Taliban suicide bomber strikes bank in Helmand
A Taliban suicide bomber targeted security personnel and civilians as they lined up to collect their pay prior to the start fo Eid al Fitr. The Taliban has targeted Kabul Bank branches in the past.
Tag Archives: Taliban
Taliban overruns district in Afghan north
The governor of Darzab confirmed that Taliban fighters overran the district just one day after Islamic State fighters attacked the administrative complex.
Taliban suicide team assaults provincial police headquarters
The Taliban suicide team used tactics that have been perfected by multiple jihadist groups on numerous battlefields over the past decade and a half.
Afghan soldier opens fire on US troops, wounds 7
Today’s insider attack, also known as green-on-blue attack, is the second of its kind in the past week, and the third reported so far this year. The attack took place on a base that was overrun by Taliban fighters two months ago.
Islamic State continues to target Shiite civilians in Kabul
The Islamic State’s Amaq News Agency has claimed responsibility for an attack on Al Zahra Mosque in Kabul earlier today. Shiite worshippers had gathered at the mosque as part of Ramadan. The Islamic State’s Wilayah Khorasan has repeatedly targeted Shiites in Kabul, causing mass casualties on several occasions over the past year.
US drone strikes ‘against spirit of ongoing cooperation,’ Pakistani Army chief says
General Bajwa made the statement despite the fact that drone strikes have killed scores of top tier terrorist leaders, including mortal enemies of the Pakistan state, and Pakistani officials have passed along actionable intelligence to terrorists to avoid raids.
US kills Haqqani commander in drone strike in Pakistan
Haqqani Network commander Abu Bakar and two close aides from the Afghan province of Paktika were killed in the attack, the fourth drone strike recorded in Pakistan this year.
Taliban continues to deny involvement in deadly Kabul attack
While the Taliban wants to distance itself from the May 31 suicide truck bombing that killed more than 150 people because of the problems related to civilian casualties, it also appears to want to halt the execution of Taliban prisoners.
Taliban ‘infiltrator’ kills 3 US soldiers in Nangarhar
The attack that killed the three soldiers will only benefit the Islamic State, an enemy of the Taliban, by temporarily halting offensive operations in Nangarhar province. There have been two recorded insider attacks so far this year.
Zawahiri lectures on global jihad, warns of national boundaries
Ayman al Zawahiri has released another message explaining al Qaeda’s global jihad. He decries those who seek to divide the jihadists’ war according to national boundaries and argues that Muslims face a grand, international conspiracy.
Kabul funeral suicide bombers trained in Pakistan, Afghan intelligence says
According to the NDS, the suicide bombers trained at the Mawlawi Ahmad Madrassa in Chaman, a border town in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province. The Taliban denied it executed the attack.
Taliban again affirms Haqqani Network is an integral part of group
The Taliban has issued a second statement denying any responsibility for the May 31 bombing in Kabul. Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS) has accused the Haqqani Network and Pakistan of orchestrating the attack. The Taliban claims the NDS is lying and defends the Haqqanis, once again affirming their key role in the organization.
Afghan Taliban parades forces after capturing district in Ghazni
The Afghan Taliban paraded its forces in the daylight without fear of being targeted after overrunning the district center of Waghaz in the southeaster province of Ghazni last month.
Afghan military helicopter destroyed in Taliban IED attack
A Taliban video shows an Afghan military helicopter blowing up just after it lands on a remote outpost on the top of a mountain. The Taliban has infiltrated military outposts in the past and conducted similar attacks.
Bomb blast rocks Kabul during rush hour, killing dozens of civilians
A suicide bomber detonated a vehicle packed with explosives in the Afghan capital this morning. The bombing was carried out near the German Embassy. At least 80 people were killed, according to initial casualty reports.
Jihad during Ramadan is ‘obligatory,’ Taliban spokesman says
An official Taliban spokesman described jihad as “obligatory worship” and said that there would be no cease-fire during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Taliban attacks another base in Kandahar
The Taliban continues its offensive in Kandahar. Afghan officials report that at least 18 soldiers were killed and four more were captured during another Taliban assault on a military base in Shah Wali Kot.
Taliban assaults Afghan Army bases in Kandahar
Taliban fighters overran a large military base earlier this week, and launched attacks on other installations throughout the province. The fighting in Kandahar takes place as the Taliban remains on the offensive on several fronts throughout the country as part of Operation Mansouri.
Taliban assaults provincial capital in southeastern Afghanistan
The Taliban detonated explosives inside the governor’s compound in Ghazni City before being pushed back by Afghan forces. The group claims it now controls Waghaz district.
Afghan forces, Taliban battle for control of Kunar
Seven years after the US withdrawal from Kunar, the Taliban and allied jihadist groups continue to wield significant influence in the province.
The US Intelligence Community’s newest assessment of the jihadist threat
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) presented its written “Worldwide Threat Assessment” to the Senate last week. The analysis confirms that the Islamic State is capable of sustaining insurgencies in both Iraq and Syria, Afghan security continues to “deteriorate,” and al Qaeda remains a threat in several parts of the globe.
Treasury adds 3 JDQ leaders, charity to list of global terrorists
Jamaat ul Dawa al Quran is an excellent example of the complex and evolving network of jihadist groups that operate in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region. The three designated leaders have been tied to al Qaeda, the Taliban, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and the Islamic State.
Taliban parades large convoy in Sangin
The Taliban video shows that more than a month after Afghan forces lost Sangin, and despite the relocation of the “new” district center just kilometers away, the Taliban can flaunt a large force with little fear of reprisal.
Taliban back on the offensive in Kunduz
The Taliban took Qala-i-Zal district and is threatening to seize Khanabad in its latest push to control the northern province of Kunduz.
Pakistani Taliban retaliates for ‘the drone attack in North Waziristan’
Shawal is one of several areas in North Waziristan that the Pakistani military claimed it cleared after it launched an operation in 2014. However the fact that the TTP can organize 120 fighters and assault a base there indicates the area is all but cleared.
Iraqi al Qaeda leader reportedly killed in drone strike in Pakistan
An “important” al Qaeda figure, Abdul Raheem, was reportedly killed in a drone strike in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan late last month. Al Qaeda and allied groups have sheltered in Datta Khel in the past. The Pakistani military claimed the area was cleared in Sept. 2014, but jihadists continue to operate there.
Taliban and Islamic State clash in eastern Afghanistan
The Islamic State’s Wilayah Khorasan and the Taliban clashed in the Chaparhar district of Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province earlier today. The two sides have battled each other in the area since 2015. Late last month, the Islamic State also fought with the Taliban in northern Afghanistan and assassinated a Taliban figure in Peshawar.
Taliban controls or contests 40 percent of Afghan districts: SIGAR
Both the Taliban and the Afghan government have slightly increased the number of Afghan districts under their control over the past three months, but the security situation remains virtually unchanged.
2 Taliban commanders reportedly killed in US strike in Pakistan
Yesterday’s strike is just the second reported in Pakistan this year, and the second since the US killed Afghan Taliban emir Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour in an attack in Baluchistan province in May 2016.
Taliban announces start of ‘Operation Mansouri’
This year’s “spring offensive” is named after Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour, the previous emir who was killed by the US in a drone strike in Pakistan in May 2016. As in previous years, the Taliban said the main focus of its operation is the targeting of both foreign and local forces.