Michael Hughes: The White House seems to be singing from a different song sheet about the situation in Sangin than America’s military brass, evidenced by its reluctance to rubber stamp the Pentagon’s position that the key district in southern Helmand province was not overrun by the Taliban recently. This could be a case of simple miscommunication
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty April 1, 2017 Russia says it is in contact with the Taliban in Afghanistan to push the militant group toward national reconciliation and to ensure the security of Russian citizens. Speaking to reporters in Brussels on March 31, Russia’s ambassador to NATO, Aleksandr Grushko, denied that Moscow is providing aid to
Paul Alexander VOA News April 1, 2017 Pakistan’s unilateral decision to build a wall along the de facto border with Afghanistan is proving popular at home while fanning emotions on the other side that were enflamed by Islamabad’s decision to close border crossings. In both cases, the stated reason was to halt terror attacks in
Press TV March 31, 2017 A mortar attack by Taliban militants has killed five civilians of one family, including four children, in Afghanistan’s northern province of Takhar. Sunatullah Timor, the provincial governor’s spokesman, said on Friday that the militants fired mortars at a security post in Khwaja Bahuddin district the previous day. One of the
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty March 31, 2017 U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has expressed concern over Russia’s activities in Afghanistan and its interaction with the Taliban militant group. “We have seen Russian activity vis-a-vis the Taliban,” Mattis said during a news conference in London on March 31. “I am not willing to say at this
Tolo News: The Commander of the United States Central Command General Josef Votel said at a session in the U.S Senate this week that Russia might provide support to the Taliban in order to be an influential party in Afghanistan. Click here to read more (external link). Related Russia resurrects interest in Afghanistan NATO-Russia Council Holds
Ayesha Tanzeem VOA News March 29, 2017 ISLAMABAD — Afghanistan is expected to get up to 200 helicopters and other aircraft as part of a four-year plan to improve the nation’s security forces to help beat the Taliban insurgency, according to Dawlat Waziri, the spokesman for the Afghan Defense Ministry. Waziri said discussion of the plan
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty March 29, 2017 German prosecutors say they have arrested a suspected former Afghan Taliban commander who is believed to have taken part in an attack that killed U.S. and Afghan soldiers. The federal prosecutor’s office said in a March 28 statement that the 30-year-old Afghan citizen, identified only as Abdullah P.,
RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan March 28, 2017 Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry has dismissed nearly 1,400 of its officials over alleged corruption over the past year, a high-ranking ministry official says. Deputy Defense Minister Hilaluddin Hilal told reporters in Kabul on March 28 that the ministry has taken significant steps to tackle widespread corruption, dismissing 1,394 officials
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, March 28 (Xinhua) — Security forces have captured 13 suspected terrorists in Taliban former stronghold Kandahar province of southern Afghanistan, said a statement of National Directorate of Security (NDS) or intelligence agency released here Tuesday. “Thirteen terrorists who were involved in target killing and attacking security checkpoints, military bases and logistic convoys have