afghanistan:

US Conducts First Air Strike On Taliban Hours After Deal

March 4, 2020 8:46 am

The US military has conducted an air strike against Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, just hours after President Donald Trump said he had had a “very good talk” with a leader of the group.

The US signed a deal with the Taliban on Saturday aimed at bringing peace to Afghanistan after years of war.

But a US forces spokesman said it launched an air strike on Wednesday in response to Taliban fighters attacking Afghan forces in Helmand province.

The Taliban has not commented.

It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties.

What did the US say?

Wednesday’s strike was …

Afghanistan Reacts To Death Of Citizens In Plane Crash

January 8, 2020 2:42 pm

Afghanistan has reacted to the death of 176 people after Ukrainian Boeing-737 crashed near an airport in the capital, Tehran, on Wednesday.

The crash happened at a time when Iran was threatening to go to war with the United States, US, over the killing of General Qasem Soleimani.

Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said that ten of its nationals were among the victims of the crashed Ukrainian passenger jet.

“We are saddened to learn that 10 Afghan nationals have lost their lives in a plane crash in Tehran this morning,” …

Taliban Release Two Western Hostages In Afghanistan

November 19, 2019 4:52 pm

The Taliban handed two Western hostages over to US forces in southern Afghanistan Tuesday, three years after they were abducted, in a swap for three high-ranking insurgent prisoners that could boost peace talks.

The exchange of American Kevin King and Australian Timothy Weeks for the militants — including Anas Haqqani, brother to the Taliban’s deputy leader — was welcomed by both the United States and the insurgents.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the releases “give us hope for the success of intra-Afghan peace negotiations, which the United States stands ready to support.”

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Nine Children Killed In Afghanistan Landmine Blast

November 2, 2019 1:11 pm

Nine children were killed when a planted roadside bomb exploded as they walked to school in a northeastern province of Afghanistan, government and police officials said.

The blast happened in Darqad district of Takhar province on Saturday, when the children, aged between eight and 11, stepped on the bomb planted on a road in a Taliban-controlled village.

“In the morning on roadside, nine children were killed in a landmine blast placed by the Taliban. Three children, who were part of the group, are missing,” Jawad Hejri, a spokesman for the Takhar provincial governor, told Al Jazeera.

No group has claimed

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Afghanistan: Car bomb targeted at US convoy goes off

May 31, 2019 10:08 am

A car bomb attack on a U.S. convoy in the Afghan capital on Friday, wounded four U.S. service members and killed at least four Afghan civilians, officials said, in the second attack in the city in two days.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast, which came a day after the Islamic State militant group claimed a suicide attack outside a military training academy that killed at least six people.

A spokesman for U.S. Forces in Afghanistan confirmed that a car bomb hit a U.S. convoy and four service members had suffered minor injuries in the explosion but gave no …