Ariana: The Taliban appear to have “strategic momentum” in the fight for control of Afghanistan as they put increasing pressure on key cities, setting the stage for a decisive period in coming weeks, the top U.S. military officer General Mark Milley said Wednesday. “This is going to be a test now of the will and
Ariana: President Ashraf Ghani said on Wednesday the Taliban still has “deep ties to al-Qaeda, Jaish-e-Muhammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba” and wants Afghanistan to become a safe haven for terrorists. Click here to read more (external link).
By Reid Standish Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty July 20, 2021 As U.S. troops draw down in Afghanistan, Chinese officials have stepped up contacts with the Taliban as it surges across the country and builds strategic footholds against Afghan government forces. On paper, Beijing and the Taliban are strange bedfellows. China is an atheistic, communist state that
Rolling Stone: Kunduz, a city of some 370,000 people, had fallen to the Taliban twice before – in 2015 and 2016 — but was retaken with the help of U.S. Special Forces and air support. A loss here now would be severely demoralizing and could have a domino effect at a time when other provincial
AFP: At least three rockets landed Tuesday in the Afghan capital ahead of a speech by President Ashraf Ghani marking the start of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, the interior ministry said. The rockets, fired about 8 a.m., were heard across the heavily fortified Green Zone that houses the presidential palace and several embassies,
Frud Bezhan Radio Azadi July 19, 2021 MAZAR-E SHARIF, Afghanistan — Safia and her three young children live out in the open, exposed to the punishing summer heat, with no food or water. She fled her home in Afghanistan’s northern city of Kunduz after it was struck last week by mortars, which killed her husband,
US News: As President Joe Biden nears the August deadline he set to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, one critical feature of the drawdown has become clear: he now owns the precarious situation there, and there’s no turning back. Click here to read more (external link). Related Obama Pentagon official: Afghanistan troop withdrawal ‘is not going
Ayaz Gul VOA News July 19, 2021 ISLAMABAD – Foreign diplomatic missions in Afghanistan called for the Taliban on Monday to urgently cease their military offensive, saying it runs counter to claims the insurgent group wants a negotiated settlement to the war. The collective call comes a day after the Taliban and senior envoys representing
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty July 19, 2021 Turkish Recep President Tayyip Erdogan on July 19 called on the Taliban to “end the occupation” of Afghanistan and said Turkey will talk to the militants over their refusal to let Ankara run Kabul airport after the U.S. troops complete their pullout from Afghanistan. Turkey has offered to
Press TV July 18, 2021 Former US commander in Afghanistan and CIA director Gen. David Petraeus has said Afghanistan is falling apart as the United States is withdrawing troops from the country after 20 years of war in the country. In an interview with CNN on Sunday, the retired US general said, “The situation on