Afghan officials confirmed the Taliban took the district after security forces retreated. Paktika is in the sphere of influence of the Haqqani Network, the influential Taliban subgroup that is closely allied with al Qaeda as well as Pakistan’s military and Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate.
A Taliban suicide assault team attacked a hotel in the northwestern Afghan province of Badghis earlier today, killing six police officers and two civilians. The attack took place just days after the Taliban reportedly committed to protect residential areas in order to limit civilian casualties. Afghan officials said five Taliban “suicide bombers” launched the attack […]
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.
The Afghan government is unable to administer 64 districts from the district centers, according to a recent survey. The fact that a district cannot be administered from its district center is a clear indication that the government cannot control the district.
The Taliban has overrun another district in northern Afghanistan. The district of Qush Tepa in Jawzjan province – which was previously contested – was taken by the Taliban earlier today after several days of fighting, both Afghan officials and the Taliban confirmed. The governor of Jawzjan province said that the Taliban shut down all roads […]
As the Taliban launches major attacks in four provinces, it is revealed that 64 districts in 19 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces are not being governed from the existing district centers.
The Taliban said it ambushed a US and Afghan convoy in Wardak province. The attack took place in a district that has been under Taliban control for years.
An AQIS Member known as Abdul Haseeb al-Kashmiri was recently killed in Ghazni, according to jihadists online. His death was reported on a Telegram channel that supports Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, an al Qaeda-linked group in Kashmir.
Asim Umar, a senior al Qaeda official, has released a statement praising the Taliban’s “victory” in Afghanistan over the US. He also criticizes ISIS for dividing the jihadists’ ranks, praying that Allah ends the “fitnah.”
In an effort to get the Taliban to open negotiations, the Afghan government has freed hundreds of Taliban prisoners without conditions, and will free hundreds more.
The Taliban has claimed it overran five districts in four Afghan provinces since mid-May. Meanwhile, the Afghan military said it liberated a district that was under Taliban control for over two years.
The Islamic State’s Afghan arm detonated three improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Kabul earlier today. The first bomb struck a bus carrying civilians, while the second two were detonated after security forces and journalists made their way to the scene.
The defeat of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria was neither final nor decisive, and policymakers should heed the War on Terror’s lessons to ensure the West doesn’t squander this advantage and enable ISIS, or its copycats and successor groups, to rally.
A Taliban suicide bomber struck a convoy in Kabul earlier today. The Taliban claimed that 10 “invaders” were killed, but independent reports say that Afghans perished, while four Americans were wounded.
An Islamic State suicide bomber struck outside the Marshal Fahim National Defense University in Kabul earlier today. It is the second time the so-called Khorasan province has attacked the academy. According to UNAMA, the jihadists launch more “suicide and complex attacks” in the Afghan capital than in any other area of the country.
Although John Walker Lindh is commonly known as the “American Taliban,” he was actually trained by al Qaeda and belonged to Osama bin Laden’s pro-Taliban fighting force.
Al Qaeda is operating “across the country” and not confined to one region, the commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan said.
Al Qaeda has released a new video emphasizing its unity with the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The video features a joint Taliban-al Qaeda ambush on an Afghan army convoy in Paktika province.
A team of Taliban jihadists attacked Counterpart International, a USAID-backed NGO operating in Kabul. The Taliban claims that Counterpart’s work is “anti-Islamic” and criticizes the NGO for promoting “western culture,” as well as the “mixing” of men and women.
The U.S. military and NATO have stopped producing an assessment that was considered key for measuring progress against the jihadist insurgency in Afghanistan, according to a report released on April 30 by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). The metric, which tracked district stability, was one of the “most widely cited Afghan security […]
Bill Roggio testifies before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa and International Terrorism, and examines the global terrorism landscape.
A small team of Islamic State jihadists assaulted the Ministry of Communications in Kabul on Apr. 20. It was the latest in a string of attacks on government ministries and other official sites in the Afghan capital.
The Taliban has consistently refused to negotiate with the Afghan government, and said the composition of the delegation to Doha indicates that it represents the Afghan government.
Unlike previous years, the Taliban does not prioritize attacks on US and NATO forces, but instead sets its crosshairs on those working for the Afghan government, military, and police. The statement is yet another clear indication that the Taliban will not share power with the Afghan government, but instead seeks to impose its will on the country.
The Taliban decried the upcoming Afghan Loya Jirga for Peace as a tool of “the invaders and their stooges,” and called on all Afghans to shun the jirga.
A Taliban suicide bomber attacked US forces outside of Bagram Air Base, the largest US military installation in Afghanistan.
Despite repeated claims to the contrary, al Qaeda has not been defeated in Afghanistan, and it still continues to operate alongside its ally, the Taliban.
Earlier today, the Islamic State’s Khorasan “province” attacked a memorial held in honor of Abdul Ali Mazari, an ethnic Hazara leader who was killed by the Taliban in 1995. The Islamic State’s loyalists frequently target Shiites in the Afghan capital.
While Afghan and Coalition officials claim the assault was “repelled,” the Taliban clearly entered the base and inflicted casualties on Afghan forces.
The State Department announced today that it is offering a $1 million reward for information on Hamza bin Laden’s whereabouts. Hamza is the genetic and ideological heir of al Qaeda’s founder and he has been groomed for a leadership position within the organization.