US Gen: If Al-Qaeda Remains, US Troops Should Not Fully Withdraw

The US Central Command�s top general, Marine Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie, said Wednesday that he cannot recommend a full withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan unless the Taliban demonstrate they no longer support al-Qaida forces there, the Stars and Stripes reported. "If conditions would allow, we�re...

NATO: Intra-Afghan Talks Are Way to Peace

The NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday said that NATO is supporting the Afghan-owned and Afghan-led peace process. "We welcome the agreement between the United States and Taliban, because that is the first very important step towards lasting peace in Afghanistan. And lasting peace in...

Khalilzad in Doha, Islamabad to Discuss Intra-Afghan Talks

The US peace envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, and the commander of foreign troops in Afghanistan, US Gen. Scott Miller, met with the Taliban�s deputy leader Mullah Baradar in Doha on Sunday, said Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for Taliban. "Both sides talked about (the) speedy release of the...

�Taliban� Kill 4 Members of Family in Wardak: Officials

The "Taliban" killed four members of a family, including a tribal elder, in Maidan Wardak province on Friday, local officials said on Sunday. The incident happened in Chak district after the Taliban shot "the tribal elder, his wife, son and grandson," said Mohib Sharifzai, a spokesman for the provincial...

11 Afghan Local Police Killed in Badakhshan Blast: Official

At least 11 members of the Afghan local police, including their commander, were killed in a roadside bomb blast in Badakhshan province on Friday night, the provincial police spokesman Sanaullah Rohani said. He said the incident happened in Khash district at midnight when a vehicle carrying the personnel...

Khalilzad Travels to Set Stage for Intra-Afghan Talks

US Special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad has begun his new trip to Doha, Islamabad and Kabul to seek a consensus among Afghan parties on practical next steps for intra-Afghan negotiations, said the US Department of State. "The primary focus of Ambassador Khalilzad�s trip is to obtain agreement between the...

UN: Taliban have not cut ties with al-Qaeda

According to the latest report by the Security Council of the United Nations, the Taliban have not cut ties with al-Qaeda, even after a peace deal with the United States. The United Nations has said in a report that al-Qaeda in Afghanistan has been secretly conducting military operations in collusion...

Ayaz Niazi killed in mosque explosion � Kabul

At least two people - including Mohammad Ayaz Niazi, imam of Wazir Akbar Khan mosque - were killed and three others wounded in a bomb blast inside a mosque in Kabul city, the Interior Ministry confirmed. Tariq Arian, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry said that the explosion took place at around...

Ghani, Pompeo discuss next steps in Afghan peace process

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani spoke with US Secretary of United State Mike Pompeo via video conference on Monday and discussed the Afghan peace process, the presidential spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said. According to Sediqqi, in the video conference they also discussed the next steps towards peace, including...

Khalilzad �Optimistic� About Start of Intra-Afghan Negotiations

The US peace envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad on Monday during a press briefing said: "We�re optimistic that finally we are moving forward to the start of the intra-Afghan negotiations." Khalilzad is hopeful that the violence will stay low and the intra-Afghan negotiations will begin with the...

14 Border Forces Killed in �Taliban Attack� Despite Ceasefire

The Ministry of Defense in a statement on Friday said that at least 14 members of the Afghan Border Force were killed in an attack by the Taliban in Dand-e-Patan district in the eastern province of Paktia on Thursday evening, despite a ceasefire that continues between the two sides. The statement reads...

Afghan Govt to Release 900 Taliban Inmates amid Ceasefire

The Afghan government is set to release around 900 Taliban prisoners today from prisons across Afghanistan, the Office of the National Security Council (ONSC) has told. Around 1,100 Taliban prisoners have been released in smaller groups in the past few weeks, but this is the biggest number to be released...

Report: Israeli soldiers still in trauma years after Lebanon defeat

Two decades after the end of Israel�s occupation of southern Lebanon, Israeli troops who took part in the operation are still dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and dark memories of the conflict, a report says. The troops, at a recent military march in Tel Aviv, told media outlets that...

Afghan government releases 100 Taliban prisoners after ceasefire announced

The Afghan government has released 100 imprisoned Taliban militants in the wake of a surprise nationwide ceasefire that appeared to be holding for a second day. Afghan National Security Council spokesman Javid Faisal Taliban said on Monday that the militants were released from a military prison located...

Afghans mark the International Quds Day

Palestinians wave a national flag and flash the victory gesture in front of the Dome of the Rock in the al-Aqsa mosque compound in occupied Jerusalem al-Quds. (File photo by AFP) Afghans encounter too many difficulties in their life. Rising insecurity, unemployment, instability and war have been pressing...

146 Afghan Civilians Killed Since Ramadan Start: ONSC

"146 civilians were killed and 430 others were wounded"in attacks "initiated by the Taliban" during the holy month of Ramadan," the Office of National Security Council (ONSC) said on Friday amid a surge in violence in several areas across the country. "The Taliban showed zero respect for civilians...

Khalilzad Meets with Taliban in Doha

The US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad reported he had a "constructive meeting" with senior Taliban leaders in Doha, including Mullah Baradar, and discussed with them issues related to the peace process including counter-terrorism, intra-Afghan talks and the withdrawal...

US intelligence acknowledges Iran not after destabilizing Afghanistan despite Pompeo�s claims

In this file photo taken on April 5, 2020, a man wearing a facemask as a precautionary measure against the COVID-19 novel coronavirus walks past a wall painted with images of US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad (L) and Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar...

Taliban leader urges US �not to waste� opportunity offered by deal

The leader of the Taliban militant group says it has been committed to its deal with the United States, despite being accused of carrying out hundreds of attacks in Afghanistan since it was signed in February. In a rare message released on Wednesday, Haibatullah Akhundzada, who hails from the Taliban�s...

Death Toll Rises to 11 in Parwan Mosque Attack: Residents

The death toll has risen to 11 from an attack on a mosque in the northern province of Parwan, residents in the area said on Wednesday. On Tuesday night, armed men attacked worshippers at a mosque in Khalazayee village of Parwan and escaped the scene after gunning down worshippers. Along with the 11...

UN alarmed by rising civilian casualties in Afghanistan

A newborn baby receives treatment for a gunshot wound in her right leg after losing her mother but being rescued herself during a shooting attack on a maternity hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, on May 15, 2020. (Photo by AFP) The United Nations (UN) says it is alarmed by the steep increase in the number...

Iran, Pakistan, China, Russia support national reconciliation in Afghanistan

Senior diplomats from Iran, Pakistan, China and Russia have thrown their weight behind a power-sharing deal in Afghanistan signed between leaders of the country�s two main political factions, expressing hope that the important step would speed up intra-Afghan talks. Special representatives of Iran,...

Afghan Security Chiefs Justify New �Offense Mode�

Heads of Afghan security agencies at a press conference on Monday justified the change from "active defense mode" -- which was intended as a means of reducing violence following the signing of the US-Taliban deal--to "offense mode," which President Ghani called for days ago in the wake of shocking attacks...

Ghani and Abdullah Sign Agreement to Break Political Deadlock

Ashraf Ghani and his political rival Abdullah Abdullah signed a power-sharing deal after months of political discord that critics say could have pushed the country towards a new crisis if not resolved. The political tension emerged as a consequence of the disputed presidential election of last year,...

�Taliban Killed 120 Civilians Since Start of Ramadan�: Govt

Over 120 Afghan civilians were killed and 350 others were wounded in attacks initiated by the Taliban over the past three weeks, said Jawed Faisal, a spokesman for the Office of National Security Council (ONSC), on Saturday. "The attacks launched by the Taliban and their backers show a 33 percent...

Contrary to US claim, Afghanistan says Taliban carried out Kabul hospital raid

A newborn baby receives treatment for the gun wound in her right leg as she has been rescued and brought to the French Medical Institute for Children after losing her mother during a gunmen attack on a maternity hospital, in Kabul on May 15, 2020. (Photo by AFP) Afghan officials have dismissed US assertion...

Khalilzad Briefs Reporters on Afghan Situation

The US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad on Friday briefed the US State Department on the situation in Afghanistan, particularly the situation which has emerged in the country following Tuesday�s deadly attacks on a maternity hospital in capital Kabul. The US envoy...

Details of Ghani-Abdullah Political Agreement

TOLOnews has obtained a copy of the political agreement between President Ashraf Ghani and his political opponent Abdullah Abdullah that outlines the structure of a future government in which each side will have a 50 percent share. The five-page agreement-- originally in Dari-- describes the government...

Daesh Behind Attacks, Targeting Peace: Khalilzad

The US peace envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, in the early hours of Friday, tweeted that the US has assessed that Daesh is the perpetrator of the recent attacks in Kabul and Nangarhar, and that the group opposes a peace deal between the Afghan government and the Taliban. He called on Afghans...

�3 Police, 5 Taliban Killed� in Kunduz Clashes

At least three police and five Taliban were killed in clashes in the northern province of Kunduz on Thursday night, local police officials said. The Taliban attack occurred in parts of Khanabad district, said Hijratullah Akbari, a spokesman for the provincial police chief. "The clashes ended after...