Ayaz Gul VOA News / November 26, 2017 ISLAMABAD — A top official in Afghanistan has come under fire for seeming to confirm for the first time that neighboring Iran has recruited thousands of Shi’ite Afghans and “warriors” from other regional countries to fight in Syria. Deputy Afghan Chief Executive Mohammad Mohaqiq made the controversial statement
Ayaz Gul VOA News / November 24, 2017 ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN — A suicide blast in eastern Afghanistan killed at least 8 people Thursday and wounded 16 others. Officials said the explosion in Jalalabad, capital of Nangarhar province, ripped through a crowd outside the residence of a former district police commander. A provincial government spokesman, Attaullah Khogyani,
Ayesha Tanzeem VOA News November 22, 2017 ACHIN, AFGHANISTAN — The local police commander pointed toward a graveyard. Several of the graves lay partly open. “We dug up the graves to show the locals these Daesh fighters were no martyrs. Their bodies were eaten by insects and smelled bad,” Bilal Bacha, the commander said, using an
Press TV November 19, 2017 At least six policemen have been killed after the Taliban militants launched coordinated attacks on three checkpoints in Afghanistan’s western province of Farah, local officials say. At least eight other police forces also sustained injuries in the gun battles, which occurred on Saturday night, said Mohammad Naser Mehri, a spokesman
Jeff Seldin VOA News November 18, 2017 PENTAGON — Battered and beaten in Iraq and Syria, the Islamic State terror group is surging fighters into Afghanistan, rebuilding its presence and perhaps setting up a new base for attacks on both the West and Russia. Afghan officials tell Voice of America that Islamic State may now have
VOA News / November 10, 2017 WASHINGTON — A series of terrorist attacks across Afghanistan in recent weeks killed or injured hundreds of people, sparking concerns about the deteriorating security situation in the country. Analysts believe the recent rise in attacks in Afghanistan is a Taliban counterstrategy to illustrate the insurgent group’s strength and relevance as
Frud Bezhan Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty November 10, 2017 The Taliban and the Islamic State (IS) militant group might be foes on the battlefield in Afghanistan, but off it they are united against a common enemy: the Afghan media. Both extremist groups have threatened and deliberately targeted major TV and radio stations and their staff
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty November 8, 2017 BRUSSELS — NATO defense ministers have gathered in Brussels to discuss strengthening the alliance’s mission in Afghanistan and revamping its command structure in response to Russian threats. A day before the November 8-9 meetings, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that the organization plans to increase the number of troops
Ayaz Gul VOA News November 7, 2017 ISLAMABAD — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Taliban bases in Pakistan pose a “big challenge” to efforts aimed at bringing peace and stability to Afghanistan. Stoltenberg told reporters Tuesday at the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels that he regularly raises the issue in meetings with Pakistani leaders and will continue
Press TV / November 1, 2017 At least 15 people have been killed and dozens more wounded after a bomb attached to a fuel tanker exploded in northern Afghanistan. The blast occurred on Wednesday night in the center of Charikar, the capital of Parwan province, which is located some 60 kilometers north of the capital Kabul.