Airstrikes kill over 60 militants in Afghanistan
KABUL: Afghan Air Force has conducted a series of sorties in the country’s southern and northern provinces, killing more than 60 armed insurgents and injuring scores of others over the past 24 hours,…
52 killed in Afghanistan as Taliban attack security forces
KABUL: Taliban insurgents launched separate attacks on Afghan security forces in the country’s north, killing at least 52, provincial officials said on Monday. Mohammad Yusouf Ayubi, head of the provincial council in…
Political rows, worsening security greet Mattis in Afghanistan
KABUL: US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis arrived in Kabul on Friday to meet the new commander of NATO troops in Afghanistan and discuss progress on talks with the Taliban, despite deteriorating security…
Tajik or Russian plane has bombed an Afghan border area in Takhar province, says official
KABUL: A Tajik or Russian plane bombed Afghanistan’s Durqad district in northeastern Takhar province on Sunday after clashes erupted near Tajikistan’s border, an Afghan government official said on Monday, reported Reuters. Khalil…
Russian peace talks raise specter of shifting influence
Pakistan is ready to be a partner in peace with Washington, but will no longer partner in war ISLAMABAD: Vladimir Putin’s Russia appears to have emerged as a player in Afghanistan after…
Taliban release 160 civilians but keep at least 20 others captive
KABUL: The Taliban released more than 160 civilian passengers a day after they were kidnapped from three buses in northern Afghanistan but kept at least 20 soldiers and policemen as captives, an…
Taliban reject Afghan ceasefire, kidnap nearly 200 bus passengers
KABUL/PESHAWAR: The Taliban rejected on Monday an Afghan government offer of a ceasefire and said they would persist with their attacks, militant commanders said, while insurgents ambushed three buses and nearly 200…
Taliban kidnap 170 passengers from buses in Afghanistan’s north, official says
KABUL: Taliban insurgents kidnapped 170 passengers after stopping three buses in Afghanistan’s northern Kunduz province, a government official said on Monday. Esmatullah Muradi, a spokesman for the Kunduz governor, said the kidnapping…
Afghan Taliban considering Eid holiday ceasefire
PESHAWAR: The Taliban are considering announcing a ceasefire during next week’s Eid holiday, despite heavy fighting seen over recent days in the central Afghan city of Ghazni, two senior Taliban officials said.…
Taliban militants overrun Afghan army base, capture dozens of soldiers
KABUL: Taliban militants overran large parts of an army base in northern Afghanistan, killing at least 14 soldiers, wounding 15 and capturing dozens more in fighting over the past two days, officials…
Afghan special forces sent to bolster threatened city defences
KABUL: Afghan special forces units moved to embattled Ghazni overnight to try to beat back Taliban insurgents who have come close to overrunning the city as public anger mounted over the government’s…
Intense fighting in Afghan city Ghazni as Taliban presses
KABUL: Taliban insurgents attacked police headquarters and other government buildings in Ghazni in central Afghanistan on Sunday and were threatening to seize control of the city, with the main highway now heavily…
Afghan Taliban delegation visits Uzbekistan to talk security, power lines
KABUL: A delegation from the Afghan Taliban met officials in Uzbekistan during a five-day trip to the country last week to discuss issues including transport and power lines and peace in Afghanistan,…
Taliban cling to pockets of Afghan city after assault
KABUL: Afghan forces were still battling the Taliban in parts of Ghazni on Saturday, a day after the insurgents launched a multi-pronged assault on the eastern city. Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish…
Taliban fighters storm Afghanistan’s Ghazni
GHAZNI: Heavily armed Taliban fighters attacked Ghazni city in central Afghanistan early on Friday, burning police checkpoints, shelling houses and business areas and seizing control of parts of the city before being beaten…
Taliban claim to be preparing onslaught to drive Islamic State from Afghan stronghold
Taliban commanders say they are preparing a major offensive to drive Islamic State group militants from their stronghold in Afghanistan. Hundreds of fighters spearheaded by the Taliban’s so-called Red Unit elite forces…
Amnesty possible for Islamic State fighters surrendering in north Afghanistan
MAZAR-E-SHARIF: Islamic State fighters who surrendered to Afghan forces this week in the northern province of Jawzjan may be granted amnesty despite accusations of atrocities including rape and murder, officials said. Around…