Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty June 21, 2017 Afghan security forces have recaptured Tora Bora, a former fortress of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, from Islamic State (IS) militants, officials confirmed. IS had taken the tunnel and cave complex in Nangarhar Province from the Taliban five days ago. The two militant groups are enemies. The legendary
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty June 20, 2017 An Afghan official says eight Afghan security guards have been killed by gunmen who opened fire on them in the northern province of Parwan. Two others were wounded, Bagram district Governor Abdul Shokoor Qudosi said. The guards from Bagram air base were killed when their vehicle was attacked
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty June 19, 2017 A district chief has been shot and killed in Afghanistan’s western province of Nimroz by gunmen riding on a motorcycle, an Afghan official says. Ahmad Arab, a spokesman for the provincial governor, says Aqa Mohammad Fazeli was on his way to work when he came under attack by
Los Angeles Times: We cannot say for certain why the president has chosen to distance himself from this war that he inherited. But one possibility is this: Having learned through painful experience to recognize a losing proposition, he has no intention of being left holding the bag for this one. The savvy Mattis must suspect that
Tolo News: A number of security officials were summoned to answer questions posed by the Meshrano Jirga on the current security situation in the city. The Chairman of the National Directorate of Security (NDS) Massoum Stanekzai on Sunday said rumors about the existence of a fifth pillar within the political system were completely untrue and that
VOA News / June 18, 2017 Ayaz Gul ISLAMABAD — Taliban insurgents have stormed a provincial police headquarters in eastern Afghanistan, killing five people and wounding at least 20. The raid early Sunday in Gardez, capital of Paktia province, began with a suicide car blast at the entrance to the heavily guarded facility. Video showed the
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty June 17, 2017 At least one Afghan soldier has been killed and seven U.S. service personnel wounded in a so-called insider attack at an Afghan National Army base in the northern city of Mazar-e Sharif. A U.S. military spokesman in Kabul also said that at least one Afghan soldier was wounded
VOA News June 16, 2017 WASHINGTON — The Associated Press is quoting an anonymous Trump administration official as saying the Pentagon will send almost 4,000 additional American forces to Afghanistan to assist the South Asian nation in its fight against a renascent Taliban insurgency. That number is similar to previous reports from other Trump administration officials.
Tolo News: Abdul Saboor Sabet, the head of the National Directorate of Security (NDS) in Nangarhar claimed on Thursday that Pakistani militia fully supported Daesh in their offensive against the Tora Bora region this week in eastern Nangarhar province. In a trip to Nangarhar’s Chaparhar district on Thursday, Sabet said that Pakistani militia are still backing
Michael Hughes: Taliban insider attacks designed to sow distrust between U.S. and Afghan forces are likely to provoke a contrary reaction by strengthening America’s commitment to the war, Brookings Institution scholar Michael O’Hanlon told Afghan Online Press (AOP). On Tuesday, June 13, Defense Secretary James Mattis told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the United States was “not