Two districts in Afghanistan’s northwest offer a glimpse into life under the Taliban, who have completely cut off education for teenage girls. The order to shut down the girls’ schools was announced at the mosque, in a meeting with village elders. The news filtered through the teachers, in subdued meetings at students’ homes. Or came in a curt letter to […]

Cody Towse didn’t want to miss the war. Already a volunteer firefighter and EMT in Elk Ridge, Utah County, he joined the Army shortly after graduating from Salem Hills High School because it assured him a position as a medic. Assigned to Fort Bliss upon completing basic training, he sought out a unit that would be deploying in a few […]

President Biden and his Pentagon chiefs say the U.S. will assist Afghanistan’s military from afar after American troops pull out. They haven’t announced the details, but they do have a common refrain: “over the horizon.” “We will maintain an over-the-horizon capacity,” Biden said in his recent address to a joint session of Congress. “We will continue to support (the Afghans) […]

Afghan forces have launched operations to retake three districts–one in Baghlan, one in Maidan Wardak and one in Logar province two days after a three-day ceasefire ended, according to army forces on the ground. The centers of Charkh district in Logar, Burka district in Baghlan and Nerkh district in Maidan Wardak fell to the Taliban weeks ago. “In order to […]

Mohammad Daud Laghmani assumed office as the new governor of northern Faryab province at a ceremony at the army base in the city of Maimana on Monday, sources said. Daud Laghmani was supposed to assume office this week but the governor’s compound in Maimana city is still surrounded by protesters who oppose the appointment. The protestors have also blocked all […]

The Afghan government is expected to finalize the list of names for the High Council of Government, a formation that will work for building a consensus around peace and on other peace-related affairs at higher levels, according to a source who is familiar with President Ashraf Ghani’s recent meetings with political leaders. The source said that discussions on finalizing the […]

Mohammad Daud Laghmani assumed office as the new governor of northern Faryab province at a ceremony at the army base in the city of Maimana on Monday, Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG) said. Sibghatullah Ghaznawi, deputy head of IDLG said that Laghmani, was introduced as the new provincial governor at an army base in Maimana city on Monday and […]

US Forces Commander in Afghanistan General Scott Miller has said they are closely watching what the Taliban will do following the three-day Eid ceasefire that ended at midnight on Saturday but said he expects violence to increase. In an interview with BBC, Miller said: “Ideally they would continue with the reduced violence because it is something that the Afghan people […]

Pakistan’s Foreign Office said on Monday it has conveyed its serious concerns over “irresponsible statements and baseless allegations” made by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani last week. The backlash was sparked by Ghani’s comments to Germany’s weekly news magazine Der Spiegel last week, where he said peace was largely now up to Pakistan, who still harbors the Taliban. Ghani said: “It […]

The Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) have retaken parts of the Baghlan-e-Markazi district of northern Baghlan province which fell to the Taliban two weeks ago, local officials said Monday. According to officials, the Afghan forces launched ground and air operations to clear the district of Taliban on Sunday evening. Afghan military officials stated that so far 25 insurgents […]