1TV: The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the threat from the Islamic State and al-Qaida in conflict areas including Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq, UN experts said in a new report. The report to the UN Security Council said that the threat continued to rise in conflict zones in the last half of 2020 because “the pandemic
Michael Hughes: The Taliban last week threatened to kill any American troop that remains in Afghanistan beyond the deadline of the peace deal the group struck with the Trump administration. The insurgent group is freely willing to make such a threat because it feels it holds all the cards. As a Taliban commander told a Western military
By Abubakar Siddique Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty January 28, 2021 A week after U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration said it would review Washington’s peace deal with the Afghan Taliban, the fate of the nearly year-old agreement is in the balance. The Taliban rejected a U.S. Treasury Department memo saying Al-Qaeda was “gaining strength in Afghanistan” because
Tolo News: The US Treasury Department said that the al-Qaeda is gaining strength in Afghanistan while “continuing to operate with the Taliban under the group’s protection.” “Al-Qaeda broadly still depends on donations from likeminded supporters, and from individuals who believe that their money is supporting humanitarian or charitable causes,” it said in a report released
1TV: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday called Iran “the new Afghanistan” as he accused Tehran of providing safe haven for al Qaeda militants. “I would say Iran is, indeed, the new Afghanistan – as the key geographic hub for al-Qaida – but it’s actually worse,” Pompeo said speaking at the National Press
Tolo News: Militant groups such as Taliban, al Qaeda and Daesh “are the main backers of drug trafficking” in Afghanistan, the counter-narcotics department of the Ministry of Interior said on Saturday. The ministry said the provinces such as Helmand, Nimroz, Farah and Badakhshan where the Taliban has more influence, poppy cultivation and drug processing “have
By Frud Bezhan Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty December 26, 2020 The war in Afghanistan — the world’s deadliest ongoing conflict — enters a crucial phase in 2021. The United States is set to withdraw all its troops from Afghanistan by May as part of a deal with the Taliban aimed at ending the 19-year war. But
By Jeff Seldin VOA News November 17, 2020 WASHINGTON – Key U.S. officials are not backing down from their assessment that core al-Qaida, while still a threat, is in decline, brushing aside intelligence suggesting the terror organization remains entrenched in Afghanistan and may be growing stronger. For months, tensions have been growing between the United States
Modern Diplomacy: Afghanistan is not only posing severe hurdles to neighbouring countries, but it is a menace to global peace. Notwithstanding, a full-fledged Afghan government, Taliban are accompanying with Al-Qaeda is the major key players in the region. They entirely disregard the policies of the government, also seeks to counterbalance the power politics in its
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty November 15, 2020 Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Christopher Miller has signaled that he could accelerate the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and the Middle East. In his first message to the U.S. armed services since his appointment by President Donald Trump, Miller wrote on November 13 that “all wars must end”