The Pentagon is preparing for a possible evacuation of the U.S. embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan amid fears that the Taliban may overrun the compound in the coming days. As the Islamic terrorist organization makes significant gains, capturing ten provincial capitals across the country, the State Department will reduce embassy staff and is considering relocating its outpost to the Kabul airport, […]

The speed of the Afghan insurgents’ advances is “really troubling,” Erdogan told CNN Turk. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested Wednesday that he may meet with leadership of the Afghan Taliban as the insurgents sweep across the country amid NATO withdrawal. “The latest developments and the situation of the Afghan public are really, really troubling,” Erdogan told CNN Turk on […]

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested yesterday he may meet with Taliban leadership. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan called for “face-to-face” dialogue between Turkish officials and the Taliban over stability in Afghanistan as that country descends further into civil war. Khan said efforts would be made to establish such talks after meeting with Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, who visited Pakistan’s […]

In the span of three days, at least four provincial capitals in Afghanistan fell to the Taliban, with the strategically significant city of Kunduz on the brink. On August 6, the first Afghan provincial capital fell to the Taliban in the wake of the nearly-complete U.S. withdrawal and intensified fighting across the country. By August 9, three other provincial capitals […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is extremely concerned by the rapid escalation of conflict in Afghanistan this week, and urged the Iranian authorities to keep the Milak border crossing, near Zaranj in Nimroz province, open for Afghan refugees. According to a statement issued by the UNHCR on Tuesday, nearly 200 Afghan refugees fled to Iran over the weekend amid intensified […]