Afghan government negotiators in Qatar have offered the Taliban a power-sharing deal in return for an end to fighting in the country, a government negotiating source told AFP on Thursday. “Yes, the government has submitted a proposal to Qatar as mediator. The proposal allows the Taliban to share power in …
Read More »Taliban take Ghazni city on road to Afghan capital
Taliban captured the city of Ghazni on Thursday, the ninth provincial capital they have seized in a week, as US intelligence said the capital, Kabul, just 150 km to the northeast, could fall to the insurgents within 90 days. The speed of the Taliban advance has sparked widespread recriminations over …
Read More »U.S. finds Pakistan useful only to clean up mess in Afghanistan -Khan
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan accused the United States of seeing his country as useful only in the context of the “mess” it is leaving behind in Afghanistan after 20 years of fighting. Washington has been pressing Pakistan to use its influence over the Taliban to broker an elusive peace …
Read More »Turkey still keen to run Kabul airport even as Taliban advances, officials say
Turkey is for now still intent on running and guarding Kabul airport after other foreign troops withdraw from Afghanistan, but is monitoring the situation after rapid advances by Taliban forces, two Turkish officials said. Taliban fighters took control of another city in northern Afghanistan on Wednesday, the eighth provincial capital …
Read More »Thousands of civilians flee homes in Afghanistan as Taliban advance
Ongoing offensives by the Taliban militants in Afghanistan have forced thousands of civilians to flee their homes across the country. According to Press TV, the Taliban on Tuesday captured Farah City in western Afghanistan, the seventh provincial capital to fall to them since Friday. “This afternoon, the Taliban entered the …
Read More »Taliban seizes eighth Afghan provincial capital in five days
Taliban overruns cities of Farah and Pul-e-Khumri in fresh setbacks for Afghanistan’s government. The Taliban has captured two more cities in Afghanistan, taking the number of provincial capitals the group has seized since Friday to eight. Farah city of the eponymous southwestern province and Pul-e-Khumri of the northern province of …
Read More »Stop blaming Pakistan for failure of others in Afghanistan: Foreign Minister Qureshi
Pakistan’s foreign minister says the international community must stop blaming Islamabad for the fast-deteriorating situation in Afghanistan against the backdrop of advances by the Taliban. Shah Mehmood Qureshi said at a news conference on Monday that the world needed to look into the “meltdown” of Afghan forces instead of blaming …
Read More »11 Taliban Members Killed in US Airstrike as Fighters Sweep Afghan Provinces, Thousands Flee
At least 11 Taliban members were killed in a B-52 airstrike by US forces in Kapisa province’s Nijrab district on Tuesday morning, TOLO News quoted a provincial police spokesman as saying. By Tuesday, the Taliban were in control of six Afghan provincial capitals following a blitz across the north that …
Read More »US envoy heads to Qatar to press Taliban for end to offensive
Several rounds of meetings scheduled over three days between Zalmay Khalilzad and the Taliban as armed group makes advances. The United States envoy on Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, “will press the Taliban to stop their military offensive” at talks in Qatar’s capital this week, the Department of State announced after the …
Read More »Taliban captures sixth Afghanistan provincial capital: Official
Taliban fighters seize Aibak, the capital of Samangan in north – the sixth provincial capital to fall in four days. The Taliban has captured the sixth province in Afghanistan in four days. The armed group’s spokesman on Monday morning sent messages to the media, claiming it has overtaken Aibak, the …
Read More »Taliban overrun northern Afghan cities of Kunduz, Sar-e Pul, Taloqan (Video)
Taliban fighters overran three provincial capitals including the strategic northeastern city of Kunduz on Sunday, local officials said, as the insurgents intensified pressure on the north and threatened further cities. The insurgents have taken dozens of districts and border crossings in recent months and put pressure on several provincial capitals, …
Read More »Biden orders B-52, C-130 gunships to bomb advancing Taliban insurgents
US President Joe Biden has reportedly ordered the US Air Force to carry out air strike against Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan using B-52 bombers and C-130 Specter gunships after the militants continued advancing towards major Afghan cities. The B-52s are flying into Afghanistan from an airbase in Qatar, striking targets …
Read More »Afghan forces engage Taliban in heavy fighting in three northern provinces
Afghan government forces and the Taliban are engaged in fierce fighting in three northern provinces as the militants ramp up their offensives to seize further territory in the conflict-ridden country. Afghanistan’s TOLO news agency said on Sunday that heavy clashes were underway between Afghan security forces and the Taliban in …
Read More »Taliban seize Kunduz, a major city in northern Afghanistan
The Taliban seized the city of Kunduz in northern Afghanistan on Sunday, officials said. It is the first major city to be overtaken by the insurgents since they began their sweeping military offensive in May. Kunduz, the capital of a province of the same name, is a significant military and …
Read More »Afghan Air Force pilot killed in Kabul bombing, attack claimed by Taliban
An Afghan Air Force pilot was killed by a bomb in Kabul on Saturday, officials said, in an attack claimed by the Taliban. The pilot, Hamidullah Azimi, died when a sticky bomb attached to his vehicle detonated, officials said, adding that five civilians were wounded in the explosion. Azimi was …
Read More »US Embassy Urges Americans to Leave Afghanistan ‘Immediately’
The U.S. embassy in Kabul urged Americans to leave Afghanistan “immediately” due to a deteriorating security situation and the limited number of staff available to help U.S. citizens in the country. “Given the security conditions and reduced staffing, the Embassy’s ability to assist U.S. citizens in Afghanistan is extremely limited …
Read More »Taliban kill 10 Afghan soldiers, assassinate media official in Kabul
The Taliban have killed at least 10 Afghan soldiers during heavy clashes to capture a provincial capital, and assassinated a top official in the capital, Kabul. The militants intensified fighting on the outskirts of the provincial capital Sheberghan on Friday. At least 10 Afghan soldiers and a commander of armed …
Read More »Taliban take provincial capital, kill Afghan gov’t spokesman
The Taliban captured an Afghan provincial capital and assassinated the government’s top media officer in Kabul on Friday, dealing twin high-profile blows to the Western-backed administration. A police spokesman in southern Nimroz province said the capital Zaranj had fallen to the hardline Islamists because of a lack of reinforcements from …
Read More »Afghan Taliban kill head of government media department
The Taliban shot and killed the director of Afghanistan’s Government Information Media Center on Friday, the latest killing in a series of attacks on journalists and rights activists in recent months. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told The Associated Press that the groups’ fighters had killed Dawa Khan Menapal, who ran …
Read More »Taliban close in on two provincial Afghan capitals as foreign forces exit country
Taliban fighters on Friday intensified clashes with Afghan forces and targeted militias allied with the government, officials said, stretching their dominance of border towns and closing in on two provincial capitals as foreign forces leave. At least 10 Afghan soldiers and a commander of armed members belonging to the Abdul …
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