Taliban: Assailants attack hotel in Afghan capital Kabul
A hotel catering to foreign visitors in Afghanistan's capital of Kabul was attacked Monday and three of the assailants were killed, a Taliban official said. Two foreign residents were injured when they jumped out of windows to escape, said Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban government's spokesman. The Emergency Hospital in Kabul said in a tweet that there was an explosion and gunfire near a hotel approximately a kilometer away.
news.yahoo.comTaliban say Afghanistan secure enough for big projects
The Taliban said Wednesday there is enough security across Afghanistan to restart major economic projects that stopped due to decades of war, despite a slew of attacks rocking the country since the group seized power more than a year ago. The Taliban have struggled in their transition from insurgency and warfare to governing amid an economic downturn and the international community withholding official recognition. Foreign aid stopped when the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August 2021.
news.yahoo.comTaliban urge ex-Afghan military pilots to stay, serve nation
A top Taliban official on Wednesday urged former Afghan military pilots to remain in the country, saying they were protected by a national amnesty and would not face arrest. The comments by chief government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid came amid reports that more than 140 U.S.-trained Afghan pilots and crew members left Tajikistan in a U.S.-brokered evacuation Tuesday, three months after they sought refuge there from a Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. Afghan air force pilots played a key role, alongside their U.S. counterparts, in the 20-year war against Taliban insurgents that ended with the departure of foreign troops in late August.
news.yahoo.comBiden: Russia and China 'didn't show up'
President Biden, speaking at the end of the G-20 summit in Rome, said China and Russia 'didn't show up' on climate change commitments. Russia and China are sending senior officials to the two weeks of climate meetings in Glasgow, Scotland. (Nov. 1)
news.yahoo.comBomb targets mosque in Kabul, 'a number of civilians' dead
A bomb exploded in the entrance of a mosque in the Afghan capital on Sunday leaving a “number of civilians dead,” a Taliban spokesman said. The bomb targeted the sprawling Eidgah Mosque in Kabul, where a memorial service was being held for the mother of Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, who later tweeted the attack had claimed civilian lives. Taliban fighters were not been harmed in the attack, Taliban spokesman Bilal Karimi told the Associated Press.
news.yahoo.comFriction among Taliban pragmatists, hard-liners intensifies
The friction between pragmatists and ideologues in the Taliban leadership has intensified since the group formed a hard-line Cabinet last week that is more in line with their harsh rule in the 1990s than their recent promises of inclusiveness.
Taliban spokesman claims 'no evidence' bin Laden behind World Trade Center attacks
A Taliban spokesman claimed Wednesday that there is "no evidence" that Osama bin Laden was behind the Sept. 11, 2001, World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks, despite overwhelming evidence linking the late al Qaeda leader to the planning of the incident.
news.yahoo.comThis UK College Graduate Is the Last Man Standing Against the Taliban
Mohammad Ismail via ReutersThe British-educated son of one of Afghanistan’s most revered anti-Taliban warlords is the last holdout against the Taliban, staking his claim in the Panjshir Valley about 100 miles north of Kabul. Ahmad Massoud, along with a few hundred well-equipped fighters, pilots, and Amrullah Salehl—Afghanistan’s former vice president, who has claimed the Afghan presidency after Ashraf Ghani fled on August 15—make up the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF) that Massoud
news.yahoo.comTaliban spokesperson says Afghans should stop attempting to reach Kabul's airport
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said Tuesday that Afghans should stop attempting to reach Kabul's international airport, and reiterated that the militant group would not agree to extend the Aug. 31 deadline for U.S. troops to withdraw.Why it matters: The evacuation effort has ramped up significantly over the last 48 hours, but given Mujahid's statement that "we are not in favor of allowing Afghans to leave" the window to complete the operation could soon begin to close.Stay on top of the
news.yahoo.comEXPLAINER: How social platforms are dealing with the Taliban
As the Taliban negotiates with senior politicians and government leaders following its lighting-fast takeover of Afghanistan, U.S. social media companies are reckoning with how to deal with a violent extremist group that is poised to rule a country of 40 million people.
Afghan negotiating team warns Taliban it must resume talks
FILE - In this Sept. 12, 2020 photo, a Taliban delegation arrive to attend the opening session of the peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban in Doha, Qatar. On Jan. 31, 2021, Rasul Talib, a member of the Afghan governments peace negotiating team warned the Taliban that if they dont resume peace talks in Qatar soon, the government could recall the team before a deal is reached. Talib said in a press conference the team is waiting for the return of the Taliban leadership to Doha, Qatar, where a second round of peace talks began this month but has made little progress. (AP Photo/ Hussein Sayed, File)KABUL – A member of the Afghan government's peace negotiating team Sunday warned the Taliban that if they don't resume peace talks in Qatar soon, the government could recall the team before a deal is reached. Meanwhile, the Afghan peace negotiating team praised President Biden’s administration for its decision to review the U.S.-Taliban peace deal, saying the deal favors the Taliban.
Official: Gunmen kill two women judges in Afghan capital
Gunmen fired on a car in northern Kabul on Sunday, killing two women judges who worked for Afghanistan's high court and wounding the driver, a court official said. It was the latest attack in the Afghan capital during peace talks between Taliban and Afghan government officials in Qatar. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)KABUL – Gunmen fired on a car in northern Kabul on Sunday, killing two women judges who worked for Afghanistan's high court and wounding the driver, a court official said. It was the latest attack in the Afghan capital during peace talks between Taliban and Afghan government officials in Qatar. The Taliban and the Afghan government earlier this month resumed peace talks in Qatar.
Afghan officials: Local journalist killed in Ghazni province
Afghan Journalist Rahmatullah Nikzad poses for photograph in Kabul, Afghanistan, July 29, 2019. Nikzad , a prominent local journalist was shot dead by unknown assailants in Afghanistan's central Ghazni province on Monday, Dec. 21, 2020. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)KABUL – A prominent local journalist was shot dead by unknown assailants in Afghanistan's central Ghazni province on Monday — the fourth to be killed in the war-ravaged nation in just two months. Nekzad, who headed the Ghazni Journalists' Union, was well known in the area. The Afghan Journalists' Safety Committee said seven media personnel have been killed this year.
Officials: Roadside bomb attack in Afghanistan kills 14
Tariq Arian, spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said 45 people were also wounded in a late afternoon blast in Bamiyan city in Bamiyan province. Mohammad Reza Yusuofi, spokesman for the provincial police chief in Bamiyan, said there were two bombs that exploded in quick succession. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack and Zabihullah Mujahid, Taliban spokesman, said the group was not involved. The Islamic State group affiliate in Afghanistan has declared war on the country’s minority Shiite Muslims — and Bamiyan is a mostly Shiite province. The U.S. blamed the IS affiliate for an attack on a maternity hospital earlier this year that killed 24 new mothers and infant babies.
US envoy forges ahead with troubled Taliban peace deal
FILE - In this March 9, 2020 file photo, Washington's peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, attends Ashraf Ghani's inauguration ceremony at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan. The U.S. signed a peace deal with the Taliban in February to end 19 years of war in Afghanistan. Khalilzad has sought to stress the economic benefits of the peace deal throughout his tour. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid denied contacts with Al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent, saying the insurgents were committed to the peace deal. The peace deal called for the Afghan government to free 5,000 Taliban prisoners, in exchange for the Taliban releasing 1,000 government personnel.