VOA News / February 6, 2016 Ayaz Gul ISLAMABAD – Authorities in Afghanistan said Saturday national security forces and U.S. drone strikes have jointly killed at least 28 Islamic State (IS) fighters in a restive eastern region bordering Pakistan. The overnight attacks happened in Achin and Batikot districts of the province of Nangarhar, said local officials.
VOA News February 4, 2016 The senior U.S. military commander in Afghanistan told Congress on Thursday that training for Afghan forces would be severely constrained if the number of American troops there was cut to 5,500, as President Barack Obama has proposed. Obama is planning to cut the number of American forces in Afghanistan from
VOA News Ayaz Gul February 4, 2016 ISLAMABAD—Afghanistan’s spy chief visited Pakistan Thursday for bilateral talks with his Pakistani counterparts on building mutual trust for effective intelligence sharing and counterterrorism cooperation. Intelligence sources told VOA that Masoud Andarabi, the head National Directorate of Security (NDS), met with Lt. General Rizwan Akhtar, the Director General of Inter Services Intelligence (ISI).
The Diplomat: The top U.S. general in Afghanistan said that the Afghan economy will need financial support “at least” until 2020. Click here to read more (external link).
Foreign Policy: The recent spate of violence tearing across Afghanistan, record civilian casualties, and a fledgling security force struggling to maintain the status quo with the Taliban would seem like an unlikely candidate for comparison with Colombia. Click here to read more (external link).
Bloomberg: The Afghan militant group that sheltered Osama bin Laden before the Sept. 11 attacks is closing the door to the Islamic State. The Taliban is giving up on holding talks with the group and will prevent it from gaining a foothold in Afghanistan, spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed said by e-mail. He accused the media and intelligence
Khaama Press: Security forces have been stationed in Dand Shahab-ud-Din area of Baghlan province in order to pave the way for the repair of power cables damaged during the recent clashes. Abdul Sattar Bariz, governor of Baghlan province said that the system would be repaired in two days. Click here to read more (external link).
AOPNEWS | February 3, 2016 Ghazni: Taliban (Mansur faction) announced today that a landmine they had planted hit an Afghan army tank in the Qarabagh district. They reported that the explosion killed two Afghan government soldiers. Khost: A magnetic bomb explosion left one person wounded in the capital today, according to Afghan officials. Kunduz: Local
Khaama Press: The dead bodies of 18 fighters of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) who were killed in drone strikes in Afghanistan have been returned and buried inside Pakistan. Reports suggest that the dead bodies were buried in villages located near the Afghan border. 14 of them reportedly belonged to Mehsud tribe and four others to Ahmadzai Wazir tribe. Click
VOA News Jeff Seldin February 2, 2016 WASHINGTON—American troops and money will need to be in Afghanistan for years to come in order to prevent the unrelenting spread of terrorism, according to the latest, dour assessment from a top U.S. general. “Now, more than ever, the United States should not waiver on Afghanistan,” General John