Afghanistan

World News

Afghanistan: A Tragic Return To A War With No End

4:30pm July 06, 2016

by Tom Bowman

The most critical question in Afghanistan today is whether the Afghan military can keep the country safe from the Taliban. An NPR team went looking for the answer, and two of the group were killed.

World News

Afghan Governor Wants Government To Control Poppy Crop

7:58am July 06, 2016

by Tom Bowman

Fifteen years into the Afghan war, locals continue to grow, harvest and sell poppy, notwithstanding attempts to eradicate it, replace it with something else, or use it for constructive means.

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U.S. Military Trainers Teach Afghan Troops To Wield Artillery

7:18am July 06, 2016

by Tom Bowman

A permanent academy is in the works to help Afghan troops improve their artillery and mortar skills. NPR visited a base where the Afghans are learning to wield what's called the "King of Battle."

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After 15 Years, The State Of The War In Afghanistan

6:21am July 05, 2016

by Tom Bowman

U.S. forces continue to help Afghan troops battle back the Taliban, but the security situation remains uncertain at best. Our team has just returned from a fateful reporting trip to Afghanistan.

Afghan police inspect the site in in Kabul, Afghanistan, where a bus convoy was attacked on Thursday. The buses carrying police cadets were targeted as they were on their way from the neighboring Maidan Wardak province to Kabul.

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Taliban-Claimed Attack On Afghan Police Trainees Kills Dozens, Reports Say

10:55am June 30, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

Two suicide bombers struck a convoy of buses carrying recently-graduated Afghan police cadets, according to wire service reports. The Taliban has claimed responsibility.

The Gray Team with Maj. Jennifer Bell (center), who ran a concussion clinic, seen in the Helmand province of Afghanistan in 2010: Col. Michael Jaffee (from left) , Capt. James Hancock, Col. Geoffrey Ling, Lt. Col. Shean Phelps and Col. Robert Saum.

How A Team Of Elite Doctors Changed The Military's Stance On Brain Trauma

1:16pm June 11, 2016

by Jon Hamilton

A group of specialists called the Gray Team challenged the dogma that said head injuries were serious only if they were obvious and bloody. Bomb blasts can lead to lasting but invisible damage.

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Afghan National Army soldiers stand guard as a U.S. helicopter flies over Jalalabad Airport on Oct. 2, 2015.

Obama Expands U.S. Military's Authority To Target Taliban In Afghanistan

2:28pm June 10, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

The president has authorized U.S. commanders to use airstrikes to assist Afghan offensives — not just as defensive or preventive measures.

Dr. Christian Macedonia led the military's Gray Team of doctors and scientists charged with finding the "ground truth" about traumatic brain injuries. Now, he's a maternal and fetal health specialist at Lancaster General Health's Women and Babies Hospital

An Army Buddy's Call For Help Sends A Scientist On A Brain Injury Quest

5:34pm June 08, 2016

by Jon Hamilton

Harvard researcher Kit Parker built his academic career studying the heart. But Parker, also an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve, switched his focus to figuring out how IED blasts damage the brain.

World News

Afghan Journalist Zabihullah Tamanna Buried In Kabul

5:02pm June 07, 2016

Afghan journalist Zabihullah Tamanna was buried Tuesday. He was killed on Sunday while working with a team of NPR journalists.

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Relatives carry the coffin of Afghan journalist Zabihullah Tamanna ahead of funeral prayers Tuesday in Kabul. Tamanna, a 38-year-old father of three killed alongside NPR photographer David Gilkey in a Taliban ambush in southern Helmand province, is seen a

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Afghan Journalist Zabihullah Tamanna Laid To Rest In Kabul

1:43pm June 07, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

Tamanna died on Sunday, along with NPR photojournalist David Gilkey, when the Afghan convoy they were traveling in was attacked by Taliban fighters.