Former Afghan Warlord Hekmatyar Returns To Kabul After 20 Years

A former warlord branded the “Butcher of Kabul” returned to the Afghan capital on Thursday morning, two decades after leaving the city where he is accused of carrying out war crimes. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a former prime minister, has returned to mainstream political life after his dormant Hezb-i-Islami militant group signed a peace deal with the … Read more

ISIS Suicide Car Bomber Attacks US Convoy In Afghanistan Killing Eight

Eight civilians were killed and another 28 people wounded, including three American soldiers, when an ISIS suicide bomber attacked a US convoy in Afghanistan. The convoy was passing close to the American embassy and NATO headquarters in Kabul during the morning rush-hour on Wednesday when the attack happened. A militant drove a car packed with … Read more

Infamous Afghan Warlord Returns To Public Life After Exile

Notorious Afghan warlord and ex-prime minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar returned to public life Saturday after more than 20 years in exile, calling on the Taliban to lay down their weapons and join a “caravan of peace”. Hekmatyar, white-bearded and clad in his trademark black turban, spoke to supporters at a gathering in Laghman province widely broadcast … Read more

US Marines Return To Afghanistan’s Volatile Helmand

US Marines returned to Afghanistan’s volatile Helmand province Saturday, the first to be deployed in the war-torn country since NATO forces ended their combat role in 2014. Commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan General John Nicholson attended a handover ceremony marking the return of the prestigious force in the poppy-growing southern province, where … Read more

Afghan Taliban Announce Start of ‘spring Offensive’

The Afghan Taliban announced Friday the start of their “spring offensive”, saying they would target foreign forces in the country, heralding a fresh round of fighting in the drawn-out conflict. Operation Mansouri — named after the group’s former leader who was killed in a US drone strike in May 2016 — will use strategies from … Read more

Afghanistan Arrests 35 Soldiers After Attack On Base

Authorities have arrested 35 soldiers who served on an army base in northern Afghanistan where the Taliban staged a deadly attack last week, officials said Wednesday, as fears grew they had inside help. The defence ministry released its official toll of 135 recruits killed in the assault on the sprawling base, home to the 209th … Read more

Afghan Defence Chiefs Resign Over Deadly Taliban Attack

Afghanistan’s defence minister and army chief of staff have resigned in the wake of a Taliban attack that left scores of soldiers dead, the presidential palace says. The attack happened on Friday at an army base near Mazar-e Sharif. Insurgents targeted troops leaving Friday prayers at the base’s mosque and in a canteen, the army … Read more

Afghan Defence Chiefs Resign Over Deadly Taliban Attack

Afghanistan’s defence minister and army chief of staff have resigned in the wake of a Taliban attack that left scores of soldiers dead, the presidential palace says. The attack happened on Friday at an army base near Mazar-e Sharif. Insurgents targeted troops leaving Friday prayers at the base’s mosque and in a canteen, the army … Read more

Furious Afghans Call For Resignations After Taliban Base Attack

Afghanistan on Sunday observed a national day of mourning after at least 100 soldiers were killed or wounded in a Taliban attack on a military base, prompting angry calls for ministers and army chiefs to resign. The exact toll from Friday’s assault in the northern province of Balkh remains unclear, with some local officials putting … Read more

Over 100 Killed, Wounded In Taliban Attack On Afghan Military Base

More than 100 Afghan soldiers were killed and wounded in a Taliban attack on an army base in northern Afghanistan, the defence ministry said Saturday, the latest in a string of deadly assaults against Afghan military sites. The ministry did not give a breakdown of the casualties in the hours-long attack near Mazar-i-Sharif city on … Read more

Taliban Fighters Attack Afghan Army Base, ‘killing 140’

As many 140 Afghan soldiers were killed on Friday by Taliban attackers apparently disguised in military uniforms in what would be the deadliest attack ever on an Afghan military base, officials say. One official in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, where the attack occurred, said on Saturday at least 140 soldiers were killed and many … Read more

Taliban Attack On Army Base Kills ‘more Than 50’ Afghan Soldiers

Taliban gunmen wearing Afghan military uniforms launched an attack on an army base in northern Afghanistan Friday killing “more than 50 soldiers”, officials said. Afghan commandos were deployed during the attack which lasted several hours and targeted soldiers as they attended mosque and ate a meal. Two of the ten attackers blew themselves up while … Read more

Russia Denies It Is Supplying the Taliban After Nato General Claim

Russia may be supplying the Taliban in Afghanistan, a US general has said Russia has denied a top Nato general’s allegation it may be secretly sending supplies to the Taliban in Afghanistan. Gen Curtis Scaparrotti told lawmakers in Washington on Thursday that Moscow was “perhaps” supplying the extremist group. On Friday, Zamir Kabulov, the Kremlin’s … Read more

Russia May Be Supplying Taliban Fighters

The top US general in Europe said on Thursday he has seen growing Russian influence on the Afghan Taliban, and raised the possibility that Moscow was helping supply the fighters. Russia has been critical of the US over its handling of the war in Afghanistan – now in its 16th year – where the Soviet … Read more

Emboldened Taliban Capture Key Southern District

Taliban fighters captured the strategic southern district of Sangin on Thursday, officials said, another setback for Afghan forces in opium-rich Helmand province ahead of the spring fighting season. The capture of Sangin, where US and British forces suffered heavy casualties until it was handed over to Afghan personnel, marks the culmination of the Taliban’s year-long … Read more

Gunmen Dressed As Doctors Attack Kabul Hospital

Explosions and gunfire rattled Kabul’s diplomatic district Wednesday when insurgents dressed as doctors stormed Afghanistan’s largest military hospital, officials said, as growing insecurity besets the war-battered country. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the ongoing assault on the Sardar Daud Khan hospital, but it comes as the Taliban ramp up attacks even before the official … Read more

Blast, Gunfire Hit Kabul Military Hospital

An explosion and gunfire rattled Kabul’s diplomatic district on Wednesday as insurgents attacked Afghanistan’s largest military hospital, officials said. “The Sardar Daud Khan hospital has been attacked. The attackers have entered the hospital. We don’t have any more details for now,” defense ministry spokesman Daulat Waziri told AFP. A hospital staff member wrote on Facebook: … Read more

Eleven Afghan Police Killed In Insider Attack

An Afghan policeman linked to the Taliban shot dead 11 of his colleagues at a checkpoint in the southern province of Helmand, officials said Tuesday, in the latest so-called “insider attack”. The incident occurred late Monday as the policemen were sleeping in their barracks in the provincial capital Lashkar Gah. “A policeman affiliated to the … Read more

Air Strike Kills Key Afghan Taliban Commander

An air strike has killed an Afghan Taliban commander who twice oversaw the capture of a strategic northern city, officials said Monday, in a major blow to the insurgent group. Mullah Abdul Salam Akhund, the Taliban shadow governor in Kunduz province, was killed on Sunday when he was holding a meeting in the volatile Dasht-e-Archi … Read more

Taliban Suicide Bomber Kills Six In Afghanistan’s Helmand

At least six people were killed Saturday when a Taliban bomber rammed an explosives-laden car into Afghan soldiers who had queued outside a bank in southern Helmand province to collect their salaries, officials said. Nearly two dozen others, including women and children, were wounded in the explosion in the capital Lashkar Gah, many of them … Read more