Taliban

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Military Outlining Modest Afghan Withdrawal

But only a small one

(Newser) - US military officers are drawing up plans for a modest troop reduction in Afghanistan that’s designed to meet President Obama’s July deadline without conceding the ground they’ve gained in the restive south. Preliminary plans call for the withdrawal of 5,000 troops in July, and another 5,...

Taliban: Osama's Death Inspires Us to Keep Fighting

New video shows purported frontline fighters

(Newser) - Al-Qaeda isn't the only organization making threats in the wake of Osama bin Laden's death: In a new video, unidentified fighters who identify themselves as frontline Taliban militants promise to continue fighting until all foreign forces have left Afghanistan. "Even if the news of Osama bin Laden'...

US Saw Chance at bin Laden in 2007

Osama was expected at Taliban, al-Qaeda rally in Afghanistan

(Newser) - Four years ago, the US believed it had a chance to capture or kill Osama bin Laden: Militants would be gathering in the Tora Bora region of Afghanistan for suicide attack training, and there were whispers that bin Laden would attend. A secret raid on the site resulted in the...

With Osama Dead, Taliban, al-Qaeda May Part Ways

Bin Laden's death provides the opening for peace talks

(Newser) - Osama bin Laden's death is likely to make the Taliban rethink its alliance with al-Qaeda, which was likely initially based on a personal friendship between bin Laden and the Taliban's one-eyed leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, analysts tell the AP . The US and Afghan governments won't negotiate a...

Afghans: Osama’s Death Is Not ‘Mission Accomplished’

Al-Qaeda, Taliban aren't finished, officials warn, but others want US out of Afghanistan

(Newser) - Osama bin Laden may be dead, but Afghan officials warn that the war on terror is far from over, the New York Times reports—even as bin Laden's death strengthens cries for the US to pull out of Afghanistan. “The killing of Osama should not be seen as...

Taliban Use Child Suicide Bomber

Using 12-year-old for attack inhumane, un-Islamic: Karzai

(Newser) - On the first day of its promised spring offensive, the Taliban used a 12-year-old boy as a suicide bomber in an attack today that killed four civilians, President Hamid Karzai said, calling the child's recruitment inhumane and un-Islamic. It was one of several attacks across the country that killed...

Taliban Promises Spring Offensive

It warns of increased attacks on foreign troops

(Newser) - The Taliban waged a propaganda attack today by warning of a spring offensive in Afghanistan. The statement from the group's leadership promised to ramp up attacks on "foreign invaders," members of the Karzai government, and anyone conducting business with NATO troops, reports the Los Angeles Times . Apparently...

Afghan Killed 9 Americans After Disarming Them

Pilot shot them after argument; brother denies Taliban link

(Newser) - The grim details are taking shape in the wake of today's shooting at Kabul's airport . All nine victims were Americans—eight US troops and one contractor—who were training members of Afghanistan's fledgling air force. The shooter, an Afghan pilot, got into an argument with the trainers,...

Afghan Pilot Kills NATO Troops After ‘Argument’

Man had been in Afghan military for 20 years

(Newser) - A veteran Afghan military officer opened fire on foreign forces today after a dispute at the Kabul airport, killing several NATO troops, Afghan and coalition officials said. It was the latest in a spate of attacks that have occurred inside government or military installations. The Taliban claimed responsibility, but Defense...

Taliban Bust Hundreds Out of Afghan Prison

Taliban spokesman says 100 are commanders

(Newser) - Hundreds of prisoners, most of them Taliban fighters, escaped from an Afghanistan prison last night, and so far only 13 have been recaptured. Taliban militants staged the escape by digging a 1,050-foot underground tunnel into Kandahar's main prison and leading about 475 prisoners out, the AP reports. Al...

Man in Army Uniform Kills 2 in Afghanistan

Taliban claims responsibility; gunman thought to be infiltrator

(Newser) - A man wearing an Afghan army uniform opened fire inside the Defense Ministry today, killing at least two soldiers before being gunned down himself. A Defense Ministry spokesperson first called the attacker an Afghan soldier, then backtracked; he may have been a Taliban infiltrator, the AP reports. The Taliban claimed...

Taliban Weakens in Afghanistan's South

But progress is 'fragile and reversible,' says Petraeus

(Newser) - Rare good news from Afghanistan: The Taliban is losing ground in the south, meaning that “we start this year in a very different place from last year,” Gen. David Petraeus says. For the first time since the beginning of the war, the Taliban’s summer fighting season begins...

Taliban Infiltrator Kills 10 at Afghan NATO Base

Five NATO troops and five others are dead in suicide bombing

(Newser) - The Taliban seems to have settled on a deadly new strategy: A suicide bomber who infiltrated the military killed five NATO troops today, four Afghan soldiers, and an interpreter, reports the AP . It's not clear yet if any of the NATO victims were Americans. The bomber, apparently a recruit...

Pakistan Forces Kill 54 Militants

Three troops also killed in firefight near Afghan border

(Newser) - Pakistani security forces backed by helicopter gunships and jets killed 54 alleged militants in a much-contested region near the Afghan border, a government official said today. Three troops also died in the clashes. Pakistani troops were doing routine patrolling in the Mohmand tribal region when they came under attack, according...

Al-Qaeda Returns to Afghanistan

Senior al-Qaeda members killed in September attack

(Newser) - The US has been conducting an increasing number of Special Ops raids in northeastern Afghanistan to deal with threats that haven’t been seen in years: al-Qaeda training bases. Over the past six to eight months, al-Qaeda has been trickling back into Afghanistan from Pakistan, setting up camp in the...

Taliban: We Kidnapped 50 Afghan Cops

Ambush new grads traveling in Kunar province

(Newser) - The Taliban claimed today that it kidnapped 50 Afghan policemen in northeastern Afghanistan—part of the insurgents' murder and intimidation campaign against anyone affiliated with the US-backed government. Militants ambushed the policemen yesterday afternoon after being tipped off that they would be traveling in Kunar province, a Taliban spokesman said....

US Raids Have Captured, Killed 900 Taliban Leaders

Military says insurgency is having trouble finding replacements

(Newser) - If the body count is any indication, coalition forces are making progress in Afghanistan: US-led military forces have captured or killed more than 900 Taliban leaders over the past 10 months, say military leaders. Special forces stepped up operations to decapitate the insurgent force by focusing on leadership as part...

Gates: After 2014, US Should Stay Involved in Afghanistan

Officials agree on engagement beyond deadline, says defense secretary

(Newser) - Both the US and Afghanistan agree that the US military should maintain its involvement with Afghanistan past 2014 by continuing to train and advise Afghan troops, said Defense Secretary Robert Gates. “Obviously it would be a small fraction of the presence that we have today, but I think we're...

In Video, Boys Practice Being Suicide Bombers

Taliban says it's not behind video, but approves of it

(Newser) - A disturbing new video has emerged of young boys play-acting the last moments of a suicide bomber's life. The 84-second video features a group of Afghan or Pakistani Pashtun children; one, dressed with a black scarf over his face, hugs each boy, then walks toward a boy dressed in white,...

Taliban's Middle Managers 'Tired of Fighting'

New US raid strategy may be taking its toll

(Newser) - Many mid-level Taliban commanders are increasingly unhappy at the prospect of returning to battlefield in Afghanistan, putting them at odds with the top-level commanders in Pakistan, one commander tells the New York Times. “I have talked to some commanders, and they are reluctant to fight,” he says. “...

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