Afghanistan

Stories 201 - 220 | << Prev   Next >>

With 'Stunning Speed,' Taliban Takes 3 More Provincial Capitals

Capitals of Badakhshan, Baghlan, and Farah provinces fall to fundamentalist Islamic group

(Newser) - The Taliban seized three more provincial capitals in Afghanistan and a local army headquarters in a blitz across the country's northeast, officials said Wednesday, with the insurgents now controlling some two-thirds of the nation as the US and NATO finalize their withdrawal after its decades-long war there. The fall...

Pentagon: 'It's Their Country to Defend Now'

US will not step up airstrikes in Afghanistan despite Taliban advance

(Newser) - The US showed no sign Monday of stepping up airstrikes in Afghanistan despite accelerating Taliban gains there. A Pentagon spokesman emphasized that Americans now see the fight as one for Afghan political and military leaders to win or lose. "When we look back, it’s going to come down...

Taliban Assassinate Country's Top Media Official

Fighters overrun capital of Nimruz province

(Newser) - The deputy governor of Nimruz province in southwest Afghanistan says its capital city has fallen to the Taliban, making it the first provincial capital to be overrun by Taliban fighters since American forces began their withdrawal. The attack on Zaranj marks an escalation in the Taliban campaign, which has mainly...

Slain Photojournalist's Body Mutilated Beyond Recognition

Taliban say they treated Danish Siddiqui's remains with respect

(Newser) - An Indian photojournalist was kidnapped by the Taliban and executed, then his body was mutilated, Afghan officials say. Danish Siddiqui, a Pulitzer Prize-winner working for Reuters, was ambushed while covering fighting in the Spin Boldak region, near Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan, in mid-July, the Hindu reports. Siddiqui managed...

Taliban Slaying of Online Comic Sparks Anger, Apprehension

Watchdog group says even mild criticism isn't safe

(Newser) - The Taliban's killing of a Kandahar police officer, better known as a goofy comic who posted his bits on social media, has drawn condemnation across Afghanistan. Nazar Mohammad Khasha, also known as Khasha Zwan, was dragged from his home and shot to death last week, the Washington Post reports....

Biden Message to First Afghan Evacuees: 'Welcome Home'

First group of interpreters arrives in US, with hundreds more to be brought over to escape Taliban retaliation

(Newser) - The Biden administration promised to help thousands of translators in Afghanistan flee their homeland ahead of the US troop withdrawal there next month. That promise is now coming to fruition, as the first 200 or so Afghans, mostly interpreters and their families, were evacuated and transported to Dulles International Airport,...

As Evacuations Near, Taliban Behead Translator

US has promised to evacuate translators but won't protect Afghans trying to reach planes

(Newser) - Sohail Pardis was last seen trying to run a Taliban checkpoint on a desert road. The Taliban opened fire, CNN reports. When the car stopped, Pardis was dragged from it and beheaded. He had been threatened after the Taliban learned he had served as a translator for US troops for...

Ambassador's Daughter Seized and Beaten

Afghanistan demands quick investigation by Pakistan

(Newser) - The daughter of Afghanistan's ambassador to Pakistan was abducted in the middle of the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, held for several hours, and brutally attacked, officials in both countries said Saturday. No one has been arrested in connection with Friday's assault on Silsila Alikhil, 26. The Afghan foreign...

As General Gives Up Command, an End to US' Longest War

Army Gen. Austin 'Scott' Miller to step down Monday as commander of US, NATO forces in Afghanistan

(Newser) - For nearly three years , Army Gen. Austin "Scott" Miller has been in command of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, which NBC News reports is longer than anyone else in that role. Now, Miller is set to step down from his post on Monday, in what NBC and other...

Taliban: We Now Control Almost All of Afghanistan

Group says it has 85% of territory amid American withdrawal

(Newser) - The Taliban claimed Friday that they now control 85% of Afghanistan's territory amid a surge in wins on the ground and as American troops complete their pullout. The announcement came at a press conference at the end of a visit by a senior Taliban delegation to Moscow this week—...

US Left Bagram Without Notifying New Commander

3.5M items were left behind at Afghanistan base

(Newser) - The US left Afghanistan's Bagram Airfield after nearly 20 years by shutting off the electricity and slipping away in the night without notifying the base's new Afghan commander, who discovered the Americans' departure more than two hours after they left, Afghan military officials said. The US announced Friday...

After Nearly 2 Decades, US Exits Bagram Airfield

Hands it over to Afghans as it works to end 'forever war'

(Newser) - After nearly 20 years, the US military left Bagram Airfield, the epicenter of its war to oust the Taliban and hunt down the al-Qaeda perpetrators of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America, two US officials said Friday. The airfield was handed over to the Afghan National Security and Defense Force...

After Almost 20 Years, Last German Troops Leave Afghanistan

150K have served there since 2001

(Newser) - Germany's last troops left Afghanistan Tuesday after a nearly 20-year deployment in the country, the defense minister said. Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer tweeted that the last Bundeswehr soldiers “left Afghanistan safely” Tuesday evening. She thanked the more than 150,000 troops who have served there since 2001 and...

Report: US Won't Pull 100% of Troops From Afghanistan

Those who stay will provide security for diplomats, sources tell AP

(Newser) - Roughly 650 US troops are expected to remain in Afghanistan to provide security for diplomats after the main American military force completes its withdrawal, which is set to be largely done in the next two weeks, US officials tell the AP . In addition, several hundred additional American forces will remain...

Hostage May End Up Left Behind as US Withdraws

Mark Frerichs was captured by Taliban last year

(Newser) - American contractor Mark Frerichs was seized in Kabul 17 months ago—and with the US withdrawal from Afghanistan picking up speed, his relatives fear he will be left behind. Special operations forces who could carry out a rescue operation if the 58-year-old were to be located will be gone from...

With US Withdrawal Looming, 2 More Attacks in Kabul

Minivan bombings kill 7 in area largely populated by minority Hazara ethnic group

(Newser) - Separate bombs hit two minivans in a mostly Shiite neighborhood in the Afghan capital Saturday, killing at least seven people and wounding six others, the Interior Ministry said. The attacks targeted minivans on the same road about 1.25 miles apart in a neighborhood in western Kabul, a ministry spokesman...

10 Killed 'in Cold Blood' in Mine-Clearing Camp

Taliban denies responsibility for attack on HALO Trust group in Afghanistan

(Newser) - The Taliban is denying responsibility for an attack in Afghanistan this week that left 10 members of a mine-clearing group dead and at least 16 injured, though the Afghan Interior Ministry is saying the hard-line movement was indeed responsible. In a statement , the HALO Trust, the organization made famous after...

In Afghanistan, German Military Has a Beer Problem

It finds a contractor to squirrel nearly 6K gallons of alcohol out of the country

(Newser) - The German military says it has found a solution for an unusual logistics problem its troops in Afghanistan face: a glut of beer. Defense Ministry spokeswoman Christina Routsi said Monday a decision by the German commander in Afghanistan to ban the consumption of alcohol for security reasons had resulted in...

As Troops Pull Out of Afghanistan, a Behind-the-Scenes Evacuation

Up to 18K vulnerable translators, other nationals have applied for special visas to the US

(Newser) - Joe Biden's planned troop withdrawal from Afghanistan has reportedly been moved up from September to July , pulling out the 3,500 or s o service members who remain in the country ahead of the 20th anniversary of 9/11. That will put an entirely different demographic—Afghan interpreters and other...

A Bomb Killed Dozens. Then the Crowd Attacked First Responders

Chaos after blast in majority Shiite district of Kabul, for which no one has yet claimed responsibility

(Newser) - A bomb exploded near a girl's school in a majority Shiite district of west Kabul on Saturday, killing at least 25 people, many them young pupils between 11 and 15 years old, an Afghan government spokesmen said. The Taliban condemned the attack apparently aimed at civilians and denied any...

Stories 201 - 220 | << Prev   Next >>