Tag: Taliban

Tillerson heads to Pakistan as US warns over Taliban havens

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AFP) — US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was to arrive in Islamabad Tuesday as Washington turns up the heat on Pakistan for allegedly providing “safe havens” for Taliban militants. Tillerson’s visit, his first to Pakistan since becoming secretary of state, comes weeks after US President Donald Trump angrily accused the nuclear-armed country of harboring “agents of chaos” who can attack NATO-led forces in neighboring Afghanistan. It follows on the heels of an unannounced stop […]

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Amnesty condemns ‘forced’ returns of Afghan asylum seekers

KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) – A surge of failed Afghan asylum seekers “forcibly” returned from Europe are at risk of torture, kidnapping and death in war-torn Afghanistan, Amnesty International said Thursday. Almost 9,500 Afghans went back to their homeland in 2016 after their applications for asylum in Europe were rejected, compared with nearly 3,300 a year earlier, the human rights group said. The figure covers asylum seekers who were detained and then deported from European countries, and those […]

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Trump open to eventual political deal with Taliban

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump Monday left the door open to an eventual political deal with the Taliban, in an address on America’s news strategy in the 16-year Afghan conflict. “Someday, after an effective military effort, perhaps it will be possible to have a political settlement that includes elements of the Taliban in Afghanistan,” he said. “But nobody knows if or when that will ever happen,” he added, before vowing that “America will […]

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Taliban car bombing at Afghan bank kills 34; wounds dozens

by Sefatullah Zahidi Agence France Presse LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan — At least 34 people were killed Thursday when a Taliban car bomb struck a bank in Afghanistan’s Lashkar Gah city as people were queueing to withdraw salaries, the latest bloody attack during the month of Ramadan. Dozens of wounded people were rushed to hospital on makeshift stretchers after the bombing at New Kabul Bank, which upturned vehicles, left the area littered with charred debris, and sent a […]

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Afghan leader issues ultimatum to Taliban as bombing toll tops 150

by Emal Haidary Agence France-Presse KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) — Afghan President Ashraf Ghani issued an ultimatum to the Taliban Tuesday, warning them to embrace peace or “face consequences” after announcing that the death toll from last week’s devastating truck bombing had passed 150. Ghani has come under mounting criticism over the bombing, the deadliest in Kabul since 2001, with protests and deadly street clashes roiling the Afghan capital as people incensed by spiralling insecurity call […]

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Global outrage after ‘barbaric’ Kabul truck bomb kills 90

    KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) — President Donald Trump has condemned the “barbaric” truck-bombing in Kabul in a phone call with his Afghan counterpart, as global outrage swells over the massive blast that ripped through the diplomatic quarter, killing at least 90 and injuring hundreds. No group has so far claimed the attack, launched from a sewage tanker packed with explosives, which tore a massive crater in the ground and blew out windows across the […]

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IS or Taliban? Hospital raid leaves Kabul stupefied

by Usman SHARIFI Agence France-Presse KABUL, Afghanistan  -The Islamic State group claimed a spectacular assault on Afghanistan’s largest military hospital that bore the hallmarks of the Taliban, prompting officials to voice misgivings as IS’s nascent presence in the country dwindles. IS claimed via its propaganda agency Amaq that its fighters dressed as doctors stormed the Sardar Daud Khan hospital in Kabul on Wednesday, reportedly killing around 50 people — hours after the Taliban denied responsibility. […]

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Heavy fighting as Taliban breach southern Afghan city

  KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFP) – by Mamoon Durrani The Taliban stormed into Tarin Kot Thursday, triggering heavy fighting around government buildings as panicked residents scrambled to flee the capital of southern Uruzgan province, the latest city to be targeted by insurgents. Pitched battles prompted urgent calls from officials for reinforcements and air support, after the militants toppled security posts on the outskirts to breach the city gates. Residents said senior officials were abandoning government buildings and […]

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Third blast after 24 killed in Kabul carnage

KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) – by Usman SHARIFI A third massive explosion shook central Kabul late Monday, hours after a Taliban double bombing killed at least 24 people and left 91 others wounded, in another day of carnage in the Afghan capital. Authorities said they were trying to pin down the location of the third blast and there was no immediate claim of responsibility from any militant group. It jolted the capital just hours after high-level […]

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Twin Taliban suicide blasts in Kabul kill 24, wound 91

KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) – by Usman SHARIFI At least 24 people were killed and 91 wounded Monday in a Taliban double suicide bombing in central Kabul during late afternoon rush hour, the latest assault on the Afghan capital. The carnage near the defence ministry came as the Taliban ramp up their nationwide summer offensive against the US-backed government. The two bombers on foot blew themselves up in rapid succession, in an assault apparently aimed at inflicting […]

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Afghan troops end attack on Kabul’s American University

by Mushtaq MOJADDIDI KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) — An attack at the American University in Kabul ended early Thursday after two attackers were killed, police said nearly 10 hours after militants stormed the complex, prompting desperate pleas for help from trapped students. The attack triggered explosions and gunfire, killing at least one person and wounding 26 others in a raid which comes just weeks after two university professors — an American and an Australian — were […]

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Thousands flee fierce fighting in Afghanistan’s Helmand

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFP) – by Mamoon Durrani Fierce fighting in Helmand has sent thousands of Afghans fleeing to the capital of the southern opium-rich province, sparking a humanitarian crisis as Taliban insurgents besiege the city despite intensified US air strikes. The Taliban advance on Lashkar Gah has compounded fears that the city was on the brink of falling into insurgent hands, even as US and Afghan officials insist that they will not allow another urban […]

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