The Taliban executed 22 Afghan commandos en masse on June 16 in the northern province of Faryab. Both the Red Cross and the Afghan Ministry of Defense confirmed the accuracy of the count to CNN this week.

“On my first full day as secretary of defense, I committed that we must do more as a department to counter the scourge of sexual assault and sexual harassment in our military,” Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III stated in a memorandum published on July 2, 2021.