Tag: Afghanistan

Taliban assassinate head of Afghan government media department

KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) — The Taliban shot dead the head of the Afghan government’s media information centre Friday at a mosque in the capital, the ministry said, days after warning they would target senior administration officials in retaliation for increased air strikes. “Unfortunately, the savage terrorists have committed a cowardly act once again and martyred a patriotic Afghan,” interior ministry spokesman Mirwais Stanikzai said of the death of Dawa Khan Menapal. The Taliban claimed responsibility […]

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JUST IN: Floods kill 40 in north Afghanistan, 150 missing: officials

JALALABAD, Afghanistan (AFP) — At least 40 people have been killed with 150 more missing in northern Afghanistan after flash floods ravaged an area northeast of the capital Kabul, officials said on Thursday. A rescue operation was underway to find the missing people after torrential rains overwhelmed Kamdesh district in Nuristan province — about 200 kilometres (120 miles) northeast of Kabul. © Agence France-Presse

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At least 11 killed as roadside bomb hits bus in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) — A roadside bomb struck a bus in Afghanistan overnight killing at least 11 people just hours before the Taliban announced a three-day ceasefire to mark this week’s Eid al-Fitr holiday, the interior ministry said Monday. The attack in restive Zabul province left another 28 people wounded, interior ministry spokesman Tareq Arian told reporters. © Agence France-Presse

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US sends more reinforcements for Afghan pullout: Pentagon

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US military has deployed more heavy bombers and fighter jets to protect withdrawing American and coalition troops from Afghanistan, which have so far sustained no direct attacks, the Pentagon said Thursday. “Less than one week in, the drawdown is going according to plan,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters. Pentagon Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley said that to defend the departing troops, six B-52 long range bombers and 12 […]

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UN to maintain Afghanistan mission after US, NATO withdrawal

  UNITED NATIONS (AFP) — The UN said Thursday it will maintain its political and humanitarian mission to Afghanistan despite the departure of US and NATO troops later this year. Stephane Dujarric, spokesman to the UN secretary-general, said it was “clear and obvious” that the troops’ departure “will have an impact on the country as a whole,” in response to questions about the mission’s future. “We will continue to study the situation, but our work […]

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US President Biden says ‘time to end’ US war in Afghanistan with total pullout

  by Sebastian Smith Agence France Presse US President Joe Biden announced Wednesday it’s “time to end” America’s longest war with the unconditional withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, where they have spent two decades in a bloody, increasingly futile battle against the Taliban. Dubbed the “forever war,” the US military onslaught in Afghanistan began in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks against the United States. Now, 20 years later — after almost 2,400 US […]

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Key Al-Qaeda leader killed in Afghanistan

  by Mushtaq MOJADDIDI Agence France Presse KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) — Afghan forces have killed a top Al-Qaeda militant wanted by the United States, as the government on Sunday accused the Taliban of still keeping close ties with the Islamist militant group. Abu Muhsin al-Masri, an Egyptian national believed to be the group’s number-two in the Indian sub-continent, was targeted in eastern Ghazni province, Afghanistan’s intelligence agency said in a statement. The National Directorate of […]

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Afghanistan VP lightly wounded in deadly Kabul blast

by Emal HAIDARY KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) — Afghanistan’s vice president Amrullah Saleh sustained minor injuries Wednesday when an explosion targeted his convoy and killed at least 10 people, as government-backed negotiators and the Taliban prepared to meet in Doha for long-delayed peace talks. The attack in the capital Kabul was quickly condemned as an attempt to frustrate the peace process, with top Afghan and foreign officials calling for an end to the violence so negotiations […]

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Search for bodies as Afghan floods kill more than 160

CHARIKAR, Afghanistan (AFP) — Rescue workers were searching Thursday for bodies in the debris of collapsed houses after flash floods fuelled by torrential rains killed at least 162 people in Afghanistan. At least 100 people died in the city of Charikar north of Kabul when flooding overnight on Tuesday caused hundreds of buildings to collapse. Abdul Ghayor, a labourer who was working in the capital, said he had rushed back to Charikar to look for […]

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Afghanistan flash floods kill over 100

by Elise Blanchard with Emal Haidary in Kabul CHARIKAR, Afghanistan (AFP) — Rescue workers in Afghanistan searched Wednesday for survivors of flash floods that killed more than 100 people and destroyed hundreds of houses near Kabul, officials said. Troops pulled dozens of victims from the rubble of collapsed buildings in Charikar, capital of Parwan province, after torrential overnight rains fuelled fierce floods that swept through the city. Officials and witnesses said many children were among […]

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UPDATED: Flash floods kill more than 70 in Afghanistan

by Elise Blanchard with Emal Haidary in Kabul KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) — Rescue workers in Afghanistan searched Wednesday for survivors of flash floods that killed more than 70 people and destroyed hundreds of houses in a city north of the capital, officials said. Troops pulled dozens from the rubble of collapsed buildings in Charikar, capital of Parwan province, after it was hit by heavy rain overnight, but officials and witnesses said many children were among […]

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Shallow 4.6-magnitude earthquake rocks Kabul: USGS

KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) — A shallow 4.6-magnitude earthquake rocked Kabul on Monday, the US Geological Survey said, sending crowds into the streets of the Afghan capital. The quake shook Kabul at 8:36 pm (1606 GMT) with such violence that some residents at first thought it was a new explosion in the war-torn city. Despite the intensity of the jolt, there were no reports of any injuries or significant damage in the hours afterward. The USGS […]

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