Latest news with #Islam Qala
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bus carrying Afghans deported from Iran crashes, killing dozens
A bus carrying Afghans recently deported from Iran crashed and burst into flames Tuesday, killing dozens of men, women and children. At least 76 people were killed after a collision on a highway in the city of Herat, governor spokesperson Mufti Mohammad Yousuf Saeedi told CNN. The bus, which had departed from Islam Qala, a town near Afghanistan-Iran border, was heading toward capital Kabul, when it crashed, Saeedi said. Video from the site shows the bus engulfed in flames with thick plumes of smoke billowing into the sky. Photos show the vehicle charred as people gather around it. The burned bodies of the passengers were transferred to a provincial hospital, according to Ahmadullah Muttaqi, Director of the Information and Culture Department in Herat Province. At least 17 children were killed in the crash, Muttaqi said. The devastating crash comes as Iran has intensified the deportation of undocumented Afghan migrants. Tehran had previously declared its intention to remove the millions of undocumented Afghans who carry out lower-paid labor across Iran, often in tough conditions. The deportations – part of a program Iran announced in March – radically increased in the days after Iran's conflict with Israel, fueled by unsubstantiated claims that Afghans had spied for Israel prior to and during the attacks. More than half a million Afghans were expelled from Iran in the 16 days after its conflict with Israel ended in June, according to the United Nations, in what may be one of the largest forced movements of population this decade. Many Afghans have lived for years in Iran, often in semi-permanent conditions despite lacking documentation. The abrupt rise in deportations and claims of Afghans spying attracted international condemnation.
CNN
a day ago
- Politics
- CNN
Bus carrying Afghans deported from Iran crashes, killing dozens
A bus carrying Afghans recently deported from Iran crashed and burst into flames Tuesday, killing dozens of men, women and children. At least 76 people were killed after a collision on a highway in the city of Herat, governor spokesperson Mufti Mohammad Yousuf Saeedi told CNN. The bus, which had departed from Islam Qala, a town near Afghanistan-Iran border, was heading toward capital Kabul, when it crashed, Saeedi said. Video from the site shows the bus engulfed in flames with thick plumes of smoke billowing into the sky. Photos show the vehicle charred as people gather around it. The burned bodies of the passengers were transferred to a provincial hospital, according to Ahmadullah Muttaqi, Director of the Information and Culture Department in Herat Province. At least 17 children were killed in the crash, Muttaqi said. The devastating crash comes as Iran has intensified the deportation of undocumented Afghan migrants. Tehran had previously declared its intention to remove the millions of undocumented Afghans who carry out lower-paid labor across Iran, often in tough conditions. The deportations – part of a program Iran announced in March – radically increased in the days after Iran's conflict with Israel, fueled by unsubstantiated claims that Afghans had spied for Israel prior to and during the attacks. More than half a million Afghans were expelled from Iran in the 16 days after its conflict with Israel ended in June, according to the United Nations, in what may be one of the largest forced movements of population this decade. Many Afghans have lived for years in Iran, often in semi-permanent conditions despite lacking documentation. The abrupt rise in deportations and claims of Afghans spying attracted international condemnation.
CNN
a day ago
- Politics
- CNN
Bus carrying Afghans deported from Iran crashes, killing dozens
A bus carrying Afghans recently deported from Iran crashed and burst into flames Tuesday, killing dozens of men, women and children. At least 76 people were killed after a collision on a highway in the city of Herat, governor spokesperson Mufti Mohammad Yousuf Saeedi told CNN. The bus, which had departed from Islam Qala, a town near Afghanistan-Iran border, was heading toward capital Kabul, when it crashed, Saeedi said. Video from the site shows the bus engulfed in flames with thick plumes of smoke billowing into the sky. Photos show the vehicle charred as people gather around it. The burned bodies of the passengers were transferred to a provincial hospital, according to Ahmadullah Muttaqi, Director of the Information and Culture Department in Herat Province. At least 17 children were killed in the crash, Muttaqi said. The devastating crash comes as Iran has intensified the deportation of undocumented Afghan migrants. Tehran had previously declared its intention to remove the millions of undocumented Afghans who carry out lower-paid labor across Iran, often in tough conditions. The deportations – part of a program Iran announced in March – radically increased in the days after Iran's conflict with Israel, fueled by unsubstantiated claims that Afghans had spied for Israel prior to and during the attacks. More than half a million Afghans were expelled from Iran in the 16 days after its conflict with Israel ended in June, according to the United Nations, in what may be one of the largest forced movements of population this decade. Many Afghans have lived for years in Iran, often in semi-permanent conditions despite lacking documentation. The abrupt rise in deportations and claims of Afghans spying attracted international condemnation.
Times of Oman
a day ago
- Politics
- Times of Oman
Bus crash kills dozens of Afghans deported from Iran
Dozens of Afghans recently deported from Iran were killed on Tuesday after a bus crash in western Afghanistan. Citing local authorities, the AFP news agency reported that more than 50 people were killed in the crash. What is known about the crash Spokesperson for the Herat provincial government, Mohammad Yousuf Saeedi, told AFP that the bus was carrying Afghans who had been deported from Iran and had been heading to Kabul. Police said the bus first collided with a motorcycle and then hit the truck, which had been carrying fuel, before bursting into flames. "All the passengers were migrants who had boarded the vehicle in Islam Qala," said Saeedi, referring to a border crossing point. Taliban chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed to German news agency dpa that the victims had been deported from Iran, but said further details were not immediately available. A large number of Afghans — who fled decades of war and humanitarian crises — have returned from Iran in recent months, following pressure from Tehran to force millions of Afghan migrants to leave. According to the UN, over 1.2 million Afghans have returned or have been forced to return from Iran and Pakistan this year alone.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Dozens of Afghan deportees from Iran killed in bus crash
A traffic accident in western Afghanistan has killed 73 people, including 17 children, most of whom were on a bus carrying Afghan migrants deported from Iran, a Taliban official confirmed to BBC Pashto. The bus, en route to Kabul, caught fire on Tuesday night after colliding with a truck and motorcycle in Herat province, said Ahmadullah Mottaqi, the Taliban's director of information and culture in Herat. Everyone aboard the bus was killed, as well as two people from the other vehicles, he said. In recent months Iran has stepped up its deportations of undocumented Afghan migrants who have fled conflict in their homeland. "All the passengers were migrants who had boarded the vehicle in Islam Qala," provincial governor spokesman Mohammad Yousuf Saeedi told AFP, referring to a town near the Afghanistan–Iran border. Herat police said the accident happened because of the bus driver's "excessive speed and negligence", AFP reported. Traffic accidents are common in Afghanistan, where roads have been damaged by decades of conflict and driving regulations are not strongly enforced. Since the 1970s, millions of Afghans have fled to Iran and Pakistan, with major waves during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 and following the Taliban's return to power in 2021. This has contributed to growing anti-Afghan sentiment in Iran, with refugees facing systemic discrimination. Iran had previously given a July deadline for undocumented Afghans to depart voluntarily. But since a brief war with Israel in June, Iranian authorities have forcibly returned hundreds of thousands of Afghans, alleging national security concerns - though critics say Tehran may simply be looking for scapegoats for its security failures against Israeli attacks. More than 1.5 million Afghans have left Iran since January, according to the UN Refugee Agency. Some had been in Iran for generations. Experts warn Afghanistan lacks the capacity to absorb the growing number of nationals forcibly returned to a country under Taliban rule. The country is already struggling with a large influx of returnees from Pakistan, which is also forcing hundreds of thousands of Afghans to leave. Iran drives out 1.5 million Afghans, with some branded spies for Israel More than 250,000 Afghans left Iran in June, UN says
