Meeting scheduled from April 24 – May 4 to be held after Ramadan, says foreign minister Turkey announced Tuesday that it is postponing a much-anticipated Afghan peace conference in Istanbul until the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. “We thought that it would be beneficial to postpone it …We consulted Qatar, the US and the UN and decided […]

Foreign troop withdrawals have raised concerns that Afghanistan could become a fractured state, erupt in civil war A top US general said on Tuesday that he had grave doubts about the Taliban’s reliability as a negotiating partner, as the United States is set to remove all its troops from Afghanistan in the coming months and focus on diplomacy. Last week […]

America’s ability to strike extremist targets in Afghanistan will be significantly constrained once U.S. forces depart this year, making the task of containing terrorism threats extremely difficult but “not impossible,” a top general said Tuesday. Gen. Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie, commander of U.S. Central Command, told members of the House Armed Services Committee that he is developing plans to address extremist […]

Ata Jan Haqbayan, the head of the provincial council in Zabul, was wounded in an explosion that happened within the compound of the provincial governor in the southern province on Tuesday, his brother Ismail Zabuli said, but local officials have not commented. Haqbayan’s family members said his condition is stable. No group has claimed responsibility for the blast. Haqbayan survived […]

The Afghan government on Tuesday said that the list of delegates to represent the republic in Istanbul has been finalized. A high-level Afghan government official who spoke on condition of anonymity told TOLOnews that there is the possibility that a 15- or 17-member team will represent the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan at the conference scheduled for April 24. Meanwhile, the […]

Despite not officially announcing a spring fighting season, the Taliban has increased attacks in various regions of the country—including the strategic areas of Kandahar in the south, Balkh in the north, Herat in the west and Nangarhar in the east. Meanwhile, military analysts attributed the surge in violence by the Taliban to the group’s attempt to pressure the Afghan government, […]

A powerful blast rocked Afghanistan’s capital Kabul on Tuesday night. A security source told TOLOnews that the blast occurred as a result of a suicide bombing that targeted a convoy of the Afghan intelligence agency—the National Directorate of Security (NDS)–at Shaheed Roundabout in PD15 of the city. A security source said that so far four wounded have been brought to […]

Pakistan on Monday urged the Taliban to remain engaged in the Afghan peace process after the armed group said it would now shun summits about Afghanistan until all foreign forces had left. The decision was taken after the United States said last week it would withdraw all troops by Sept. 11 this year, later than a May 1 deadline set […]

An army officer and his driver were killed on Tuesday morning in Kabul, sources said. According to the sources the incident occurred in Arzan Qaimat area in the east of Kabul. In the shooting the army officer’s driver was also killed, sources added. So far the identity of the victims are not known and police have not yet commented. So […]

At least eight policemen were killed on Monday night in a Taliban group attack in Badakhshan province, officials said. Abdullah Naji Nazari, a member of the Badakhshan Provincial Council, said the police were killed in a Taliban attack in Zebak district. The Taliban attacked and set fire to the police base and stole all the equipment, Nazari added. Badakhshan police […]