taliban ambush police convoy in Afghanistan, killing 20
- Dadullah Qaneh, a member of the provincial council in Farah, says four policemen, including the deputy provincial police chief, were wounded in the attack
- It was the latest in a series of brutal, near-daily Taliban assaults on Afghan military and security forces throughout the country
Trump downplays importance of Russia reportedly sharing intel with Iran to help it hit US targets
- Critics charge that Trump was giving Russia a break that will provide Moscow with badly needed revenue as it looks to keep funding its war machine
- Ukraine, in the four years since it was invaded by Russia, has received US intelligence to help defend against incoming missiles from Russia as well as to help Kyiv hit certain Russian targets
DORAL, Florida: President Donald Trump said Saturday that it was inconsequential if Russia has provided Iran with information to help Tehran target US military personnel and assets in the Middle East as the week-old war rages.
The president dismissed the import of such information-sharing after he attended the dignified transfer for six Army reservists who were killed in a drone strike in Kuwait the day after the US and Israel launched a war on Iran that has unsettled the global economy.
Trump stopped short of confirming reports by The Associated Press and other news outlets that US intelligence officials believe Russia has provided Iran with such targeting information. But if Moscow is passing on such details, he said Iran was getting little out of it.
“If you take a look at what’s happened to Iran in the last week, if they’re getting information, it’s not helping them much,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One as he flew to Miami, where he’s spending the rest of the weekend.
The president also waved off a question about how Russia assisting Iran in such a way might affect his view of the US-Russia relationship.
“They’d say we do it against them,” Trump responded. “Wouldn’t they say that we do it against them?”
Ukraine, in the four years since it was invaded by Russia, has received US intelligence to help defend against incoming missiles from Russia as well as to help Kyiv hit certain Russian targets.
Downplaying the significance of Russia handing off battlespace intelligence to Iran came after the US Treasury Department announced earlier this week that it was temporarily allowing India to keep buying crude oil and petroleum products from Russia for a month, until April 4.
The administration decision to grant the world’s most populous country a temporary exemption faced bipartisan blowback. Critics charge that Trump was giving Russia a break that will provide Moscow with badly needed revenue as it looks to keep funding its war machine.
Rep. Don Bacon, R-Nebraska, condemned the move, saying in a post on X that “weakness toward Russia is appalling.”
Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., in his own X post directed at Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, also decried the administration’s decision.
“Reverse your decision to lift oil sanctions on Russia. It is traitorous conduct for you to help Russia,” Lieu said. “Meanwhile, Russia is assisting Iran in targeting American troops.”
Trump has decided to give India leeway on oil purchases from Russia as global oil prices surge and investors across sectors worry about how long the Iran war will last.
The waiver for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government followed Trump announcing weeks ago that he was cutting tariffs on India after their officials agreed to reduce its reliance on cheap Russian crude.
India has taken advantage of reduced Russian oil prices as much of the world has sought to isolate Moscow for its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The price of oil has surged higher and shows no signs of halting a week into a war that the US and Israel launched and has widened through the Middle East as Tehran strikes back. Ships that carry roughly 20 million barrels of oil a day are unable to safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Arabian Gulf that is bordered on its north side by Iran.
The shipping disruption and damage to key Middle East oil and gas facilities has interrupted supplies from some of the world’s largest oil producers.
Asked whether he was willing to take other steps to ease oil prices, Trump said that “if there were some, I would do it, just to take a little of the pressure off.”
He appeared Saturday to wave off, at least for now, the possibility of tapping the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve, saying the US has a “lot of oil.”
The reserve — a supply of oil that the US government can tap in case of emergencies — held more than 415 million barrels as of the end of last month, up from about 395 million barrels at this time in 2025. In total, when full, the SPR can hold more than 700 million barrels.
“We’ve got a lot of oil. Our country has a tremendous amount,” Trump said. “There’s a lot of oil out there. That’ll get healed very quickly.”
