Michael Hughes: There is little reason to believe that the U.S. removed an obstacle to peace talks in Afghanistan by killing Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour because his replacement is even more radical and committed to waging a “holy war” against Kabul. The Taliban’s newly-appointed emir, Haibatullah Akhundzada, may not have the military expertise but is
VOA News Ayaz Gul May 30, 2016 ISLAMABAD—Taliban militants in Afghanistan have intensified battlefield attacks, killing around 57 Afghan security forces and wounding 37 others in the restive southern Helmand province. Afghan officials say fierce fighting has raged since Saturday, when the Taliban launched a string of coordinated assaults on three districts, including Nad Ali,
Khaama Press: According to local media reports, citing the local authorities, a DNA report said it was definite that the man killed in the US strike on May 21 was Mullah Akhtar Mansour. The country’s interior ministry has said the confirmation was made following the DNA matching of DNA samples collected from the charred body against the
VOA New Ayaz Gul May 29, 2016 ISLAMABAD—Relatives of a Pakistani taxi driver, who was killed in last week’s U.S. drone strike targeting the leader of the Afghan Taliban, have formally lodged a police complaint against unnamed U.S. officials. The deceased driver, Mohammad Azam, was transporting Taliban chief Mullah Mansoor when missiles fired by a
ISLAMABAD, May 28 (Xinhua) — Pakistan said on Saturday that two officers have been arrested for helping the Afghan Taliban chief, Mullah Akhtar Mansour, get fake Pakistani identity card and Pakistani citizenship for his second wife and children. Mansour, who had been living in Pakistan as Wali Muhammad, was killed in a U.S. drone strike
Asia Times: Even though the selection of Mullah Akhtar Mansour as the Taliban amir after the death of Mullah Mohammad Omar had caused deep frictions in the Taliban ranks, they have moved swiftly this time to fill the gap, with the newly chosen amir, Sheikh Haibatullah Akhunzada, pledging to follow his predecessor’s policy of rejecting
VOA News Akmal Dawi, Masood Farivar May 26, 2016 WASHINGTON—Days after a U.S. drone strike in Pakistan, near the Afghan border, killed Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, it remains unclear how the slain leader’s location was discovered. Mansoor was killed in a remote part of Baluchistan, a province that has been thought off limits for U.S.
Khaama Press: US Senator Dana Rohrabacher has said Pakistan is a reliable partner for terrorists and not the United States, warning that the provision of millions in aid to Pakistani government in fight against terrorism would have a reverse outcome. The US Senator was speaking to Voice of America’s Afghanistan during an exclusive interview. Click here to
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty May 26, 2016 U.S. President Barack Obama has said the Taliban are unlikely to come to the table for peace talks with the Afghan government “anytime soon.” Obama was speaking on May 26 on the sidelines of a G7 summit in Japan, a day after the Taliban appointed Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty May 25, 2016 Pakistan’s military says the country’s army chief has met with U.S. Ambassador David Hale to express Islamabad’s serious concerns over a drone strike on Pakistani soil that killed Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansur. A May 25 military statement says General Raheel Sharif denounced “such acts of sovereignty