PDB Afternoon Bulletin | August 21st, 2026: The Taliban Is Losing Control of Afghanistan & Hackers Target U.S. Infrastructure

Taliban's five-year rule and humanitarian crisis2:45

Five years after returning to power, the Taliban controls Afghanistan's territory but faces a severe humanitarian crisis, with 22 million Afghans needing aid and women and girls barred from education and public life.

Taliban-Pakistan border conflict3:13

Tensions between the Taliban and Pakistan have escalated into open conflict, with Pakistan launching airstrikes in Afghanistan and the Taliban retaliating, driven by accusations that the Taliban harbors the Pakistani Taliban.

Anti-Taliban resistance groups expand operations5:30

Multiple armed groups, including the National Resistance Front and the newly formed Afghan United Front led by Pashtun General Sami Sadat, are challenging Taliban rule, with Sadat deliberately targeting the Taliban's southern Pashtun heartland.

Federal warning on Siemens industrial control systems12:34

A joint federal advisory warns of an active cyber threat targeting Siemens S7 programmable logic controllers used across U.S. critical infrastructure, with AI lowering the technical barrier for attackers.

Iranian attribution for U.S. infrastructure cyber attacks13:28

• Mike Bakerassertion

  Cybersecurity experts suspect an Iranian connection to the attacks despite the lack of formal attribution.

• President Trumpclip

  He does not believe Iran was responsible for the wave of attacks in Minnesota.