Search Results for: children




UN finds ‘disturbing increase in violence’ following U.S.-Taliban deal

According to UNAMA, civilian casualties decreased during the first quarter of the year, as compared to similar timeframes in previous years. However, there was a “disturbing increase in violence” in Afghanistan following the U.S. agreement with the Taliban on Feb. 29. And the Taliban is the prime culprit with respect to civilian casualties.








US announces rewards for 3 Islamic State leaders

On Aug. 21, the US State Department Rewards for Justice Program announced rewards of up to $5 million each for information concerning three wanted Islamic State leaders. The three jihadists are “legacy” members of the group and serve as a money man, a senior ideologue, and an explosives expert.


Islamic State suicide bomber strikes wedding in Kabul

The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a deadly suicide bombing at a hotel where a wedding party was celebrating. ISIS-K claims the bombing operation was two-part. After a suicide bomber detonated himself inside the hotel, a car bomb was detonated outside.


Taliban suicide bomber strikes police HQ in Kabul

The bombing, which leveled a police station and killed and wounded scores of people, is the latest in a series of terror attacks in the capital. The US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation continues to claim the Taliban can be an “effective counterterrorism partner”despite the Taliban’s repeated use of terror tactics.



Female Pakistani Taliban suicide bomber hits hospital

The Taliban has used female suicide bombers in the past. Years ago, a wanted commander known as Qari Zia Rahman established training camps to indoctrinate women and young girls to carry out the gruesome attacks.


Taliban suicide team kills a dozen policemen in Kandahar

US military and diplomatic officials have claimed that attacks such as these are designed by the Taliban to increase its leverage in so-called peace talks with the US. In reality, the Taliban has all the leverage it needs. The Taliban is preparing the ground for the next stage in the war by targeting and weakening Afghan forces in major cities and outlying areas.


Taliban suicide bomber strikes intelligence facility in Ghazni

A suicide bomber dispatched by the Taliban detonated his explosives-laden vehicle outside of a facility run by the National Directorate of Security (NDS) in Ghazni earlier today. Preliminary casualty reports indicate that upwards of 200 people were either killed or wounded, including schoolchildren.





Taliban military commission threatens Afghan media

The Taliban’s “Commission for Military Affairs of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan” gave media outlets a one week deadline to cease broadcasting anti-Taliban commercials or they “shall become military targets.”


Sri Lankan security forces clash with Islamic State loyalists

Sri Lankan security forces clashed with Islamic State loyalists during a raid in Kalmunai. The Islamic State claims that 17 members of the security forces were killed, but that claim is not corroborated by independent reporting. Instead, it appears that several terrorists, along with women and children, perished in the raid.


Analysis: The Islamic State’s allegiance videos

The Islamic State’s Amaq News Agency has released a video of eight jihadists in Sri Lanka swearing allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi before a series of bombings on Easter Sunday. The video is similar to a string of others released by Amaq since mid-2016.



Taliban and Islamic State cause majority of civilian casualties in Afghan war, UN finds

According to UNAMA’s annual report for 2018, more civilians were killed in Afghanistan than in any year since 2009. The Taliban remains the main culprit when it comes to civilian casualties, killing or wounding more than any other party. But the number casualties attributed to the Islamic State’s branch more than doubled in 2018, as compared to 2017.



IRGC-led Afghan, Pakistani militias criticize US terror designation, stop short of direct threats

US Treasury on January 24 designated the Afghan Fatemiyoun Division and the Pakistani Zeynabiyoun Brigade, which are led by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), pursuant to counter-terrorism and human-rights-abuses designations. Criticizing the US, the Shiite-Islamist militias emphasized that they are part of the IRGC-led transnational militant network, pledged to keep fighting, but stopped short of directly threatening the US.




Taliban suicide bomber targets foreign compound in Kabul

The Taliban has claimed responsibility for a “complex martyrdom operation” in Kabul’s Green Village late yesterday. The target of the attack isn’t clear. The Taliban says the facility served as a “a key intelligence site” for “foreigners.” Afghan officials claim it was mostly empty and had been inhabited by UN employees and NGO workers.