AFGHANISTAN: Three Afghans died from exposure in freezing temperatures in the western province of Herat while trying to illegally enter Iran, a local army official said on Saturday.&nbsp;&quot;Three people who wanted to illegally cross the Iran-Afghanistan border have died because of the cold weather,&quot; the Afghan army official told AFP on condition of anonymity.&nbsp;He added that a shepherd was also found dead in the mountainous area of Kohsan from the cold.&nbsp;The migrants were part of a group that attempted to cross into Iran on Wednesday and was stopped by Afghan border forces.&nbsp;&quot;Searches took place on Wednesday night, but the bodies were only found on Thursday,&quot; the army official said.&nbsp;More than 1.8 million Afghans were forced to return to Afghanistan by the Iranian authorities between January and the end of November 2025, according to the latest figures from the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR), which said that the majority were &quot;forced and coerced returns&quot;.&nbsp;&quot;These mass returns in adverse circumstances have strained Afghanistan&#39;s already overstretched resources and services&quot; which leads to &quot;risks of onward and new displacement, including return movements back into Pakistan and Iran and onward&quot;, UNHCR posted on its site dedicated to Afghanistan&#39;s situation.&nbsp;This week, Amnesty International called on countries to stop forcibly returning people to Afghanistan, citing a &quot;real risk of serious harm for returnees&quot;.&nbsp;Hit by two major earthquakes in recent months and highly vulnerable to climate change, Afghanistan faces multiple challenges.&nbsp;It is subject to international sanctions particularly due to the exclusion of women from many jobs and public places, described by the UN as &quot;gender apartheid&quot;.&nbsp;More than 17 million people in the country are facing acute food insecurity, the UN World Food Programme said Tuesday.

Asia

Three Afghans died from cold exposure while attempting to cross illegally into Iran from Herat, highlighting migrant risks as mass forced returns strain Afghanistan, already reeling from disasters, sanctions, and widespread food insecurity, nationwide crisis.

Three Afghan migrants die of cold while trying to cross into Iran

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: United States Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has said that at least 2,000 Afghan refugees who entered America following the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan have links to terrorism or are suspected of involvement in terrorist activities.&nbsp;Gabbard made the remarks during a television interview on Fox &amp; Friends morning show, stating that more than 100,000 Afghan nationals were allowed into the country after what she described as the &ldquo;disastrous withdrawal of the Biden administration,&rdquo; without adequate security screening.&nbsp;&ldquo;The majority of them were not screened in accordance with required standards,&rdquo; Gabbard said.&nbsp;She said the lack of proper vetting posed serious national security concerns, particularly given ongoing threats from extremist groups.&nbsp;Gabbard&rsquo;s comments followed testimony by Joe Kent, director of the US National Counterterrorism Center, who told a hearing of the House Committee on Homeland Security that approximately 18,000 individuals identified as &ldquo;known or suspected terrorists&rdquo; were permitted to enter the United States during the Biden administration.&nbsp;The Director of National Intelligence said the Trump administration is now working closely with the Department of Homeland Security to ensure that individuals suspected of extremist links are located and removed from the country.&nbsp;&ldquo;Those who pose a threat must be identified and deported,&rdquo; she said.&nbsp;Gabbard warned that continued activity and planning by Daesh and al-Qaeda heighten the risks associated with such individuals.&nbsp;&ldquo;This represents the greatest short-term and long-term threat to the security of the American people and to democratic values,&rdquo; she said.&nbsp;Her remarks come amid heightened scrutiny of refugee screening processes following the arrest of Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan refugee accused of carrying out an armed attack on two National Guard soldiers in Washington, DC.

Central Asia

Americas

US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has warned that thousands of Afghan evacuees entered the United States without proper security vetting, saying suspected terrorist links and ongoing extremist activity pose significant national security risks.

Articles tagged with "Afghan Refugees"

Three Afghan migrants die of cold while trying to cross into Iran

US intelligence chief warns Afghan evacuees pose serious security threats