The Afghan Ministry of Defense said that its forces killed more than 40 fighters, whom it described as insurgents who crossed the country's border from neighboring Pakistan, and that it captured dozens of others over the course of three days, amid repeated clashes along the tense border.
The ministry said, in a statement issued late on Tuesday, that the rebels included members of ISIS. She added that she killed 41 people and captured 62 others in Kamdesh district in Nuristan province in the northeast of the country, from Sunday to Tuesday, according to the American Associated Press.
The Ministry of Defense said that the fighters entered Afghanistan “with the support” of Pakistan.
There was no immediate comment from Pakistan, but the Ministry of Information has rejected similar allegations in the past. In recent weeks, both sides have claimed to have killed fighters on the other side. These allegations could not be independently verified.
Tensions are rising between Pakistan and Afghanistan in light of cross-border fighting and Pakistan's bombing of Afghanistan, adding to the long-standing disputes over militant activity along the border.
Five Indonesian prison officials have been suspended after investigators found an apartment complex equipped with air conditioning, big-screen TVs and luxury cars that inmates at a prison near Jakarta were allegedly using.
“We found strong indications that some prisoners were enjoying special facilities not available to ordinary prisoners,” Siyafrida Rachmawati Rasahan, a member of the Indonesian Ombudsman’s Office, said on Tuesday. “We encountered prisoners inside the residential complex, and discovered facilities that looked more like boarding houses, apartments and villas than prison accommodation.”
Investigators also reported finding sofas and dining areas inside these units, in addition to a gym and a golf simulator that were under construction in the complex, according to what the Associated Press reported.
The incident sparked widespread public interest and renewed scrutiny of Indonesian prison conditions, which have long faced allegations that wealthy or influential prisoners can obtain preferential treatment through bribery.
These allegations center around the Cibinong prison in the Bogor region near Jakarta. Investigators from the Ombudsman (public oversight body) found more than 10 housing units separate from regular prison cells during a surprise inspection conducted on September 23, Rasahan said.
Dozens of inmates and prison staff have been questioned as part of the ongoing investigation, said Rudy Setiawan, Inspector General of the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections. “We have suspended five administrative officials - including the director of Sibinong Prison - on suspicion of being responsible for the incident revealed by the Public Oversight Authority,” Setiawan added.
Sibinong Prison, which has an area of four hectares (10 acres), includes various categories of prisoners, including those convicted of corruption cases and other prominent prisoners. The identities of the prisoners who were allegedly staying in this compound have not been officially revealed.
Lawmakers, anti-corruption activists, and watchdog groups urged authorities to identify the prisoners who occupied those facilities, and to reveal whether prison officials accepted payments in exchange for granting these privileges.
Setiawan said the buildings were originally intended as official housing for prison staff, but investigators are examining whether they were converted into unauthorized accommodation for prisoners.
This case is the latest in a series of embarrassments facing the prison system in Indonesia. The system has been plagued for years by overcrowding and corruption, as well as repeated allegations that wealthy prisoners can purchase privileges not available to general prisoners.
Pyongyang denied Seoul's accusation that it was responsible for the explosion of two land mines in the demilitarized zone last week, which injured three South Korean soldiers.
Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said in a statement carried by the Central News Agency, that accusing her country of responsibility for the two explosions in the demilitarized zone between the two Koreas “stoops to a low and dirty level befitting the followers of the Republic of Korea.”
Two explosions on September 21 injured three South Korean soldiers, one of whom had his foot amputated.
The buffer zone is one of the most fortified borders in the world, and previous mine incidents there have escalated tensions between the two Koreas.
Seoul and Pyongyang are still technically at war, as the Korean War (1950-1953) ended with the signing of an armistice agreement, not a peace treaty.
The South Korean Ministry of Defense concluded on Monday that two mines planted by North Korea were likely behind last week's incident.
“This is a blatant violation of the armistice agreement,” Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul said during a session in Parliament on Tuesday. “Since North Korea bears responsibility, we will take the necessary measures.”
But Kim Yo Jong considered that Seoul was “making up” baseless allegations, using it as a pretext for political and military provocation against Pyongyang.
Since Kim Jong Un officially abandoned the idea of reunification with the South in late 2023, the North Korean army has planted new mines in the area and built additional fortifications there.
