Ariana: U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Monday that any future troop drawdowns in Afghanistan were “not necessarily” linked to a deal with Taliban insurgents, suggesting some lowering of force levels may happen irrespective of the ongoing peace push. The remarks by Esper in an interview with Reuters came on the heels of a Thanksgiving
Michael Hughes: President Donald Trump during a visit to Afghanistan on Thanksgiving Day surprised the world by announcing that the United States had resumed talks with the Taliban and surprised the Taliban by suggesting that the implementation of a ceasefire was on the negotiating table. Shortly after Trump’s announcement the Taliban underscored that their stance has
By RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan November 30, 2019 A high-ranking Taliban official has been killed in clashes with security forces in Jowzjan Province in Afghanistan’s north, a local official said. Qari Nuriddin and his four bodyguards were killed in the district of Mengajik, where the militant group has a strong presence, provincial government spokesman Abdul
Ayaz Gul VOA News November 30, 2019 ISLAMABAD – Officials in southern Afghanistan say a bomb explosion Saturday killed a senior military commander and wounded at least three other people, including a local journalist. Separately, an apparent drone attack in the southeast part of the country is said to have killed at least six civilians,
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty November 29, 2019 President Donald Trump has said the United States has resumed talks with the Taliban as he made an unannounced Thanksgiving visit to U.S. troops in Afghanistan — his first to the war-torn country since taking office in 2017. “The Taliban wants to make a deal and we’re meeting
Tolo News: At least 15 civilians among them six women, one man, six young girls and two children were killed and two others were wounded as after their vehicle hit a roadside mine in Khan Abad district of Kunduz province, said Abdul Jabbar Naeemi, the governor of Kunduz province. He said that the roadside bomb was
1TV: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Tuesday warned the Taliban they would face same fate as Daesh militant group, which he said, was obliterated in its eastern stronghold Nangarhar province. “Taliban should consider whether they could make this hero nation surrender through violence,” Ghani said at concluding ceremony of the First Women Peace and Security Conference
Tolo News: The Afghan Air Force received five MD-530 Cayuse Warrior light attack helicopters on November 22. The helicopters were delivered to Kandahar via a Boeing 747 cargo aircraft on October 27 and were reassembled for active service within ten days, according to a statement by the US-based defense contractor MD Helicopters Inc., as quoted by
Ariana: An explosion hit the vehicle of the United Nations organization in the capital Kabul, the Interior Ministry confirmed. One foreign national was killed and five civilians including two staff members of the United Nations were injured after a grenade was thrown on UN vehicle, Rahimi added. Click here to read more (external link). Other Security News
By RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan November 22, 2019 KABUL — President Ashraf Ghani’s office says the Afghan leader has discussed the government’s seven-point peace plan in a telephone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump, who insisted on a cease-fire as a “precondition” to begin negotiations with the Taliban. Trump also said that “for any process to succeed,