Kabul - The Taliban welcomed the latest withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan with the insurgents' spokesman Saturday calling the continued reduction of American forces a "good advancement" even as fighting raged across the war-weary country.

Herat - Two Taliban fighters who had infiltrated a base of pro-government Afghan militiamen killed 12 of them, officials and the insurgent group said Saturday.

Kunduz - At least nine Afghan security personnel were killed when Taliban militants attacked two police checkpoints overnight in a restive northern province, officials said Friday.

Kabul - Afghan traffic authorities are retiring licence plates containing the number "39" because the figure has long been associated with pimping and prostitution.

Kabul - The US military on Monday blamed the Taliban for a spate of assassinations of prominent Afghans, the first time Washington has directly accused the insurgent group of the killings.

Kabul - A string of assassinations has sowed fear and chaos across Afghanistan as a fresh round of peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban begin in Qatar Tuesday.

Kandahar - Brightly coloured milk bottles whizz off the production line at the Milko factory in Afghanistan's Kandahar province, the result of entrepreneur Ghami Mia treading a careful line with both the Taliban and government officials.

Kandahar - Once the epicentre of the Taliban's iron-fisted Islamist government, Kandahar city in Afghanistan's restive south is slowly transforming into a vibrant urban centre dotted with bustling cafes, co-ed universities -- and even a women's gym.

Kabul - The next round of negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government will be held in Qatar from next month, a top official said Sunday, despite President Ashraf Ghani's recent calls for them to be moved home.

Kabul - Gunmen on a motorbike shot dead a women's rights activist and her brother north of Afghanistan's capital Thursday, officials said, as a wave of assassinations ravages the violence-wracked country.

Tarin Kowt - After more than a decade fighting for the Taliban and being hounded by Afghan and US forces, Haji Lala thought there was little chance of ever returning home.

Kabul - Two women doctors working at an Afghan prison with hundreds of Taliban inmates were among five people killed Tuesday in a bomb attack, officials said, in the latest of several targeted killings in Kabul.

Kabul - Two women doctors working at an Afghan prison with hundreds of Taliban inmates were among five people killed Tuesday by a bomb stuck to their car, officials said.

Kabul - A car bomb targeting an Afghan lawmaker killed nine people and wounded more than a dozen in Kabul on Sunday, officials said, the latest attack to rock the capital.

An attack in Baghlan Province in Afghanistan killed 13 police. The attack was at a checkpoint. Details are still emerging. Although no one has claimed credit for the attack Afghan officials have blamed the Taliban.

Kabul - The next round of negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government should be held at home, President Ashraf Ghani said Monday, backing calls to move the talks from Qatar.

Kandahar - Dozens of Taliban fighters were killed in fierce overnight fighting between Afghan forces and militants who attacked multiple checkpoints in the insurgent bastion of Kandahar, officials said Sunday.

Kabul - A series of rockets struck the Afghan capital on Saturday, killing one person and wounding two, the interior ministry said, the second such attack to rock Kabul in less than a month.

Kabul - The US military in Afghanistan on Tuesday rejected a "one-sided" report that found civilian casualties caused by American and coalition air strikes soared after Washington relaxed its rules of engagement.

Ghazni - A suicide car bomber struck an army base in Afghanistan on Sunday killing at least 30 security personnel, officials said, in one of the deadliest attacks targeting government forces in months.