Afghanistan

'Ashley's War' Details Vital Work Of Female Soldiers In Afghanistan

11:29am April 29, 2015

by NPR Staff

A new book looks at the women who served alongside elite special operations units in order to connect with a population that was off-limits to male soldiers: Afghan women.

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Afghan commandos move through a smokescreen during a training exercise at Camp Commando on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan.

World News

With The U.S. In The Background, Afghan Commandos Step It Up

2:12pm April 28, 2015

by Tom Bowman

With fighting expected to pick up this spring, Afghanistan's security is heavily dependent on elite forces like the commandos. NPR's Tom Bowman profiles the top enlisted man.

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An Afghan army soldier frisks a man who claims to be an Afghan policeman. After questioning, and producing an ID, he was released. None of the 10,000 U.S. military personnel are present as the Afghan army fights in the eastern province of Nangahar, a noto

World News

On Its Own, The Afghan Army Takes The Fight To The Taliban

1:48pm April 28, 2015

by Tom Bowman

The Afghan army is now fully in charge of combat operations. NPR's Tom Bowman heads out on a mission with troops as they engage the Taliban in one of its strongholds near the Pakistani border.

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World News

Giovanni Lo Porto, Slain Italian Aid Worker, Loved Pakistan And Its People

5:42pm April 23, 2015

by Krishnadev Calamur

Lo Porto was kidnapped in January 2012 soon after he returned to work in Pakistan. President Obama announced Thursday that the Italian aid worker was inadvertently killed in January in a U.S. strike.

President Obama expresses his condolences today to the families of the American and Italian aid workers killed in a U.S. counterterrorism operation in January.

U.S. Operations Killed Two Hostages Held By Al-Qaida, Including An American

5:31pm April 23, 2015

by Krishnadev Calamur

Two Americans who worked for al-Qaida were also killed in the counterterrorism operations in January, the White House said. The two hostages killed included an Italian who had been held since 2012.

This image made from video released to reporters in Pakistan in 2013 shows Warren Weinstein, the U.S. aid worker who was kidnapped in Pakistan by al-Qaida in 2011. The White House says Weinstein and another hostage were inadvertently killed during U.S. co

Warren Weinstein, American Killed In U.S. Operation, Was Veteran Aid Worker

2:36pm April 23, 2015

by Krishnadev Calamur

The USAID contractor was kidnapped in 2011 from his home in Pakistan just days before he was scheduled to leave the country. He spent much of his career in some of the world's toughest places.

World News

Afghan Political Cartoonist Argues His Drawings Should Be More Critical

7:41am April 23, 2015

by Rebecca Hersher

Habib Rahman Habib has a very dangerous job in Afghanistan. He is a political cartoonist who has kept drawing through the communists, mullahs, Taliban and into the present government.

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World News

Celebrated Afghan Writer Recalls Kabul Of Decades Ago

7:34am April 21, 2015

Renee Montagne talks to journalist Mujib Mashal about his story in The New York Times on Rahnaward Zaryab, a celebrated Afghan novelist, who's work flowered when Afghanistan was peaceful.

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World News

Suicide Blast Kills More Than 30 In Afghanistan

6:25pm April 18, 2015

by Tom Bowman

An attack in Jalalabad killed more than 30 people Saturday. President Ashraf Ghani says ISIS may have claimed responsibility. If confirmed, it would be the group's first major attack in Afghanistan.

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Afghan security forced inspect the site of a suicide attack near a New Kabul Bank in Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan Saturday. The United Nations says at least 35 people died.

World News

Suicide Bombing Kills At Least 35 In Jalalabad; ISIS Reportedly Claims Responsibility

1:12pm April 18, 2015

by Bill Chappell

Both the United Nations and the Taliban have condemned the attack, which targeted civilians who were in a long line at a bank.