From a friend who works in the country:

“You all heard that bad news about the capture of Kunduz city by the Taliban. This has been a very significant victory for the Taliban and very big boost to their morale and at the same time discouraged the Afghan Army and Police even more. It can have a strong ripple effect like what happened in Iraq when the Army run away from the IS even through they had more solders and better weapons. Kunduz is very strategic and it is not even a typical strong Pashtun area like Kandahar or Helmand. We know that the Taliban are supported by Islamists from Tajikistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Chechenia.”

Fortunately, the Afghan army, supported by the American forces, were able to take back the city, but fighting continues in other parts of the country. ISIS is also there along with the Taliban. Pray that they will fight each other for supremacy and that both of these movements will pass away so the land can be rid of their destructive presence and influence. 

Please also pray for the government of Afghanistan and the Afghan army to have wisdom and courage and a good strategy to overcome the Taliban as well as ISIS. Pray that the government can agree on a good defense minister and become united in this battle for the survival of the nation.

Pray for the encouragement and strengthening of the local prayer movement and the increasing number of those who are believers among the Afghans.

Agree in faith and His authority for the binding and overthrow of the evil spiritual forces that control the Taliban and ISIS. May they be disempowered and give up their wrong-headed, destructive cause with many of their members coming into relationship with Jesus Christ the Lord.

RFE/RL

“Rescue operations have begun to reveal the full scale of an Afghan earthquake that killed hundreds and caused damage across South Asia. Officials said that the death toll from the magnitude-7.5 quake that struck on October 26 was continuing to rise as rescuers reached remote areas. As of early October 27, the death toll had risen to more than 300, with at least 241 fatalities and 1,600 injuries recorded in Pakistan.

In Afghanistan -- where the Hindu Kush mountain range in sparsely populated Badakhshan Province was identified as the epicenter of the quake -- at least 115 had been reported killed and hundreds more injured.

Many areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan had already been deluged by two days of unseasonably heavy rain and snowfall, triggering mudslides when the quake and its aftershocks hit. Roads and bridges were washed out in mountainous regions, hampering search-and-rescue operations.

High casualties and extensive damage were recorded in areas of northwest Pakistan near the Afghan border, such as Khyber Pakhtunkwa Province's Swat and Chitral districts. A local official in the Chitral district told AFP that as many as 80,000 people there are without access to drinking water.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif returned from a trip to the United States and traveled on October 27 to Khyber Pakhtunkwa Province, where at least 49 people were killed, to assess the damage. During a later briefing in the capital, Islamabad, he gave assurances that Pakistan was "capable enough to rescue and rehabilitate those affected by the earthquake."

Some 330 kilometers east of the epicenter, in Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan region, video images emerged on social media of a landslide near a popular suspension bridge:

In the garrison city of Rawalpindi, close to Islamabad, video showed a bridge swaying when the quake struck.

Pakistan’s powerful army has taken a lead role in responding to the crisis, with extra resources being sent to affected regions.

Thousands of people in the region, expecting aftershocks, reportedly spent the night of October 26-27 outdoors in near-freezing temperatures.

Afghan officials said at least 74 people were confirmed dead and hundreds more injured, with casualties reported from around half a dozen of the country’s 34 provinces. The Kabul government has called for international aid agencies to send help.

For Afghanistan, the challenge of mounting rescue operations will be made harder given the country’s relative lack of resources, difficult terrain, and the presence of anti-government Taliban insurgents in some of the affected areas.

The Taliban issued a statement saying its militants had been ordered to provide "complete help" to victims of the quake and to pave the way for access by rescue workers and aid organizations.

The Afghan government estimated that about 4,000 homes had been destroyed or damaged.

The quake was felt throughout South Asia, including the Tajik capital, Dushanbe; areas of southern Kazakhstan 1,000 kilometers north of the epicenter; and in India's capital, Delhi.

In Indian-controlled Kashmir, video showed a frantic street scene as the quake hit.”

Please pray for effective relief efforts and that those who have been affected by this tragedy will be brought to Jesus Christ through it all.