Tag: Taliban

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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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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US launches airstrike against Taliban to defend Afghan forces

  by Ammu KANNAMPILLY / with Hakim HASAS in Kunduz Agence France Presse KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) — The US launched an airstrike against Taliban fighters to defend Afghan forces Wednesday, an American military spokesman said, as violence spirals after a string of deadly attacks by the insurgents, throwing the country’s nascent peace process into grave doubt. News of the airstrike in southern Helmand province — the first in 11 days — came hours after US […]

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Taliban attacks kill 20 army, police, hours after Trump call

  by Hakim HASAS Agence France Presse KUNDUZ, Afghanistan (AFP) — Taliban militants killed at least 20 Afghan soldiers and policemen in a string of overnight attacks, government officials told AFP Wednesday, hours after US President Donald Trump said he had a “very good” chat with their political chief. The militants have ramped up violence against Afghan security forces in recent days, ending a partial truce put in place during the run-up to a landmark […]

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US, Taliban sign historic deal on Afghanistan’s future; timetable for full troop withdrawal within 14 months set

  by Gregory WALTON Agence France Presse DOHA, Qatar (AFP) — The United States signed a landmark deal with the Taliban on Saturday, laying out a timetable for a full troop withdrawal from Afghanistan within 14 months as it seeks an exit from its longest-ever war. The agreement is expected to lead to a dialogue between the Taliban and the Kabul government that, if successful, could ultimately see an end to the grinding 18-year conflict. […]

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US says, preparing to sign deal with Taliban on February 29

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — The United States is preparing to sign a deal with the Taliban on February 29, building on an agreement on reducing violence across Afghanistan, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday. “Upon successful implementation of this understanding, signing of the US-Taliban agreement is expected to move forward,” he said in a statement released after visiting Saudi Arabia. A week-long “reduction in violence” between the Taliban, the US and Afghan security […]

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Acting Pentagon chief Patrick Shanahan arrives in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) — Acting Pentagon chief Patrick Shanahan arrived in Afghanistan on a surprise visit Monday as the United States seeks to support the Kabul government while negotiating peace with the Taliban. Shanahan will meet President Ashraf Ghani, whose government was not part of major talks between US and Taliban officials last month that negotiators hope could bring a breakthrough in the grinding 17-year conflict. The US diplomat leading the talks has expressed hope […]

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Trump says talks with Taliban ‘constructive’

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that talks with Afghanistan’s Taliban were making headway as he voiced cautious hope for a negotiated end to America’s longest war. “My administration is holding constructive talks with a number of Afghan groups, including the Taliban,” Trump said in his annual State of the Union address to Congress, weighing “a possible political solution to this long and bloody conflict.” © Agence France-Presse

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Afghans bury victims of mosque attack as toll rises to 35

  KHOST, Afghanistan (AFP) — Hundreds of mourners Saturday buried the victims of a twin suicide attack on a Shiite mosque in eastern Afghanistan, as the death toll rose to 35, officials said. Two suicide bombers dressed as women struck a Shiite mosque in Gardez, capital of Paktia province, Friday as it was crowded with worshippers for weekly prayers. The burqa-clad attackers shot at the mosque’s security guards before opening fire on worshippers then detonating […]

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Over 50 Taliban leaders killed in US operation

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US forces killed over 50 Taliban leaders in a series of strikes against those behind a recent attack in the Helmand provincial capital of Farah, US military and NATO commander General John Nicholson said Wednesday. After pushing out fighters in Farah, Afghan and US forces continued to pursue them, Nicholson told reporters at the Pentagon via video link. Under surveillance by the Marines, the Taliban fighters returned to their Helmand stronghold, […]

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Thousands more US troops arrive in Afghanistan: general

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Approximately 3,000 additional American troops have now been deployed to Afghanistan under President Donald Trump’s revised strategy for the war-torn country, the Pentagon said Thursday. The Pentagon had previously put the number of US forces in Afghanistan at 11,000 but Trump in August authorized an increase requested by the commander on the ground, General John Nicholson. “We’ve just completed a force flow into Afghanistan,” Joint Staff Director Lieutenant General Kenneth McKenzie told […]

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