3 Killed, 8 Wounded in Suicide Attack in Kabul

At least three civilians were killed and eight others were wounded in a suicide attack close to the gate of the special operations unit in Kabul city on Wednesday morning, the Afghan Commandos Special Unit said. The attack took place in the Rishkhor area in PD7 of Kabul city, a security source told. The...

7 Afghan Forces Killed in Taliban Attack in Logar: Tribal Elders

At least seven Afghan forces were killed in a Taliban attack in Logar province on Saturday night, tribal elders said on Sunday. The incident took place in Barak-e-Barak district of Logar province on Saturday night as Taliban attacked a security forces checkpoint, said Rahimuddin Amin, former governor...

Khalilzad Urges Taliban to Agree to Ceasefire

The US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad in a tweet on Sunday urged the Taliban to call a humanitarian ceasefire during Ramadan month. "...Ramadan offers the Taliban an opportunity to embrace a humanitarian ceasefire to reduce violence and suspend offensive military operations until the health crisis is...

NATO: Urgent Need for Talks, Reduced Violence in Afghanistan

NATO issued a statement on Friday reiterating its call for a "comprehensive" peace agreement in Afghanistan and for "all sides" to "act urgently" to fulfill the commitments they have made to "lower violence." Referring to the current political crisis between Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, NATO...

Afghan Forces Casualties: 98 killed in a Week

Figures shown from security officials and government sources reveal that 98 members of the Afghan security forces lost their lives n Taliban attacks in 14 provinces from April 18 to April 24. At least 70 others have been wounded and more than 10 security force members are missing, according to the...

Trump, Qatari Leader Discuss Afghanistan, Prisoner Release

The US President Donald Trump and Qatari leader Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani agreed in a phone call on Wednesday on the importance of the Taliban reducing violence in Afghanistan, the White House said in a statement. The two leaders also agreed on the importance of continuing discussions on...

19 Afghan Forces Killed in Taliban Attacks

At least nineteen Afghan security forces members were killed in separate Taliban attacks in northern Sar-e-Pul and central Logar provinces on Tuesday night, local officials said on Wednesday. Eleven Afghan security forces were killed in clashes with the Taliban in Sar-e-Pul province in Sozma Qala...

US may scale back CIA presence in Afghanistan to save peace deal

In this file photo taken on November 13, 2014, a US soldier inspects the site of an attack targeting foreign troops in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. The United States is considering the withdrawal of CIA operatives from bases in Afghanistan, as part of an effort to further reduce violence in the war-ravaged...

6 Afghan Bagram Base Workers Killed in Attack

At least six Afghan contractors who worked at Bagram Airfield, a key US military base in Bagram district in Parwan province, were killed after they were attacked on their way home on Thursday evening, a local official confirmed. Wahida Shahkar, a spokesperson for the Parwan governor, said that at...

Khalilzad, Gen. Miller Meet with Taliban in Qatar

US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and Gen. Austin S. Miller, the commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, on Monday met with a Taliban delegation led by the deputy leader of the group Mullah Baradar in Qatar and discussed the US and Taliban agreement. The meeting was announced by the Taliban on...

Iran FM discusses Yemeni, Afghan developments, anti-corona fight with counterparts

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has held separate phone talks with his Russian, Turkish, Qatari and Indian counterparts about the latest developments in Afghanistan and Yemen as well as collective cooperation to contain the new coronavirus disease. Zarif and Russian Foreign Minister...

Khalilzad urges Afghan gov�t, Taliban to accelerate prisoner releases

The US Special Representative for Afghan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad has welcomed the release of prisoners by the Afghan government and Taliban, urging the two sides to "accelerate" the process. According to the US-Taliban deal which was signed on 29th February in Qatar, the Afghan government...

Taliban to free 20 Afghan government prisoners: Spokesman

Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, a senior official of the Afghan Taliban, arrives for the signing of a US-Taliban agreement in the Qatari capital of Doha, on February 29, 2020. (Photo by AFP) The Taliban militant group in Afghanistan says it plans to release 20 prisoners of the Afghan government in what would...

US Gen. Miller Meets with Taliban in Doha

Gen. Austin S. Miller, the commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, met with the Taliban leadership in Doha on Friday, said Col. Sonny Leggett, spokesman for the US forces in Afghanistan. Leggett said the meeting was "part of the military channel established in the (US-Taliban) agreement,"...

Political Leaders� Meetings End with No Outcome: Spokesman

The meetings of prominent political leaders, who had a five-day deadline to end the rift between Ghani and  President Abdullah Abdullah, have ended with no results, said Fraidoon Khwazoon, a spokesman for Abdullah, on Friday. He said Abdullah will soon announce his cabinet. Former president...

Afghan Govt To Release Another 100 Taliban Prisoners

Javid Faisal, a spokesman for the National Security Council, on Thursday said that 100 more Taliban prisoners will be released today. "based on their health condition, age and length of remaining sentence," as part of "efforts for peace and containment of COVID-19," he said. Following weeks of delays,...

Taliban Halting Talks with Govt Over Prisoner Release

The Taliban�s spokesman Suhail Shaheen tweeted on Tuesday that the "technical team will not participate in fruitless meetings with relevant sides starting from tomorrow." "We sent a technical team of the prisoner�s commission to Kabul for verification and identification of our prisoners as release...

Afghan Leaders Urge Ghani to Stop New Appointments for Now

Hamid Karzai, Abd Rab Rasoul Sayyaf, Yunus Qanooni and Mohammad Karim Khalili, in a joint statement on Sunday, urged Ghani to stop the appointment of government officials for the time being. The Afghan leaders, in the statement, also urged President Abdullah Abdullah to extend his deadline saying...

Deal with US Has Been �Violated�: Taliban

The Taliban in a statement on Sunday said the deal that they signed with the US on Feb. 29 has been "violated" in clear instances by the United States and its allies. In their statement, the group connected the violation of the deal to the delay in the release of 5,000 prisoners from the Afghan government�s...

Intl Aid Requires Inclusive Govt in Afghanistan: Wells

Alice Wells, the US’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs, in a tweet said that international aid requires partnership with an inclusive government, referring to Afghanistan. "We all must hold Afghan leaders accountable to agree on a governing arrangement,"...

Taliban prisoner release faces technical issues

The Taliban technical team has started its work for four days in Kabul, but it hasn�t reached an agreement on the prisoner release. Some sources close to the Taliban said that new conditions proposed by the government had challenged the process. Jalaluddin Shinwari, the Taliban former Attorney General,...

NDS arrests Deash^Khurasan leader

The National Directorate of Security, in a statement, says that it has arrested, Abdullah Orakzai aka Aslam Farooqi, the Khurasan leader of Daesh, along with 19 of his men, including Qari Zahid and Saifullah aka Abu Talha Pakistani, in an operation conducted by the special forces of the directorate. According...

Afghan Govt, Taliban Set to Swap First Batch of Prisoners

The Afghan government and the Taliban are set to swap the first batch of their prisoners on Thursday, sources within the Afghan government said on Wednesday. A three-member delegation from the Taliban arrived in Kabul on Tuesday to discuss the issue of the Taliban�s prisoners. This follows two meetings...

8 Civilians Killed in Helmand Roadside Mine Blast

At least eight civilians were killed and two others were wounded in a roadside mine blast in southern Helmand province on Wednesday morning, provincial police said. The incident happened in Nahr-e-Saraj district of the province after a vehicle struck a roadside mine, said Zaman Hamdard, a spokesman...

Presidente Abdullah Abdullah endorses intra-Afghan dialogue negotiating team

Presidente Abdullah Abdullah endorsed Tuesday the delegation for intra-Afghan peace dialogue announced by Ashraf Ghani aimed to negotiate with the Taliban representatives, noting that the team represents the country�s national interests. He added in the statement that he gave priority to the peace...

Attacks in Takhar, Zabul Kill 19 ANDSF

Amid increasing violence in recent days across almost half of Afghanistan - 15 provinces--officials and other sources on Monday reported the latest attacks in two provinces, Takhar in the northeast and Zabul in the south, which caused casualties among Afghan forces. Sources said that at least 13 security...

Taliban reject Afghan government�s negotiating team

Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar (C) leaves after signing an agreement with United States officials during a ceremony in the Qatari capital of Doha, on February 29, 2020. (Photo by AFP) The Taliban militant group in Afghanistan has refused to enter into peace talks with the Afghan government,...

Graham Backs Reduction in US Aid to Afghanistan

US Senator Lindsey Graham has announced his support for a recent decision by the United States government to reduce its assistance to Afghanistan by $1 billion. The decision by the US Department of State was made over the Afghan leaders "failure" to overcome a political impasse in the country. "I...

US�s $1B Aid Cut Cannot be Compensated: President Abdullah

President Abdullah Abdullah at a press conference on Thursday said the US cut of $1B aid to Afghanistan cannot be compensated. On Tuesday, Ashraf Ghani in a statement abut the US reduction of aid to Afghanistan, said the cut in assistance will not have a direct impact on key sectors in Afghanistan. But...

Gunman attack Sikh religious gathering in Kabul, killing 25

At least 25 civilians were killed and eight others wounded as a gunman attacked a Gurudwara, a worship place of Sikh, in Kabul, the Interior Ministry (MoI) said. The armed man gunned down the guard of the temple in the Shor Bazar area in PD^2 of the city and entered the building at around 7:45 a.m....