US completes as much as 44% of retrograde process

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said late Tuesday the Department of Defense has retrograded the equivalent of approximately 300 C-17 loads of material out of Afghanistan and has turned over nearly 13,000 pieces of equipment to the Defense Logistics Agency for disposal. In a statement issued by CENTCOM,...

Turkey agrees to run Kabul airport in NATO deal: UAE report

The Turkish government has agreed to take over responsibility for Kabul�s international airport in a $130 million deal with NATO, an Afghan government official told the UAE�s The National newspaper. This comes after weeks of uncertainty over the security of the Hamid Karzai International Airport in...

At least 10 killed, 12 wounded in bomb attacks in Kabul

Three bomb explosions have rocked the Afghan capital city of Kabul, claiming the lives of at least 10 people and plunging the city into darkness, according to Afghan government officials. Hamid Roshan, a spokesman for Afghanistan�s Interior Ministry, said two bombs exploded in separate locations in...

US wrapping up ops at Bagram and preparing to hand over base

As the U.S. continues with its withdrawal of troops, sources at Bagram Air Base, also known as Bagram Airfield, told BBC that logistical work around handing over the base to the Afghan Ministry of Defense started on Monday. The Afghan Defense Ministry also confirmed to the BBC that full responsibility...

NDS convoy targeted in IED explosion in Parwan

National Directorate of Security (NDS) forces were targeted in an IED explosion on Tuesday in Parwan province, sources said. According to the sources, a convoy of NDS forces was targeted in the Serahi Hofyan-e-Sharif area in PD1 of the provincial capital Charikar city. At least three NDS personnel...

NATO chief says it�s time for Afghans to take �full responsibility�

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said late Monday that "there is no doubt that Afghanistan faces serious challenges," but that he strongly believes Afghans have to take full responsibility for their own future. Addressing a press conference in Brussels ahead of Tuesday�s virtual NATO foreign...

Fortune Magazine ranks Fawzia Koofi among top 50 world leaders

Fortune Magazine has listed Afghan women�s rights activist and former MP Fawzia Koofi among the World�s 50 Greatest Leaders. Koofi is currently a key member of the Afghan Republic�s peace talks team and has regularly taken her seat, along with three other Afghan women, across the talks tables with...

Security Situation in Afghanistan Remains Challenging: NATO Chief

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday said that the security situation in Afghanistan remains "very difficult and challenging," reiterating that as the US and coalition forces are leaving, at some stage, Afghans should take full responsibility for their own future. Pentagon officials have...

UK accelerates plans to resettle Afghan translators

Plans to rapidly relocate hundreds more Afghans who worked for the British military and UK government, mostly as interpreters, have been announced, the BBC reported. More than 3,000 Afghans, including family members, are expected to be allowed to settle in the UK, joining 1,300 who have already done...

Key TTP member killed in Afghanistan: Pakistan media reports

A key member of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Mira Khan aka Mufti Khalid, was killed in Kunar province of Afghanistan on Saturday, Dawn News reported Sunday. According to the report Khan was a close associate of Mullah Fazllulah, the TTP chief who died in a drone attack in 2018, also in Afghanistan. Reports...

Hekmatyar claims govt has yet to implement key decisions around peace process

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the leader of Hiz-e-Islami, said Sunday that the Afghan government has failed to form a single and decisive authority for peace. Addressing a press conference on Sunday, Hekmatyar stated that important issues over a unified plan for the Istanbul peace conference were agreed upon...

NSA says there�s been no sign of Taliban leader for a year

National Security Advisor (NSA) Hamdullah Mohib said on Saturday that the Taiban�s supreme leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada has not been seen in the last year - which has again raised questions about whether he is dead or alive. Mohib said in a press conference in Kabul Saturday that intelligence...

US defense budget for 2022 includes $3.3 billion for Afghanistan

The Biden-Harris Administration on Friday submitted to Congress the U.S. President�s Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Budget request of $752.9 billion for national defense, $715 billion of which is for the Department of Defense (DoD) - of which $3.3 billion is earmarked for Afghanistan. According to the budget...

Four killed in blast targeting Alberoni University bus in Bagram

A bus carrying lecturers from Alberoni University in the Bagram district of Parwan was targeted in an explosion on Saturday afternoon, killing four, the Interior Ministry (MoI) confirmed. Sources told Ariana News that the bus hit a roadside mine in the Rabat area in the Bagram district at around 4...

NSA refutes reports of Pakistan cutting contact with him

National Security Adviser (NSA) Hamdullah Mohib on Saturday denied reports indicating Pakistan has stopped official contact with him. Addressing a joint security official�s press conference in Kabul, Mohib stated that he has not received any official communique from Pakistan in this respect. "There...

Dozens of ANSDF members and civilians killed in last 10 days: reports

At least 64 members of the Afghan National Security and Defense Forces (ANSDF) members and 120 civilians have been killed in the clashes in the last ten days across the country, sources said. According to the sources, at least 27 members of security forces and 114 civilians were also wounded in the...

Key US Military Base in Kabul Handed Over to Afghan Forces

A key military base of US forces in downtown, the New Kabul Compound, also known as NKC, was handed over to the Ministry of Defense at a ceremony on Friday. Fawad Aman, a spokesman for the Defense Ministry, said that at a ceremony on the occasion, US and NATO forces commander Gen. Scott Miller emphasized...

Biden Says US Forces Have Achieved Their �Purpose� in Afghanistan

US President Joe Biden in a speech on Friday honored the sacrifice of combat veterans ahead of the planned withdrawal later this year from Afghanistan and said they have achieved their purpose in the country - which was "to prevent al Qaeda from using Afghanistan as a base from which to attack America...

Rabbani: Efforts to Form Supreme State Council �Symbolic�

The efforts made by the Presidential Palace to form the Supreme State Council will not help the fragile peace process as they are "politically motivated and symbolic" rather than being a game-changer, the head of Jamiat-e-Islami, Salahuddin Rabbani, said. Speaking to TOLOnews, Rabbani said that a...

Legal director of Farah juvenile facility assassinated

Kobra, the legal director of Farah Juvenile Correctional Center, was assassinated on Wednesday night in the provincial capital, officials confirmed. Farah police spokesman Khalid Hazrati said Kobra had left the city on Wednesday evening and had been killed by the Taliban the same night but that her...

More than 60 people freed from Taliban prison in Baghlan

The Ministry of Defense said on Wednesday that Commandos freed 62 people, including 36 security force members, from a Taliban prison on Tuesday night in Baghlan province. According to the ministry, the prisoners were freed during a special operation by Commando forces in Baghlan Markazi district of...

Taliban reacts to reports of US base being established in region

The Taliban on Wednesday urged Afghanistan�s neighboring countries not to allow the U.S. to establish military bases in their countries stating that should such a step be taken "it will be a great and historic mistake and disgrace". According to a statement issued by the Taliban�s Doha-based spokesman,...

More than 60 people freed from Taliban prison in Baghlan

The Ministry of Defense said on Wednesday that Commandos freed 62 people, including 36 security force members, from a Taliban prison on Tuesday night in Baghlan province. According to the ministry, the prisoners were freed during a special operation by Commando forces in Baghlan Markazi district of...

Taliban lays down conditions to attend Istanbul conference

The Taliban has said it will attend the U.S-proposed peace conference in Turkey on three conditions - the conference must be short, the agenda must not include decision-making on critical issues and the Taliban delegation should be low level. A senior Taliban leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity,...

Mitch McConnell accuses Biden of �abandoning� Afghanistan

Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was on Tuesday critical of US President Joe Biden�s decision to withdraw U.S. forces in Afghanistan by September 11 and warned that this decision is not underpinned by a clear plan to mitigate the risks once troops have withdrawn. Addressing the U.S. Senate,...

Commandos rescue 41 during raid on Taliban prison in Herat

At least 41 prisoners were released from a Taliban prison during an operation by Commandos in Herat province on Monday night, officials confirmed. According to a statement issued by the Commandos Media Office on Tuesday, the operation was carried out on Monday night in Marwa village of Pashtun Zarghun...

Australia to close Kabul embassy ahead of foreign troops withdrawal

Australia will close its embassy in Afghanistan within days as international troops have started to leave the country, ABC news reported. According to the report the embassy has been open since 2006. Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Foreign Minister Marise Payne said they hoped the closure would...

Taliban attacks in Badakhshan province repelled

Taliban group attacks were pushed back in six districts of Badakhshan province on Sunday night, local officials said Monday. Nick Mohammad Nazari, spokesman for the governor of Badakhshan, said that on Sunday night, the Taliban, in collaboration with foreign insurgents, carried out offensive attacks...

Head of Religious Scholars Council Killed in Parwan

Mawlawi Saifullah Safi, head of the religious scholars council in Sayedkhil district in Parwan province was killed in an attack by unidentified gunmen on Sunday morning, local officials said. The incident occurred close to Saif-ur-Rahman Shaheed High School in Sayedkhil district, said district governor...

US lawmakers concerned Taliban may grab military gear after withdrawal

US Brigadier General Matthew Trollinger, deputy director of politico-military affairs for the Joint Staff, told Senate lawmakers during a hearing on Afghanistan that US military equipment could end up in the hands of Taliban fighters and terrorist groups. When pressed for a guarantee that enemy fighters...