Tag Archives: Afghanistan

Top officials in the White House were aware in early 2019 of classified intelligence indicating Russia was secretly offering bounties to the Taliban for the deaths of Americans, a full year earlier than has been previously reported, according to U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the intelligence. The assessment was …

At least 30  civilians were killed in Afghanistan’s southern Helmand province after rockets fell on a cattle market. Afghan government and Taliban officials immediately traded blame for the deaths on Monday in the open-air weekly cattle market in the Sangin district. Hundreds of villagers from neighbouring districts had gathered to …

The White House on Saturday denied that President Donald Trump was briefed on reported US intelligence that Russia’s military offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill US troops in Afghanistan, with Democratic rival Joe Biden criticizing Donald Trump for failing to take action against Moscow. White House Press Secretary Kayleigh …

A Russian military intelligence unit secretly offered bounties to militants in Afghanistan for killing coalition forces — including targeting American troops, according to a report Friday. The revelations, from American intelligence officials — reported by The New York Times — came as the US, Taliban militants and the Afghan government …

Afghan officials say dozens of Taliban fighters staged overnight raids and stormed several checkpoints in the northern part of the country, killing at least 14 security personnel. The violence early on June 23 comes after authorities this week accused the Taliban of increasing attacks on Afghan forces at a time …

Taliban militants kidnapped about 60 civilians in central Afghanistan over the past week, officials said on Sunday, with more than half still being held amid efforts by the United States and other foreign powers to start peace talks. The Taliban took the hostages in the central province of Daikundi after …

Taliban fighters killed at least 12 Afghan security personnel Wednesday in a pre-dawn raid on a northern checkpoint, officials said, the latest violence claimed by the insurgents. Four security force members were also captured by the militants in the attack in Jawezjan province, said Maroof Azar, spokesman to the governor. …

The Taliban has killed or wounded more than 400 Afghan security personnel over the past week, the interior ministry said, accusing the group of increasing attacks in the run-up to expected peace talks. Violence dropped across much of Afghanistan since the Taliban announced a three-day ceasefire on May 24 to …

An explosion in a Kabul mosque during Friday Prayers killed at least four people and wounded many more, Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry said on June 12. “Explosives placed inside the Shir Shah-E-Suri Mosque exploded during Friday Prayers,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that the West Kabul mosque’s mullah was …

Nine civilians, including women and children, have been killed in a roadside bomb explosion targeting a small bus in southern Afghanistan. Jamal Nasir Barekzai, the spokesman for the Kandahar Police, said five others were also wounded when the bomb tore through the vehicle in Afghanistan district of the province on …

A bomb attack has targeted a mosque compound near a fortified diplomatic district in Kabul, injuring at least three people. Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Tareq Arian said that the bomb attack was carried out at the entrance of a popular mosque located on the edge of the Green Zone on …

The Spanish authorities decided to close one of their military bases in Iraq and withdraw their troops from Afghanistan, El Pais reported. Troops serving at the Bismayah training camp in Iraq are expected to return to Spain by the end of July. Currently, there are 350 Spanish troops at this …

A new United Nations report says that the Taliban assured al Qaeda that it would maintain their close links despite the “peace” deal with the organization which the Trump administration has touted as signifying a break between the Taliban and the terror group responsible for the 9/11 terror attacks. “The …

At least 14 members of Afghanistan’s security forces have been killed in an attack blamed on the Taliban, officials say, the first deadly assaults since a three-day ceasefire between the government and the militants ended. The incident occurred at a checkpoint in the east-central province of Parwan on Tuesday, said …

Blast in the eastern city of Gardez kills five civilians and wounds 19 – including five army personnel The Taliban said it carried out a deadly attack Thursday on an Afghan army base after the government ordered forces to resume strikes against the militants. Afghan officials said a vehicle carrying …

The European Union’s top court has ruled that Hungary circumvented EU law by holding Afghan and Iranian asylum seekers in prison-like conditions at a border transit zone. Hungary has come under EU criticism for its hard-line approach to migration and has been repeatedly challenged before the European Court of Justice …

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has ordered the military to move to an “offensive mode” against the Taliban and other armed groups after dozens of people, including newborn babies, were killed in two separate attacks in the war-ravaged nation. “I am ordering Afghan security forces to switch from an active defense …

At least 19 people have died in two separate attacks in Afghanistan’s Kabul city and Nangarhar province. The attacks targeted a hospital and a funeral of a local police commander. Gunmen stormed a hospital on Tuesday in an ongoing attack in the Afghan capital Kabul, as a suicide blast killed …

The leader of the Islamic State group in South Asia and the Far East has been arrested in Kabul, Afghanistan’s intelligence service says. Zia ul-Haq, also known as Sheikh Omar Khorasani, was held with two other senior leaders of the militant group. The Taliban are the main militant group in …

At least six were killed when protesters angry over what they see as unfair food aid distribution during the coronavirus pandemic clashed with police in Afghanistan’s western Ghor province on Saturday, according to officials. Four civilians and two police officers died in the incident, according to Tariq Arian, spokesman for …