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…
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…
Pakistan’s military fanned out to hunt for accomplices of a suicide bomber who blew himself up on Easter Sunday at the entrance to a popular children’s play area in the city of Lahore, killing at least 72 people, including many children. More than 300 were injured, officials said, as they declared a three-day period of…
Pakistani officials said a deadly bomb exploded on a bus Wednesday morning, killing at least 15 people in the northwestern city of Peshawar. An improvised device appeared to be planted the bus and exploded, injuring around 30 people, Police superintendant Kashif Zulfiqar told Al Jazeera. The passengers were government employees headed to the work from…
The new season of the Serial podcast has access to 25 hours of interviews with Bowe Bergdahl, the U.S. Army soldier who was released after a prisoner swap with the Taliban. He has been labeled both a hero and a traitor. In the first episode of the new season, which debuted Thursday at 6 a.m.,…
According to Doctors Without Borders, a U.S. warplane shot people trying to escape the Kunduz charity hospital that was destroyed in airstrikes last month. “Thirty of our patients and medical staff died [in the bombing],” a charity spokesman said. “Some of them lost their limbs and were decapitated in the explosions. Others were shot by…
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.
Army Sgt Bowe Bergdahl has been charged by the U.S. military, with one count each of desertion, officials released Wednesday morning. Bergdahl quit his post in Afghanistan before being caught and kept captive for five years. For that, he looks at charges that bring a maximum sentence of life in a prison. The Army concluded…
Uniformed militants attacked a school, killing at least 126 people and taking hostages on Tuesday, an official said – an atrocity condemned by the U.S. as “senseless and inhumane.” “The gunmen entered class by class and shot some kids one by one,” a student who was in the school at the time told local media.…
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.…
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…
According to Pakistan’s army, the group of Taliban militants who were behind the shooting of Malala Yousafzai in 2012 have been arrested. Until now, not a single person had been arrested. According to the army’s press officer, 10 attackers have been identified and arrested. Malala is now based in Britain, but is not able to…
The chief of the Pakistani Taliban was killed by a U.S. drone strike on Friday, security sources and a senior Taliban commander said, in a major blow to the country’s most feared militant group. Hakimullah Mehsud was one of Pakistan’s most wanted men with a $5 million U.S. bounty on his head. He led an…
