The increasingly likely victory of the Taliban in Afghanistan is going to be a strategic nightmare for Iran. In recent years, Tehran initiated contact with the Taliban and even hosted talks between the Afghan government and the group. Despite its ideological antipathy to the Taliban, Iran maintained ties with them as a hedge against the US presence in Afghanistan and […]

While many may say any government effort will be too little, too late, the importance of rebutting Taliban propaganda must still be a priority for the Afghan government and seen as no less important than combat operations. As the war in Afghanistan rages on between the Taliban and Afghan security forces, one frequently-cited feature in Western media coverage has been […]

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and his Tajik counterpart Sherali Mirzo on Saturday discussed joint measures to counter threats from the Taliban in the Tajikistan and Afghanistan border area, Russia’s TASS news agency reported. Russia on Friday pledged to help its ally Tajikistan to build a new outpost on the border. The two countries will also hold major drills next […]

A special unit of the country’s intelligence agency, NDS, conducted an operation in Rabat village in Parwan province last week in which 10 people were killed, following concerns raised by local residents linking insecurity in the area to the existence of illegal armed groups. There have been many reports about the activities of illegal armed groups in some areas recently. […]

Sources said that security forces left Narai district in the eastern province of Kunar on Sunday due to lack of supplies and that fighting continues on other fronts, including Nijrab district in Kapisa where its central areas are still under Taliban influence. “Narai district fell (to the Taliban) without resistance. This shows the weakness of the leadership of the security […]

US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad and UNAMA both issued a communique on Saturday calling on both sides to the conflict to stop the fighting and start making progress at the peace talks tables. The communique comes after a meeting on Thursday in Rome between the EU, NATO, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, and the US, where […]

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Saturday that the Afghan security forces’ first job was to make sure they could slow the Taliban’s momentum before attempting to retake territory, as Afghan forces plan to consolidate forces around strategically important parts of the country. Reuters reported that Afghanistan’s military is overhauling its war strategy against the Taliban to concentrate forces […]

Kabul police said Sunday the mastermind behind the rocket attack on Eid al-Adha has been arrested by the police’s Special Forces unit. According to the ministry of interior (MoI), the suspects were detained in PD5 in Kabul city. “During a targeted operation in Kabul’s PD5, special police forces arrested a key member of the Taliban who had planned and organized […]

Pakistan and China on Saturday called on all Afghan stakeholders to agree to a ceasefire and work together to achieve an inclusive peace agreement and political settlement. According to Dawn News, the call was made by the two sides during a foreign ministers’ strategic dialogue in Chengdu in Sichuan province in China. A statement issued by China and Pakistan said […]