Tag Archives: Afghanistan

A prominent women’s rights advocate and member of the Afghan team tasked with negotiating with the Taliban sustained minor injuries in an attack in Kabul by unknown gunmen, officials said on Saturday. They described the attack on Fawzia Koofi, a former lawmaker, as an assassination attempt. It was condemned by …

The Pentagon has announced a plan for a sizable reduction of American troop numbers in Afghanistan before the end of November, the month in which the US presidential election will be held. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Saturday that the United States would lower the number of its forces …

Afghanistan agreed on Sunday to release 400 “hard-core” Taliban prisoners, paving the way for the beginning of peace talks aimed at ending more than 19 years of war. Under election-year pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump for a deal allowing him to bring home American troops, the war-torn country’s grand …

An Islamic State terrorist group attack on a prison in eastern Afghanistan holding hundreds of its members raged on Monday after killing at least 21 people in fighting overnight, a local official said. Another 43 people have been wounded in the attack that began late Sunday when an Islamic State …

At least three bombs exploded outside a jail compound in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad on Sunday, officials said. Sohrab Qaderi, a provincial council member in Jalalabad, said a huge car bomb explosion was followed by at least two smaller bomb blasts outside a government-run prison, and that police …

A new report into a deadly incursion by New Zealand’s forces in Afghanistan says the military misled senior leaders, government ministers and the public over the civilian casualties ten years ago. The government conducted an inquiry into a raid, dubbed “Operation Burnham” that was carried out by the New Zealand …

Cross-border artillery fire by Pakistan killed at least 15 civilians in Afghanistan on Thursday, Afghan officials said, prompting Kabul to put its ground and air forces on alert. The artillery fire came after clashes between Pakistani and Afghan security forces at the closed Chaman-Spin Boldak border crossing, where crowds on …

In Afghanistan, the public and officials have called for a lasting ceasefire in the wake of the government and the Taliban’s commitment to observe a three-day truce for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, starting Friday. Fawzia Koofi, a member of the government’s negotiating team, said on Twitter Wednesday that …

In a rare peace gesture, Taliban militants have said they will not conduct any “operations” for three days starting on Friday, to let their fighters mark one of the holiest Muslim holidays following a recent upsurge of violence. The Afghan militants were “instructed” not to launch any attacks between July …

Iran detained two Swedish nationals over drug smuggling, the website of the country’s judiciary reported on Tuesday. The spokesman for the judiciary, Gholamhossein Esmaili, was quoted by the Mizan news agency as saying the case is under investigation and that Iran has informed the Swedish government and its embassy in …

A teenage girl has become a hero in Afghanistan for fighting off a Taliban attack, killing two militants with the AK-47 her father taught her to use before he was killed by the insurgent group. Now Qamar Gul, who is about 15, has been invited to the presidential palace and …

The leader of the Taliban has reshuffled his team of negotiators ahead of peace talks with the Afghan government, adding four close aides to the group, sources in the movement said Saturday. Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada made the appointments to strengthen his control over the team, a Taliban commander, based at …

As violence surges across the country, Afghan security forces on Friday said at least 72 Taliban militants, including four top commanders, have been killed in operations in three provinces. In a statement, the Afghan National Army said 32 more insurgents were also injured in ground and air offensives in northern …

Dozens of people have been wounded in a car bomb blast followed by a shooting attack near an office of the Afghan intelligence agency in the northern province of Samangan. Clashes broke out between Afghan security forces and unknown gunmen on Monday following the bomb attack that targeted a government …

Afghanistan is to release more Taliban prisoners in the hope of getting peace talks going, a government spokesman said on Thursday, after the insurgent group provided the government with a revised list of several hundred of their detainees. Disagreement over about 600 prisoners from a total of 5,000 the Taliban …

A Taliban suicide bomber detonated an explosive-packed military vehicle on the approach to the provincial governor’s residence and police headquarters in the Afghan province of Kandahar on Wednesday, killing at least three people, authorities said. Bloodshed is escalating anew in Afghanistan even as the United States tries to broker a …

Veterans’ group VoteVets has released a new attack ad that criticises President Donald Trump over reports that he was briefed about Russia putting bounties on American military personnel in Afghanistan and failed to act. The group, whose Twitter description states “blocked by Donald Trump”, has compared the president to Benedict …

A new anti-Donald Trump ad by a Republican super PAC has hit out against the president over reports he was briefed about Russia putting bounties on US troops in Afghanistan. The Lincoln Project’s latest ad, entitled “Fellow Traveller”, is filmed with a Russian voiceover and English subtitles. “The most important …

The U.N. mission in Afghanistan said its findings indicate the Afghan military had mistakenly fired the mortars this week at a busy market in southern Helmand province that inflicted heavy civilian casualties. A car bombing and mortar shells struck the market in Sangin district on Monday, killing 23 people, including …

The Taliban says it has held a video conference call with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during which the militant group reaffirmed its commitment to the peace process in Afghanistan. Spokesman Suhail Shaheen said in a tweet on June 30 that the Taliban and the top U.S. diplomat held …