Afghanistan News

At least 10 killed in car bomb attack in southern Afghanistan

By AFP

Kabul - The Taliban killed at least 10 people and wounded 90 Thursday after a car bomb targeting an intelligence services building exploded and destroyed a nearby hospital in the southern Afghan city of Qalat, the governor of Zabul province told AFP.

Suicide bomber, gunmen attack Afghan government building

By AFP

Jalalabad - At least four people were killed and a dozen injured when gunmen stormed a crowded government building in eastern Afghanistan Wednesday following a suicide bombing, with desperate survivors leaping from windows to escape the fighting, witnesses and off...

Taliban open to new talks with US after bloody attacks

By AFP

Kabul - The Taliban's chief negotiator has said their "doors are open" to resuming talks with Washington, hours after two attacks by the insurgents killed at least 48 people in war-weary Afghanistan.

Taliban kill at least 48 in bloody day ahead of Afghan polls

By AFP

Kabul - Taliban suicide bombers killed at least 48 people and wounded dozens more in two blasts Tuesday -- one at a campaign rally for the president and the other in Kabul -- with the insurgents warning of more violence ahead of elections.

Blast outside president rally in central Afghanistan kills at least 24

By AFP

A suicide bomber killed at least 24 people outside a campaign rally for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani Tuesday, less than two weeks ahead of elections which the Taliban have vowed to disrupt.

Afghan leader nixes debate with main rival ahead of election

By AFP

Kabul - Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, who is seeking re-election later this month, on Monday refused at the last minute to take part in a TV debate with his main rival, current chief executive Abdullah Abdullah.

Moscow holds Taliban talks

By AFP

Moscow - A Taliban delegation held talks with Russian officials in Moscow after US negotiations with the Afghan insurgents collapsed, the Russian foreign ministry said Saturday."The Russian president's special representative for Afghanistan...

On 9/11, Trump vows to hit Taliban 'harder' than ever

By AFP

Washington - President Donald Trump used 9/11 remembrance commemorations Wednesday to announce an unprecedented escalation of the US military assault on Afghanistan's Taliban -- just days after he wanted to hold peace talks with the insurgents.

UN urges Afghans to hold 'direct talks' to seek peace

By AFP

New York - The UN envoy to Afghanistan on Tuesday urged all Afghan groups to open direct talks to end the country's long conflict after President Donald Trump shut down US negotiations with Taliban insurgents.

Taliban vows to fight on after Trump says talks are 'dead'

By AFP

Kabul - The Taliban on Tuesday vowed to continue fighting against US forces in Afghanistan after President Donald Trump said talks with the insurgents were "dead", saying Washington would regret abandoning negotiations.

Trump says Afghanistan peace talks with Taliban are 'dead'

By AFP

Washington - President Donald Trump on Monday said that US peace talks with the Taliban are "dead" and that he is ramping the war back up after canceling secret talks with the Afghan insurgents at his weekend retreat."They are dead.

Trump says Afghanistan peace talks with Taliban are 'dead'

By AFP

Washington - President Donald Trump on Monday said that US peace talks with the Taliban are over and announced that the US military has dramatically scaled up attacks on the insurgents in Afghanistan."They are dead.

US, Taliban keep open door to talks after summit scrapped

By AFP

Washington - The United States and Afghanistan's Taliban on Sunday both left the door open to fresh talks after President Donald Trump abruptly canceled a secret summit, but the insurgents threatened to inflict greater costs.

Pompeo doesn't rule out new Taliban talks

By AFP

Washington - US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday did not rule out reopening talks with the Taliban if they make a "significant commitment," after President Donald Trump cancelled a secret meeting with their leaders at his Camp David retreat.

Afghanistan: A look at war-torn nation's troubled past

By AFP

Paris - Afghanistan's recent past has been marked by successive waves of war and unrest, and despite years of foreign investment the nation remains one of the world's poorest.

On again, off again: Erratic history of talks with the Taliban

By AFP

Kabul - A secret US summit with the Taliban and Afghanistan's leader, abruptly cancelled by President Donald Trump on Saturday, was not the first time Washington has sought a deal with the Islamists.

In bombshell, Trump calls off secret summit, talks with Taliban

By AFP

Kabul - US President Donald Trump said he had called off a secret summit with the Taliban and Afghanistan's leader, abruptly slamming the door on a year of diplomacy to end America's longest war.

Trump calls off US-Taliban talks, secret Camp David meetings

By AFP

Washington - US President Donald Trump said Saturday that he had called off "peace negotiations" with the Taliban, talks which had appeared to be on the brink of a landmark deal to bring an end to 18 years of war.

Sidelined young Afghans pen 'letters of pain' as war rages

By AFP

Kabul - Omaid Sharifi, who heads a Kabul-based art collective, sits in his studio and leafs through a stack of dozens of hand-written letters, reading out sentences at random.

Taliban assault provincial capital in west Afghanistan

By AFP

Herat - The Taliban launched an offensive Friday against a key city in western Afghanistan, officials said, the latest in a surge of attacks as the US pushes for a deal that would allow it to begin withdrawing troops.

Taliban supporters cheer US withdrawal plans

By AFP

Kandahar - Taliban loyalists are cheering the prospect of a deal with the US that after 18 years of gruelling conflict will see "defeated" American "invaders" finally go home.

US envoy returns to Doha for more Taliban talks: State Dept

By AFP

Washington - US negotiator Zalmay Khalilzad has returned to Qatar for further talks with the Taliban as he fine-tunes a deal on withdrawing troops, the State Department said Thursday.

Afghan intelligence director quits after deadly raid

By AFP

Kabul - The head of Afghanistan's intelligence service resigned Thursday following a deadly raid by security forces in eastern Afghanistan that an official said left four brothers dead.

Nato troops among 10 dead in Taliban Kabul blast

By AFP

Kabul - The Taliban killed at least 10 people including two NATO troops in a Kabul bombing on Thursday, another attack on the Afghan capital just as a US envoy returned to talks with the insurgents on a troop withdrawal.

Kabul 'concerned' about US-Taliban deal, seeks clarification

By AFP

Kabul - The Afghan government expressed doubts Wednesday about a prospective deal between the US and the Taliban, saying officials need more information about the risks it poses.

Kabul blast toll rises as US tries to finalise Taliban deal

By AFP

Kabul - A massive blast in a Kabul residential neighbourhood killed at least 16 people, officials said Tuesday, following yet another Taliban attack that came as the insurgents and Washington try to finalise a withdrawal deal.

US-Taliban deal would see US pull troops from five bases: US envoy

By AFP

Kabul - The US military is set to pull troops from five Afghan bases under a proposed deal with the Taliban, the US envoy leading talks with the insurgents said Monday, in some of the first confirmed details of a much-anticipated accord.

US envoy meets with Afghan president in Kabul

By AFP

Kabul - The US envoy leading efforts to forge a deal with the Taliban has met with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Kabul, officials said Monday, as a historic agreement with the insurgents appeared close.

Afghan forces secure Kunduz after Taliban attack: officials

By AFP

Kunduz - Afghan security forces appeared to have cleared Kunduz of Taliban fighters Sunday, a day after insurgents tried to repeat a 2015 takeover of the northern Afghanistan city.

US and Taliban on 'threshold' of deal, says US Afghan envoy

By AFP

Kabul - The US and the Taliban are on the brink of striking a deal after 18 years of war, Washington's top negotiator said Sunday, ahead of a visit to Kabul where he was to meet with Afghan officials.