Taliban

Days Later, Pentagon Says U.S. General Among Wounded In Kandahar Attack

7:11pm October 22, 2018

by Tom Bowman

Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Smiley was shot twice, according to the Pentagon, during an attack in Kandahar that killed the province's chiefs of police and intelligence and wounded the governor.

Blackwater security contractors guard Zalmay Khalilzad, then the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, as he arrives at a community sports center in Baghdad in 2006.

Zalmay Khalilzad Appointed As U.S. Special Adviser To Afghanistan

4:42pm September 05, 2018

The Afghan-born former diplomat served as U.S. ambassador in Kabul under President George W. Bush. In Afghanistan, views of Khalilzad are mixed, with some blaming him for many of the country's woes.

World News

ISIS Leader In Afghanistan Killed In U.S. Strike, Officials Say

9:44am August 27, 2018

by Bill Chappell

Afghan officials declared success after American forces targeted Abu Sayeed Orakzai. The U.S. military says the strike took place near the border with Pakistan.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani addresses a news conference last month at the presidential palace in the capital, Kabul, where the government was hosting U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

World News

Taliban Answers Afghanistan's Cease-Fire Offer With Ambush, Abductions

11:30am August 20, 2018

by Colin Dwyer

Since a brief truce in June, attacks by the militant group have left hundreds of people dead. President Ashraf Ghani is angling for a new peace deal, but the Taliban hasn't taken him up on it.

Afghan volunteers carry an injured woman on a stretcher to a hospital in Ghazni province on Sunday. The Taliban assault on the city of Ghazni has resulted in intense gun battles and hundreds of casualties.

World News

Surprise Taliban Attack Leads To Days Of Fighting, Hundreds Of Deaths

2:10pm August 13, 2018

by Bill Chappell

Afghanistan's military was launching a counteroffensive aimed at flushing militants out of the strategically vital city of Ghazni, which was attacked on Friday.

Maria Toorpakai, a top squash player from Pakistan, is the star of a PBS documentary airing on July 23.

The Taliban Couldn't Quash This Pakistani Squash Champ

8:03am July 22, 2018

by Sasha Ingber

For much of her life, Maria Toorpakai has been threatened by extremist groups like the Taliban. Now the subject of a PBS documentary, she tells how she found the courage to keep playing sports.

Afghan Muslims celebrated the start of the Eid al-Fitr holiday on Friday. An attack on Saturday disturbed the peace, leaving dozens of casualties.

World News

Afghan President Extends Ceasefire, Despite Suicide Bombing

5:43pm June 16, 2018

by Sasha Ingber

The attack, claimed by ISIS, disrupted a historic moment when national security forces were celebrating a temporary truce between the Taliban and national security forces.

Pigeons fly into the air as Muslims offer prayers at the start of the Eid al-Fitr holiday, which marks the end of Ramadan, at the Shah-e Do Shamshira Mosque in Kabul on Friday. This Eid, Afghans welcomed the start of the Taliban's first cease-fire since t

World News

Afghan Taliban Begin 3-Day Cease-Fire For Eid Al-Fitr

1:58pm June 15, 2018

by Camila Domonoske

The holiday cease-fire — promised on both sides — is a rare act of goodwill. However, not all warring parties in Afghanistan are laying down arms.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, seen speaking in February in Herat, Afghanistan.

Afghan President Declares Cease-Fire With Taliban — But How Will Taliban Respond?

6:38pm June 07, 2018

by Colin Dwyer

The unilateral, temporary cease-fire set to begin next week marks one of Ashraf Ghani's biggest peace overtures yet. But after years of bloodshed, it's unclear if the militant group will reciprocate.

A view of the luxury Frontier Tower Hotel, built near the ski resort on a Swat Valley peak. Residents often describe their region as the Switzerland of Pakistan because of these views.

World News

Once Ruled By Taliban, Residents Of Pakistan's Swat Valley Say Army Should Leave

7:01am June 02, 2018

Nearly a decade after the Pakistani army pushed out the Taliban from a scenic mountain region known as the "Switzerland of Pakistan," residents say the military has overstayed its welcome.