Taliban Wages Psychological Warfare With Targeted Assassinations: Experts

Contact Your Elected Officials

NEW DELHI—Since launching its offensive in April, the Taliban has been targeting journalists, pilots, artists, and senior government officials for assassinations more frequently, as part of an asymmetric strategy that experts call psychological warfare.

The Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction (SIGAR), a U.S. watchdog in Afghanistan, in its quarterly report to Congress beginning from June, expressed concern regarding the targeted assassinations of Afghan pilots when they’re off-base.

“Another worrisome development concerning AAF aircrew was a media report that the Taliban is deliberately targeting Afghan pilots. According to Reuters, at least seven Afghan pilots have been assassinated off-base in recent months,” SIGAR stated in the July 30 report (pdf).

Enayat Najafizada, founder and CEO of the Kabul-based Afghan Institute of War and Peace Studies, told The Epoch Times that the Taliban, in its bid to circle and pressurize the government at Kabul, has already followed a strategy of taking over the districts first, followed by the provincial capitals. Targeted assassinations prolong and intensify this strategy of placing pressure on the government.

“Their targets are soft. They target women, individuals from different sectors. For instance, journalists, civil society activists. The day before yesterday, they killed the government’s media Information Center’s Director. So by targeting key individuals who are very popular, they want to demoralize the general public,” Najafizada said.

A Kabul-based source told The Epoch Times, on condition of anonymity, that in the month of June alone, 51 targeted killings by “unknown men” were reported around the country.

The Taliban hasn’t been taking credit for most of the targeted killings, which are of civilians, since the U.S.–Taliban peace deal was signed in February 2020. The deal limits the kind of attacks the terrorists can conduct, and the Taliban strategy of not taking credit for the assassinations is linked to the peace-talk diplomacy, according to a report in January by Gandhara.

Members of civil society, journalists, and government officials in large cities such as Herat, Kabul, and Mazare Sharif are afraid of being targeted by the Taliban, and the organization’s campaign of terror and targeted assassinations will continue in the coming months, according to Najafizada.

The Taliban has also warned that more targeted attacks will be carried out against government leaders.

By Venus Upadhayaya

Read Full Article on TheEpochTimes.com

The Thinking Conservative
The Thinking Conservativehttps://www.thethinkingconservative.com/
The goal of THE THINKING CONSERVATIVE is to help us educate ourselves on conservative topics of importance to our freedom and our pursuit of happiness. We do this by sharing conservative opinions on all kinds of subjects, from all types of people, and all kinds of media, in a way that will challenge our perceptions and help us to make educated choices.

Transitioning from Regulatory Sclerosis to Arbitrary State Capitalism

The Trump administration is moving from reducing the size and regulatory power of the federal government to the formation of State Capitalism.

Gen Z and Crystallized Intelligence

We’ve created a new malaise: media fatigue and information overload, or “data smog,” which has sharply accelerated in recent years.

Meet the Fairy From Hell in Charge of Vaccines at CDC Until Last Week

Picture the creepiest leather-daddy gimp at your local Pride™ festival. That’s this guy, Demetre Daskalakis, who ran the entire federal govt vaccine program.

The Clinton-Epstein Connection We Did Not Know

One attorney's inside info about D.C. and the relationship the Clinton’s had with the late child sex pedophile Jeffrey Epstein

Faith under fire

Over half of history’s 70M Christian martyrs were killed in the 20th century, amid totalitarian regimes, purges, and ethnic violence.

Unqualified Secret Service Snipers Protected President, Inspector General Finds

Secret Service snipers who worked at events involving President Biden in 2024 failed to complete annual requirements showing they can hit targets.

Grand Jury Declines to Indict Woman Who Threatened Trump

A grand jury has declined to indict a woman who threatened President Donald Trump on social media, her lawyers said on Sept. 1.

Trump Admin Violated Law With Troop Deployment in LA, Judge Rules

A federal judge in California has ruled that the Trump administration unlawfully used Marines and National Guard troops in Los Angeles.

Kentucky Ends In-State College Tuition for Illegal Immigrants After DOJ Lawsuit

Kentucky agreed to end a policy that had allowed illegal immigrants to access in-state college tuition rates, following a lawsuit by the DOJ.

Trump Announces Space Command Moving to Alabama

“I am thrilled to report that the U.S. Space Command headquarters will move to beautiful Huntsville, Alabama,” President Trump said.

Trump Takes Aim at Crime in Chicago After Dozens Shot Over Weekend

President Trump said that he will “soon” take actions to deal with crime in Chicago, weeks after he sent National Guard troops to Washington, D.C.

Trump Says India Offered Zero Tariffs After Decades of ‘One-Sided’ Trade

President Trump said India offered to cut tariffs on U.S. goods to zero, calling it a long-overdue fix for decades of one-sided trade.

Trump Says He Will Issue Executive Order to Require Voter ID

“Voter I.D. Must Be Part of Every Single Vote. No exceptions!” Trump wrote on a post on Truth Social. “I Will Be Doing An Executive Order To That End!!!”
spot_img

Related Articles

Popular Categories

MAGA Business Central