The Taliban has arrested four young Afghan men for "promoting alien culture” because they wore outfits like those of the leading male characters in the British historical crime drama Peaky Blinders.
The Taliban announced in August that it had destroyed over 20,000 musical instruments in Afghanistan in the past year. The extremist group considers instruments un-Islamic and permits only unaccompanied singing. In an interview with RFE/RL, an exiled Afghan musician condemned the move.
U.S. authorities say they have arrested an Afghan citizen and charged him with conspiring to conduct a terrorist attack on Election Day in the United States in the name of the Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) extremist group. Experts say the case highlights the growing threat posed by IS-K to the West.
The wife of a French-Afghan journalist held in custody by the Taliban in Afghanistan says she's deeply concerned for his physical and mental well-being. Aleksandra Mostovaja told RFE/RL's Zhakfar Ahmadi that she had spoken to her husband Mortaza Behboudi only once since his detention in January.
Afghan authorities are troubled by a new radio station that has been broadcasting antigovernment propaganda in the eastern province of Nangarhar and seeking recruits for the militant group Islamic State.
