US Envoy Hopes for Peace Deal With Taliban in 2019
The US special envoy to Afghanistan hopes to cement a peace deal with Taliban insurgents by April 2019, local media reported on Sunday.
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Political rows, worsening security greet Mattis in Afghanistan
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis arrived in Kabul on Friday to meet the new commander of NATO troops in Afghanistan and discuss progress on talks with the Taliban, despite deteriorating security and turmoil within the Afghan government.
US, Afghan forces battle Taliban in Ghazni
Although the Taliban overran a base in northern Afghanistan, and Afghan forces were battling insurgents for a fifth day in the eastern city of Ghazni on Tuesday, the U.S. military reported that the city 'remains under Afghan government control.'
Taliban blindsides U.S. forces with surprise Afghan offensive
The Taliban is on the verge of dramatically expanding its control over southern and eastern Afghanistan in a surprise offensive that has caught Afghan and American forces off guard and thrown a vexing new wrench into the Trump administration’s strategy for ending the nearly 17-year-old war there.
US Open to Direct Talks With Taliban, Officials Say
The United States is open to holding direct talks with the Taliban to encourage negotiations between the militant group and the Afghan government to end 17 years of war, U.S. officials said Monday.
The secret story of how America lost the drug war with the Taliban
As Afghanistan edged ever closer to becoming a narco-state five years ago, a team of veteran U.S. officials in Kabul presented the Obama administration with a detailed plan to use U.S. courts to prosecute the Taliban commanders and allied drug lords who supplied more than 90 percent of the world’s heroin -- including a growing amount fueling the nascent opioid crisis in the United States.
Rocket Strike Kills 50 Afghan Taliban Leaders, U.S. Military Says
More than 50 senior Taliban commanders were killed in an artillery strike on a meeting in Afghanistan's southern province of Helmand, a U.S. military spokesman said on Wednesday, as fighting continues across the country.
Senators introduce new war powers resolution days after Syria strike
Lawmakers on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee introduced new Authorization for the Use of Military Force legislation to replace current war authorizations from 2001 and 2002 that have not been revised since they were passed.
B-52 drops record number of smart bombs on Taliban
The US has set a record for the number of guided bombs dropped from a single bomber in a series of strikes against the Taliban.
Militants attack Kabul airport during Mattis visit, U.S. strike kills civilians
Suicide bombers and militants firing mortars attacked Kabul’s airport during a visit by U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Wednesday, prompting a U.S. air strike that accidentally killed civilians, officials said.
Taliban 'removed voters' fingers' for Voting in Afghan Election
Eleven Afghans who participated in this weekend's presidential runoff poll had their index fingers cut off by Taliban insurgents as punishment for voting.
Obama Administration Officials Refuse to Justify Taliban Release
Obama administration officials refused to fully explain to key senators the justification for freeing five senior Taliban leaders that the White House had once considered to be among the most dangerous prisoners being held in the Guantanamo Bay prison camp, according to senior Senate insiders familiar with a closed-door briefing held Tuesday for members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
USA Today Poll: Obama Mishandled Bergdahl Exchange
Public opposition to the exchange of five Taliban prisoners for captive Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has less to do with Bergdahl himself and more with how President Obama handled the transfer, according to a new USA TODAY/Pew Research Center poll.
Taliban Inspired to Kidnap Others (Video)
Asked whether the Taliban would be inspired by the exchange to kidnap others, a commander laughed. "Definitely."
Republicans Demand Hearings Over Release of 'Taliban Dream Team'
Leading lawmakers on Monday called for an immediate investigation into the Obama administration's controversial decision to release from prison five top Taliban leaders in exchange for an American prisoner.
U.S. Soldier Held by Taliban Released in Exchange for Afghan Detainees
Amid jubilation Saturday over the release of U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl from captivity by the Taliban, senior Republicans on Capitol Hill said they were troubled by the means by which it was accomplished, which was a deal to release five Afghan detainees from the military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Taliban Imposes Islamic Law In Pakistan Region
Minority Christians and other non-Muslims faced potential persecution Tuesday, December 30, as militants linked to Taliban and Al-Qaeda groups imposed Shariah, or Islamic law, in the Orakzai Agency tribal region of the restive Pakistani North West Frontier Province (NWFP), officials told BosNewsLife.
Pakistan: Freed Christian Describes Kidnapping Ordeal
A Christian doctor described receiving various death threats while kidnapped recently by Islamic extremists in an area of Pakistan reeling from extremist violence.
Pakistan Evangelical Pastor Killed Amid Growing Religious Tensions
Christians in Pakistan's volatile North West Frontier Province (NWFP) faced new tensions Wednesday, January 30, amid reports that a Pakistani pastor has been shot and killed because of his involvement in evangelistic work.
Salvation Army's Pakistan Commander Killed
The commander for Pakistan of The Salvation Army, a major Christian mission organization, has been shot and killed, a Protestant news agency reported Sunday, September 30, the latest in a series of attacks against Christians in the country.