Afghanistan war

Stories 141 - 160 | << Prev   Next >>

Obama Ditches Afghanistan Withdrawal Plan

More than 5K will remain when he leaves office

(Newser) - President Obama is scrapping a big goal of his presidency—to leave office with only a token force of troops in Afghanistan. Instead, in what the Wall Street Journal calls a "major reversal," Obama has decided to scrap the current withdrawal plan. About 10,000 US troops are...

US Troops: We Were Told to Ignore Pedophile Allies

Abuse of boys widespread on Afghanistan bases

(Newser) - American troops in Afghanistan say they were sickened to discover that many of the Afghan allies they worked with sexually abused young boys—and that they were expected to ignore it. Soldiers and Marines tell the New York Times that they were ordered not to intervene even when Afghan commanders...

Taliban Strikes Afghan Parliament

They tried to storm building during defense vote

(Newser) - The Taliban launched a complex attack on the Afghan parliament today with a suicide car bomber striking at the entrance and gunmen battling police as lawmakers were meeting inside to confirm the appointment of a defense minister, police and witnesses say. Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi says the attack began...

Bomb Blasts May Be Aging Soldiers&#39; Brains
Bomb Blasts May Be
Aging Soldiers' Brains
NEW STUDY

Bomb Blasts May Be Aging Soldiers' Brains

Even if they were far from the blasts

(Newser) - American soldiers exposed to bomb blasts in Iraq and Afghanistan are suffering early brain degeneration and aging—even if they were far from detonation, USA Today reports. In all, 256 veterans and service members between the ages of 19 and 62 were analyzed in a study published today in Brain:...

US Soldier Killed in Afghan Insider Attack

He is first US service member killed this year

(Newser) - In the first so-called "insider attack" to target NATO troops since they ended their combat mission at the start of the year, an Afghan soldier shot and killed a US soldier and wounded several others yesterday before being shot dead. The shooting happened after Afghan provincial leaders met a...

Bergdahl: I Was Tortured, Caged for 5 Years

Letter outlines brutal treatment from captors

(Newser) - Bowe Bergdahl spent his five years as a Taliban captive caged and tortured both physically and psychologically, according to a letter his lawyer released soon after he was charged with desertion . "I was kept in constant isolation during the entire five years, with little to no understanding of time,...

Judge: US Must Release Military Detainee Abuse Pics

Photos show detainees in Iraq and Afghanistan

(Newser) - The US must release photographs showing abuse of detainees in Iraq and Afghanistan, a federal judge has ruled in a long-running clash over letting the world see potentially disturbing images of how the military treated prisoners. US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein's ruling yesterday gives the government, which has fought...

Prince Harry Leaving Army
 Prince Harry Leaving Army 

Prince Harry Leaving Army

10 years in military included 2 tours in Afghanistan

(Newser) - It's a soldier's life no more for Britain's Prince Harry. Royal officials say the 30-year-old prince will leave the armed forces in June after 10 years of service that included two tours of duty in Afghanistan. Harry's final army duties will include a four-week assignment in...

Afghan Civilian Casualties Have Jumped 22%: UN

Taliban responsible for 72% of them, report says

(Newser) - The number of civilians killed or wounded in fighting in Afghanistan climbed by 22% in 2014 to reach the highest level in five years as foreign troops concluded their combat mission, the UN says in an annual report released today. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan in 2014 documented 10,...

US, NATO Formally End Afghanistan War

Afghan forces set to take over as Taliban remains deadly as ever

(Newser) - The United States and NATO formally ended their war in Afghanistan today with a ceremony at military headquarters in Kabul as the insurgency they fought for 13 years remains as ferocious and deadly as at any time since the 2001 invasion that unseated the Taliban. The symbolic ceremony marked the...

With US Gone, Afghans Struggle to Keep Taliban at Bay

1.3K killed between June and November in Helmand province: report

(Newser) - Following the departure of most US forces from Afghanistan, clashes between its security forces and the Taliban have been renewed, with brutal fighting returning to areas that had been comparatively quiet, the New York Times reports. From June to November, some 1,300 members of Afghan security forces were killed...

Taliban Attack Kills 12 Demining Workers

2 US soldiers shot dead elsewhere in Afghanistan

(Newser) - Taliban fighters shot dead at least 12 workers clearing mines today in southern Afghanistan, authorities said, part of a series of attacks that saw two US troops killed and a top Afghan court official gunned down. Security in the capital, Kabul, has been stepped up amid Taliban warnings that attacks...

Caterer Fined $389M in Years-Long Pentagon Scam

Supreme Group pleads guilty to $48M fraud

(Newser) - A firm that until last year provided food and water to 130,000 US soldiers in Afghanistan has pleaded guilty to fraud. Supreme Group, according to court papers, "devised and implemented a scheme to overcharge the United States" in an $8.8 billion contract, the Justice Department says in...

US, NATO Ceremonially End Afghan Combat Mission

Flag has been lowered but fighting will go on

(Newser) - The US and NATO have ceremonially ended their combat mission in Afghanistan, 13 years after the 9/11 attacks sparked their invasion of the country to topple the Taliban-led government. NATO's International Security Assistance Force Joint Command, which was in charge of combat operations, lowered its flag today, formally ending...

Obama Allows Bigger Combat Role in Afghanistan

Troops will be allowed to go after Taliban

(Newser) - The US still plans to wind down its mission in Afghanistan by the end of 2016, but the troops who remain in the country until then are going to be doing more fighting than previously planned, reports the New York Times . President Obama has quietly approved a broader mission with...

Give Our Iraq and Afghan Vets a Ticker-Tape Parade

Michael Daly: It's long overdue

(Newser) - New York City has had three ticker-tape parades since 9/11, and all three were for sports teams, writes Michael Daly in the Daily Beast . It is way past time, then, to throw one for the vets have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, he argues. No disrespect to the Yankees and...

Afghanistan, US Sign Long-Awaited Security Pact

Agreement will allow some US forces to remain in Afghanistan

(Newser) - Afghanistan and the United States signed a long-awaited security pact today that will allow US forces to remain in the country past the end of the year. At a ceremony held at the presidential palace in Kabul, newly appointed national security adviser Mohammad Hanif Atmar signed the document along with...

Afghan Suicide Bomber Waited 'Long Time' to Kill Troops

3 coalition soldiers dead in attack near US embassy

(Newser) - A suicide bomber in Kabul waited "a long time" for NATO troops to approach his explosives-packed car, says a Taliban spokesman; the eventual blast killed three coalition soldiers this morning, the Washington Post reports. Five others were wounded, the New York Times reports. The bomber targeted a two-vehicle convoy...

US General's Killer Hid in Bathroom Before Attack

Maj. Gen. Harold Greene got shot in the back, reports NBC

(Newser) - When an Afghan soldier identified as Mohammad Rafiqullah returned from patrol yesterday, he didn’t turn in his NATO-issued machine gun like his fellow soldiers. Instead, Rafiqullah hid in a bathroom with it at Camp Qargha, then opened fire from a window when generals came into view, an Afghan official...

US General Is First Slain in Combat Since 1970

Maj. Gen. Harold Greene was killed in Afghanistan

(Newser) - The US officer killed today in Afghanistan has been identified as Maj. Gen. Harold Greene, reports ABC News . The two-star general was shot to death when a man believed to belong to the Afghan army opened fire on his supposed allies at a military base near Kabul. The AP says...

Stories 141 - 160 | << Prev   Next >>