Afghan President Ashraf Ghani led a government delegation to Mazar-e-Sharif on Wednesday morning to assess the security situation in the northern provinces. Ghani’s visit to the capital of Balkh province comes amid escalating violence across the country, particularly in the north. According to the Presidential Palace, Ghani’s senior security and political affairs adviser Mohammad Mohaqiq and former mujahideen commander Juma […]

Marshal Abdul Rashid Dostum said Wednesday that the Taliban are now trapped in the north and will not be able to flee that part of the country and that security forces will “crackdown” on the militants. Speaking to journalists in Balkh province, Dostum said: “The Taliban have been trapped in the north several times and this time it is not […]

The Afghan government has brought changes in key army positions amid intensified clashes between the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) and the Taliban militants across the country. Commander of the Special Operations Corps General Hebatullah Alizai has been appointed as Chief of Army Staff, replacing General Wali Mohammad Ahmadzai. Ahmadzai was removed as Chief of Army Staff after […]

Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby at a press conference on Monday said that talks with Pakistan continue over the insurgents’ safe havens. “We continue to have conversations with Pakistani leadership about the safe havens that exist along that border between Afghanistan and Pakistan,” Kirby said. “And we’re mindful that — that those safe havens are only providing a source […]

Meanwhile, the Afghan interior minister says gov’t arming local groups as part of plan to fight back against the Taliban. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani returned to the capital Wednesday after a flying visit to the besieged northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif to rally his beleaguered forces, with Taliban fighters having now taken more than a quarter of the country’s provincial capitals […]

Taliban insurgents claim advances in 2 more provincial centers amid deadly violence Afghan President Ashraf Ghani arrived in the frontline province of Balkh on Wednesday to boost the morale of security forces as Taliban insurgents marched on two more provincial capitals. Flanked by his close aides and senior political figures, Ghani landed in Balkh’s capital early in the morning to […]

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Monday said the international community needed to look into the failures of Afghan security forces in the face of Taliban offensives across Afghanistan, Reuters reported. Taliban fighters have swiftly gained territory across Afghanistan since May, including six provincial capitals in the last three days, as international forces near a complete withdrawal from the […]

Reports say that the Taliban have taken over most areas of Farah city following fierce battles with the Afghan security forces. Sources said that heavy fighting is currently underway in the centers of Badakhshan, Baghlan and Faryab provinces. Afghan security agencies are not providing information about developments on the frontlines in the north. “The Taliban launched four attacks on the […]

The Afghan National Security and Defense Forces (ANDSF) pushed back a Taliban offensive on Mazar-e-Sharif city and retook Nahr-e-Shahi district, Balkh governor Mohammad Farhad Azimi said on Tuesday. Azimi said that on Monday night the ANDSF and the Taliban clashed in Nahr-e-Shahi district and Dehdadi district. He said the Taliban retreated from the area after facing strong resistance from the […]

Pakistan on Monday said the international community needed to look into the “meltdown” of Afghan security forces in the face of Taliban offensives across Afghanistan, instead of blaming Pakistan for the fast-deteriorating situation, Reuters reported. Taliban fighters have swiftly gained territory across Afghanistan since May, including six provincial capitals in the last three days, as international forces near a complete […]