Afghanistan timeline July 2000

==July 1, 2000== Government forces clash with troops loyal to northern mujahideen commander Ahmad Shah Masood around Bagram airbase, just north of Kabul. Both sides claim to have inflicted heavy casualties. ==July 9, 2000== Mary MacMakin, a U.S. aid worker in her 70s who has spent the last 30 years in Afghanistan, is arrested in Kabul on suspicion of espionage. The U.S. government calls the accusations "ridiculous." ==Mid-July 2000== The Taliban authorities order the UN and foreign aid agencies to dismiss all Afghan women working for them. ==Mid- to late July 2000== Kabul is hit by five bomb attacks in two weeks. The Taliban authorities accuse saboteurs of trying to create the impression of anarchy in the capital.

==Late July 2000== The authorities announce the arrest of Commander Bashir Baghlani, a key Taliban leader in the northern regions, on suspicion of colluding with anti-government forces. ==July 31, 2000== The Taliban authorities announce that the severe drought affecting much of the country was God's punishment for the people's neglect of their religious beliefs.