Taliban

Fatima Roshanian, a journalist, scaled back her movements after she found her name on three different lists circulating on Afghan social media, claiming to be of people the Taliban want to kill.

World News

Amid A Wave Of Targeted Killings In Afghanistan, She's No. 11 On A Murder List

1:48pm March 21, 2021

Journalist Fatima Roshanian has faced threats before, but she and many other Afghans say the risk to their lives is more serious than ever. "People are being killed everyday, everywhere," she says.

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Afghan politician Fawzia Koofi, seen here in 2019, is one of four women on the Afghan government team holding peace talks with the Taliban.

Fawzia Koofi On Afghan Peace: 'We Want To See This War End Tomorrow'

5:42am March 16, 2021

by Jeevika Verma

The Afghan politician has survived two assassination attempts and is one of four Afghan women negotiating with the Taliban. "The power of words is stronger than the power of bullets," she tells NPR.

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U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad attends the Intra-Afghan Dialogue talks in the Qatari capital Doha in July 2019.

World News

U.S. Warns Kabul It May Withdraw All Forces By May 1 If Peace Talks Do Not Progress

1:36pm March 08, 2021

In a letter reportedly sent to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. "has not ruled out any option" and asked him to "understand the urgency of my tone."

Afghan women look at the skyline of Kabul in September.

World News

'Our Houses Are Not Safe': Residents Fear Taliban In Afghanistan's Capital

7:59pm December 18, 2020

The Taliban have waged attacks across the country, prompting a call to reduce the violence from Gen. Mark Milley. In Kabul, the public worries about the Taliban's return.

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The Taliban delegation attends the opening session of the peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban in Doha, Qatar, on Sept. 12.

Afghan Government And Taliban Reach Breakthrough To Proceed With Peace Talks

3:39pm December 02, 2020

by Diaa Hadid

The two sides have agreed on a way forward for substantive negotiations aimed at ending decades of almost continuous war in the country, representatives said in near-twin tweets.

An Afghan National Army soldier stands guard at a checkpoint near the Bagram airfield, the largest U.S. military base in Afghanistan, in April.

What Joe Biden's Presidency May Mean For Afghanistan

12:16pm November 18, 2020

Biden's record, especially as vice president, helps illuminate what he may do once he is sworn in. Amid an uptick in violence, some Afghans hope for a reassessment of the U.S.-Taliban peace agreement.

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Players from the Herat Storm celebrate after winning the championship of the Afghan women's soccer league on October 16 in Kabul.

Women Of Afghanistan Won't Give Up Their Soccer Dreams

7:00am November 08, 2020

At the championship of the Afghan women's soccer league, players sprint across the field. Hoodie-style hijabs cover their hair. The scene was once unthinkable. But now the players face new obstacles.

A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child in Afghanistan's Kandahar province. Taliban opposition to vaccine campaigns have left millions of children unprotected against the virus.

Health & Safety

The Campaign To Wipe Out Polio Was Going Really Well ... Until It Wasn't

3:20pm October 30, 2020

by Jason Beaubien

It looked as if polio would be the second human disease to be eliminated — after smallpox. But "2020 has been a terrible year," the head of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative says.

Patients are treated at a hospital after a suicide attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Saturday. Dozens were injured.

World News

At Least 18 Dead, Including Children, In Suicide Attack In Afghan Capital

1:52pm October 24, 2020

by Jason Slotkin

Afghanistan's interior ministry said at least 57 others were wounded in the bombing outside of an education center in a heavily Shiite neighborhood in Kabul.

Afghans flee to Lashkar Gah, Helmand's provincial capital, during fighting between Taliban and Afghan security forces on Monday. Local authorities estimate that some 35,000 people have been displaced into Lashkar Gah since a Taliban offensive began in Hel

World News

Tens Of Thousands Flee Latest Taliban Offensive, And Afghan Civilian Casualties Rise

1:56pm October 13, 2020

by Diaa Hadid

The victims of recent fighting in Helmand include a pregnant woman struck by a stray bullet. Peace talks continue, but the Taliban argue that an Afghan cease-fire should come as the talks conclude.