Afghanistan radio station shut by Taliban for employing women

The head of a local radio station in eastern Afghanistan says it was shut down after repeated threats from the area’s Taliban commander. Ramez Azimi, director of the Samaa station in the city of Ghazni, the capital of eastern Ghazni province, says he received phone calls as well as written warning notes purportedly from the Taliban commander.

Azimi says the Taliban, who control several districts in Ghazni province, threatened them because three of the station’s 16 employees are women. The Taliban are against women’s rights to education and work.

He told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the station was closed four days ago. It was its third closure in the past four years.

Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, denied the insurgents had threatened Samaa.

Last week, a US service member was killed in action in Afghanistan, NATO said, in a Taliban-claimed attack that comes as America tries to forge a peace deal with the insurgents.

The soldier is the 10^th member of the US military to be killed this year—compared to 12 in all of 2018.

“The name of the service member killed in action is being withheld until 24 hours after notification of next of kin is complete,” Resolute Support, the US-led NATO mission in Afghanistan, said in a statement.

NATO did not provide any details about the incident for which the Taliban claimed responsibility.

They said they had blown up an “American tank” in the Sayed Abad district of Wardak province. The US does not use tanks in Afghanistan.

The insurgents, who frequently exaggerate claims, said two US “invaders” were killed and three wounded.

Two US troops were killed in the same area last month in another Taliban-claimed attack, while the US and Afghan forces continue to conduct daily operations against the insurgents.