At Afghan peace talks, the hard work begins

Peace talks between the Taliban and Afghan government negotiators get down to business Sunday, with the search for a lasting ceasefire one of many key issues up for discussion. A slick opening ceremony in the Qatari capital Doha on Saturday saw the Afghan government, and allies including the US, call for a ceasefire. But... Read More

Taliban team returns to Doha for intra-Afghan peace talks

Negotiations are part of US-Taliban peace deal signed in February in the Qatari capital to end the 19-year conflict. A Taliban delegation has returned to Qatar, paving the way for the start of peace talks with the Afghan government that are expected to take place in the Gulf state. The delegation’s arrival early on... Read More

France asks Afghans not to free Taliban who killed its citizens

France objects to release of three men jailed for the murders of French nationals in Afghanistan. France has objected to the release of three men jailed for the murders of French nationals in Afghanistan as part of Kabul’s decision to release 400 Taliban prisoners as the last phase of fulfilling a condition set out... Read More

Taliban prisoner release re-opens wounds for victims’ families

The decision to release hundreds of the Taliban’s most dangerous prisoners has stirred painful memories for the loved ones of those killed in Afghanistan’s war, with many questioning whether the move will help bring peace. About 400 inmates are expected to be set free in the coming days, after which the Taliban have said... Read More

Taliban car bomb attack on Afghan intelligence compound kills 11

Gunfire follows bomb blast near National Directorate of Security office in Samangan province, wounding more than 40. Taliban fighters clashed with security forces following a car bomb blast at a government compound in northern Afghanistan, killing 11 people and wounding dozens more, officials have said. The attack claimed by the Taliban group on Monday... Read More

Eight years after shooting, Nobel-winner Malala graduates

Nobel Prize-winning activist Malala Yousafzai, who moved to Britain after being shot for campaigning for girls’ education in Pakistan, described her joy Friday at graduating from Oxford University. Almost eight years after she was attacked by the Taliban on her school bus in the Swat Valley, the 22-year-old posted photos on Twitter of her... Read More

Over 400 Afghan security personnel killed or wounded by Taliban in past week

The Taliban have killed or wounded more than 400 Afghan security personnel over the past week, the interior ministry said Sunday, accusing the insurgents of increasing attacks ahead of expected peace talks. Violence had dropped across much of Afghanistan since the Taliban announced a three-day ceasefire on May 24 to mark the Eid al-Fitr... Read More

Defying Trump’s Landmark Peace Deal, Taliban Continues to Back Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, UN Report Says

The U.S. went to war in Afghanistan with one goal in mind: ridding the country of the threat of al-Qaeda just weeks after the group killed nearly 3,000 people in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Now, after nearly 20 years of fighting in which more than 3,500 American and coalition lives have been lost, President... Read More

US troop pullout from Afghanistan ahead of schedule

The US military withdrawal from Afghanistan is considerably ahead of schedule, an official told AFP on Wednesday, as President Donald Trump reiterated calls for the Pentagon to bring troops home. The developments came as questions loomed over the next phase of Afghanistan’s long war following a historic, three-day ceasefire that led to a major... Read More

Afghanistan Taliban declares three-day ceasefire

he Taliban declared a three-day Eid ceasefire starting on Sunday, a spokesman for the hard-line Islamist group wrote in a tweet on Saturday, a move that comes as fighting has intensified between the warring sides despite the coronavirus pandemic. “Do not carry out any offensive operations against the enemy anywhere, if any action is taken against you by the enemy,... Read More