Taliban

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Taliban: We Still Control Marjah

Insurgents deny NATO's claims of early success

(Newser) - A Taliban spokesman says Afghan insurgents are still in control of the southern town of Marjah amid ongoing fighting with NATO and Afghan forces. Spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi said by phone today that Taliban fighters are holding their ground, and that Afghan government claims of 20 dead Taliban fighters were...

Major Afghan Assault Begins
 Major Afghan Assault Begins 
Feb 12, 2010 6:00 PM CST

Major Afghan Assault Begins

US, Afghan forces attack Taliban-held Marjah

(Newser) - The largest US-led offensive in Afghanistan since the 2001 charge that unseated the Taliban is now under way, with Marines and Afghan troops attacking the southern Taliban stronghold of Marjah, which they surrounded yesterday. Operation Moshtarak—meaning “together” in the native Dari tongue—could involve as many as 15,...

Afghan Bomber Wounds 5 Americans at US Base

Bomber infiltrates US base near Pakistani border

(Newser) - A suicide bomber wearing an Afghan border policeman's uniform blew himself up today at a US base near the Pakistani frontier, wounding five Americans, an Afghan official said. The attack occurred after sundown in a barracks at a US facility in the Dand aw Patan district in eastern Afghanistan, about...

Pakistan Wants In on Afghan Peace Talks With Taliban

Could offer reconciliation with lethal branch of militants

(Newser) - As the US and Afghanistan mull reconciliation with the Taliban as a way to wind down the war, Pakistan wants a role in potential peace talks. The Pakistanis would bring to the table their influence over the Haqqanis, a particularly lethal Taliban branch that is fighting against allied soldiers in...

Attack Draws Attention to Quiet US Efforts in Pakistan

Taliban may have had intelligence from within the Frontier Corps

(Newser) - The US had an uncomfortable light shined on its training operations in Pakistan yesterday, when three American soldiers were killed in a Taliban suicide bombing in Lower Dir. The soldiers were part of a Special Operations team training Pakistan’s paramilitary Frontier Corps, the New York Times reports, a program...

3 US Soldiers Killed in Attack on Pakistan Girls' School

Bomb targets convoy traveling to school's opening ceremony

(Newser) - Three US soldiers were among at least 10 people killed when the Pakistani Taliban targeted the opening ceremony of a girls' school today. At least 70 people, including many schoolgirls, were injured when a roadside blast hit a group traveling in a convoy guarded by a military escort, the BBC...

Karzai Seeks Saudi Help in Taliban Talks

Afghan president arrives in Riyadh

(Newser) - Hamid Karzai arrived in Riyadh today, hoping to secure Saudi Arabia’s help in peace negotiations with the Taliban. Karzai and his entourage will first make a pilgrimage to Mecca, then meet with King Abdullah tomorrow to discuss the reconciliation process. Abdullah has said his government won’t participate as...

Pakistani Taliban Leader Reported Dead

Army probes reports that drone strike killed Hakimullah Mehsud

(Newser) - The Pakistani army is investigating reports that the leader of the Taliban in the country has died after being injured in an American military drone strike. Hakimullah Mehsud, 28, had been at the helm of the Pakistani Taliban for 5 months, having taken over after the death—also in a...

France: No More Combat Troops for Afghanistan

Minister says France will consider sending extra trainers

(Newser) - The 7,000 reinforcements NATO has promised to send to Afghanistan along with the American surge won't be coming from France. French officials have ruled out sending more combat troops to the country but will consider sending more trainers for Afghanistan's army and police, Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told CNN...

Afghan Tribe to Fight Taliban in Deal for US Aid

US hopes for similar deals throughout Afghanistan

(Newser) - In a groundbreaking pact, an entire Afghan tribe has pledged to join with the US-backed government to fight the Taliban. The 400,000-strong Shinwari tribe, which controls key areas on the Pakistan border, will battle insurgents, burn down homes harboring Taliban fighters, and contribute one military-aged male from each family...

McChrystal: There's Been Enough Fighting

General foresees settlement with weakened Taliban

(Newser) - Gen. Stanley McChrystal says he’s pushing towards a negotiated peace with the Taliban, using his newly-expanded forces to weaken their bargaining position. “As a soldier, my personal feeling is that there’s been enough fighting,” the NATO commander in Afghanistan tells the Financial Times . “What I...

Gates Visits Pakistan, Urges Terror Crackdown

But Pakistan says it won't launch further offensives

(Newser) - Robert Gates arrived in Islamabad today for an unannounced visit, urging a crackdown on Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters headed for India or Afghanistan. Pakistan often leaves such outward-bound militants alone, concentrating on domestic foes, but “the reality is that you can’t ignore one part of this cancer and...

Stunning Kabul Attack Shows Taliban Moving Into Cities

'Nobody is ready to make any kind of deal'

(Newser) - Yesterday's militant assault in the heart of Kabul succeeded not only in paralyzing the city for hours—it also exposed the vulnerability of the US-backed Afghan government, demonstrated the resilience of the Taliban, and left the usually quiet city with a lingering sense of fear. The morning rush-hour attack offered...

Gun Battle Erupts Near Afghan Prez Palace

Explosionw rock ministries, luxury hotel in central Kabul

(Newser) - A gun battle has erupted near Afghanistan's presidential palace between national security forces and the Taliban shortly after explosions rocked the central Kabul neighborhood. A huge plume of smoke was rising from the area near the Afghanistan Central Bank, government ministries and a luxury hotel popular with westerners, reports the...

70% of Afghan Civilian Deaths Caused by Taliban

Death caused by allied forces down 28%

(Newser) - The number of Afghan civilians who died in war-related violence last year soared to the highest annual level since the conflict began in 2001, with nearly 70% blamed on insurgents, according the the UN, and 25% to allied forces. The UN mission in Afghanistan said 2,412 civilians were killed...

'Vaccination Diplomacy': Taliban Helps UN, Karzai

In 'pact with the devil,' group helps get polio vaccine to far-flung regions

(Newser) - The Taliban may be pariahs to much of the world, but the group's indisputable hold on vast swaths of Afghanistan has produced an unusual arrangement: It's working with UN health officials and the Afghan government to wipe out polio. Volunteers travel to normally dangerous regions to vaccinate children, armed with...

Al-Qaeda Claims Afghan CIA Attack

7 Americans killed included 2 Blackwater contractors

(Newser) - Al-Qaeda became the latest terrorist organization to claim responsibility for the blast that killed eight operatives at a CIA base in Afghanistan last week, with a statement on the al-Qaeda website identifying the bomber as Abu Dujana, a prominent Islamist author and staple on jihadi websites, CNN reports. US intelligence...

General: Brace for Thousands of GI Casualties

McCaffrey predicts Afghan spring offensive will take heavy toll

(Newser) - America should prepare for thousands of casualties when the beefed-up US force in Afghanistan begins its spring offensive against the Taliban, warns a retired general and military expert. Gen. Barry McCaffrey, an analyst who has visited the war zone several times, predicts US casualties will rise to as many as...

Toll Nears 100 After Pakistan Suicide Attack

Bomber detonated car during volleyball tournament

(Newser) - A northwest Pakistani village that tried to resist Taliban infiltration struggled with grief today as families mourned 96 people killed in an apparent revenge suicide bombing at an outdoor volleyball game. The attack on Shah Hasan Khel village was one of the deadliest in a surge of bombings that have...

CIA Base Chief Among 7 Killed in Afghan Blast

Suicide bomber may have been invited as potential informant

(Newser) - Among the seven CIA employees and contractors killed in yesterday's suicide bombing in Afghanistan was the agency's chief officer at the post. One former intelligence official called the attack "devastating" to the CIA's operations in the country. "There was some tremendous talent lost," the official tells the...

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