VOA News / October 14, 2017 A kidnapped American-Canadian couple and their three children have returned to Canada, after enduring five years as captives of the Taliban-linked Haqqani network in Afghanistan. The family landed in Toronto late Friday aboard an Air Canada flight from London. Caitlan Coleman, a U.S. citizen, and her Canadian husband, Joshua
VOA News October 13, 2017 ISLAMABAD — An American-Canadian couple and their three children left Pakistan for U.K. on Friday after five years in Taliban captivity in Afghanistan. Acting on a tip from U.S. intelligence, Pakistani officials say their troops rescued U.S. national Caitlan Coleman and her Canadian husband, Joshua Boyle, on Wednesday hours after their
Press TV October 12, 2017 The United Nations says Afghan civilian casualties from American and Afghan airstrikes have risen more than 50 percent since last year. UN investigators said in a quarterly report on Thursday that as of the end of September, at least 205 civilians had been killed and 261 wounded this year in
VOA News October 12, 2017 ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN — Former Afghan President, Hamid Karzai is continuing his criticism of the new U.S. strategy for Afghanistan, asserting it does not bring “a message of peace” but instead increases war and fuels regional rivalries over his strife-torn country. Addressing a news conference in Kabul, Karzai disclosed he has written
VOA News October 12, 2017 ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s military has rescued a U.S.-Canadian family from a tribal region bordering Afghanistan, nearly five years after they were abducted by militants. U.S. national Caitlan Coleman and her Canadian husband Joshua Boyle went missing in Afghanistan in 2012 and the Afghan Taliban later claimed responsibility for kidnapping them. The
Press TV / October 11, 2017 The four-nation Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QGC), comprising Afghanistan, China, Pakistan and the United States, are expected to hold a meeting in Oman next week to revive stalled peace talks involving the Taliban militant group. A senior Pakistani Foreign Ministry official confirmed on Wednesday that the meeting would be convened in
VOA News / October 10, 2017 ISLAMABAD — The Taliban’s stance of not engaging in peace talks with the current Afghan government “remains unchanged” and the insurgent group has “nothing to do” with next week’s four-nation dialogue in Oman aimed at seeking a politically negotiated end to the war, a senior insurgent official said Tuesday. Negotiators
VOA News / October 10, 2017 GHAZNI, WASHINGTON — Taliban militants have ordered mobile phone companies to shut down their networks at dark in central Ghazni province, provincial police authorities told VOA. In a bid to mitigate risks, the insurgent group has asked telecom operators in Ghazni province to halt operations from 6 p.m. to 6
Newsweek: The September total represents a 50% increase from August and was described by the command as being part of President Donald Trump’s “strategy to more proactively target extremist groups” in the country. Since 2010, the most bombs dropped during one month was 589, in August 2012—still almost 200 fewer than were released in September. Click
VOA News October 9, 2017 Ayaz Gul ISLAMABAD — The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has decided to “drastically” reduce its presence and relief operations in war-torn Afghanistan, citing a series of recent attacks that have killed seven of its staff, including a foreigner. “This is a difficult moment for the ICRC and the