President Donald Trump on Monday said the United States’ new approach to the war in Afghanistan does not amount to “nation-building,” but rather “killing terrorists.” He said U.S. support for Afghanistan is “not a blank check,” and acknowledged his recent skepticism of increased involvement in the Middle Eastern nation. “My original instinct was to pull…
The U.S. is planning to send almost 4,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, according to a Trump administration official. Defense Secretary James Mattis could announce the deployment—the largest so far under President Donald Trump—as early as next week. The military’s top commander in Afghanistan has said he needs more forces to fight a reinvigorated Taliban insurgency…
Top military and foreign policy advisers to President Trump have proposed sending more troops to Afghanistan and returning the U.S. to a war footing against the Taliban. The U.S. has 8,400 soldiers in the country to aid and train Afghan forces now, and Trump’s advisers are suggesting boosting that by as many as 5,000 more…
Two U.S. Special Operations Forces soldiers were killed in a raid targeting ISIS fighters in Afghanistan, the Pentagon said Thursday. One service member was reported wounded in the joint U.S.-Afghan operation. The incident occurred near where, earlier this month, the U.S. dropped its most powerful non-nuclear bomb, which ofificials said killed dozens of ISIS fighters.…
The “mother of all bombs” unleashed Thursday in Afghanistan by the U.S. left 36 Islamic State terror group fighters dead but killed no civilians, according to government officials in Afghanistan. The U.S. has been concentrated on fighting the estimated 600 to 800 ISIS forces in Afghanistan while also supporting Afghans in their battle against the…
CLICK HERE TO WATCH LIVE – The U.S. on Thursday dropped its largest non-nuclear bomb in Afghanistan on Thursday, CNN reported. The 21,000-pound bomb, dubbed the “mother of all bombs” or MOAB, was dropped in eastern Afghanistan to target ISIS tunnels, according to CNN. The official name of the weapon is the massive ordinance air…
At least 44 Afghan troops who were in the U.S. for military training have gone missing in the last two years, Pentagon officials said. About 2,200 Afghans have come to America to work with the military since 2007. A Pentagon official told Reuters that the number, while small, was “out of the ordinary” and “concerning.”…
The New York City bombing suspect has been charged with five counts of attempted murder of a law-enforcement officer. Ahmad Khan Rahami, 28, was apprehended Monday morning following a shootout with cops in Linden, New Jersey, in which is accused of injuring two officers. Rahami is believed to be responsible for explosive devices planted in…
Explosions and gunfire rang out at American University of Afghanistan in Kabul on Wednesday in what a police commander described as “a complex attack.” Gunmen stormed the American University of Afghanistan on Wednesday, according to eyewitnesses. Dozens of students and Associated Press photographer Massoud Hossaini were trapped inside the building, witnesses said. Several wounded have…
President Obama announced Wednesday morning that 8,400 troops will remain in Afghanistan by the end of this year. The administration had originally planned to lower the number from 9,800 to 5,500, but the new decision comes as the Taliban is ramping up its efforts in Afghanistan. The president, joined by Defense Secretary Ash Carter, said…
A Taliban twin attack on an Afghan convoy carrying new graduates of a police academy killed more than 30 people and injured an additional 50. Initial reports say one bomber attacked a bus just outside Kabul carrying the cadets, and as rescue personnel arrived, a car bomber slammed into them and detonated. All but two…
At least 28 people were killed and more than 327 others wounded in an explosion in central Kabul during morning rush hour early Tuesday, Afghan officials say. The attack reportedly happened on a compound for a government security agency—similar to the U.S. Secret Service—in a residential neighborhood. A suicide car bomb at the compound’s gates…
Officials say President Barack Obama will keep 5,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan when he leaves office in 2017. Obama had originally planned to pull out all but a small, embassy-based U.S. military presence by the end of next year, a timeline coinciding with the final weeks of his presidency. But military leaders argued for months…
Afghan officials said government forces had recaptured key areas of Kunduz on Thursday while the Taliban insisted it still remains in control of large parts of the city, according to local reports. Afghan forces regained control of government landmarks in an overnight operation, just days after militants stormed the city and seized control of one…
Afghan officials and intelligence sources said Wednesday that reclusive Taliban leader Mullah Muhammad Omar is dead, and died two or three years ago. The one-eyed Omar has had a $10 million bounty on his head for aiding Osama Bin Laden after the September 11, 2001, attacks. Like many wanted men in the region, he has…
The Afghan parliament has been attacked by Taliban forces who detonated at least 1 suicide car bomb before battling security forces. An unconfirmed number of civilians were injured by the blasts at the parliament building in Kabul. All MPs survived the incident and at least 7 attackers were killed by security forces.
The Obama administration has conceded to some military leaders, abandoning plans to remove almost half of the U.S. troops remaining in Afghanistan by the end of the year. It is likely many of the 9,800 combat troops, as well as some 2,000 counterterrorism troops, will remain until next year in order to “continue pursuing the…
Newly released security video shows the moment a Taliban suicide bomber entered police headquarters in the Afghan capital, Kabul intent on killing the chief of police on November 9. The video shows the bearded bomber dressed in an ordinary grey suit, carrying an unremarkable blue folder and calmly taking the stairs to the third floor.…
Afghan police said they are investigating how a wild bird came to bear an antenna, electronic devices and explosives. Police came across the strange sight around 8 a.m. in the northern Faryab province, a volatile region ravaged by Taliban violence. When police spotted the white bird — which isn’t native to the area and appeared…
President Obama has approved the expansion of the U.S. military’s role in Afghanistan next year, according to media reports. Under a classified order signed in recent weeks by the president, U.S. forces will be able to carry out missions against militant groups, such as the Taliban, that are threatening troops or the Afghan government, according…
Even though the U.S. has spent $7.6 billion to dismantle Afghanistan’s opium industry, the country’s opium poppy growth hit an all-time high last year. “The recent record-high level of poppy cultivation calls into question the long-term effectiveness and sustainability,” said special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction John F. Sopko in a report to be released…
Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl hasn’t spoken to his family since he was released from captivity in Pakistan, according to an Army official. Sgt. Bergdahl has refused to see his parents or speak to them on the phone, the official said. The decision by Sgt. Bergdahl, who returned to regular duty on Monday, suggests a deeper estrangement…
The U.S. Marine Corps’ chaplain, speaking to a congregation that has tied gold ribbons on the church’s fence in honor of fallen soldiers since the Iraq War began, lauded the sacrifice of veterans around the world as President Barack Obama made a surprise visit to Afghanistan for Memorial Day. “What they have done has allowed…
3 Americans have been killed after a guard at a children’s hospital in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul opened fire on them. Police said the gunman later shot himself in the head and was in critical condition. Photo: Afghan policemen keep watch as foreign nationals wait outside the Cure hospital in Kabul on Thursday. A guard shot…
The number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan may drop well below 10,000 – the minimum demanded by the U.S. military to train Afghan forces – as the longest war in American history winds down, Obama administration officials briefed on the matter say. Since Afghanistan’s general election on April 5, White House, State Department and Pentagon…
Two journalists working for The Associated Press have been shot in Afghanistan, one of them fatally, the news agency said Friday. The Associated Press said the slain journalist was Anja Niedringhaus, 48, an internationally acclaimed German photographer. She was shot in the country’s eastern Khost province. The second journalist targeted by the gunman was Kathy…
Eighty-four armed forces members were welcomed home marking the end of Canada’s participation in the Afghanistan war, a mission that spanned 12 years and marked the country’s longest ever military engagement. NBC News
Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai has refused to sign a security deal with the United States, the White House said, and Washington may have to resort to the “zero option” of withdrawing all American troops from the strife-torn country next year, as it did in Iraq. Karzai told U.S. National Security Advisor Susan Rice in Kabul…
A former U.S. air force drone operator has described how he is haunted by his time as a “remote killer” functioning in “zombie mode” in missions over Afghanistan and Iraq that claimed more than 1,600 lives. Brandon Bryant, a retired airman who operated remote-controlled Predator aircraft from U.S. bases in Nevada and New Mexico, offers…
The US has handed over to Afghanistan the only prison still under American control, resolving an issue that has strained ties between the countries. A transfer ceremony took place at the prison, which was renamed the Afghan National Detention Facility at Parwan. It had been delayed while the two sides finalised a deal over the…
