Asim Umar, a senior al Qaeda official, has released a lengthy statement praising the Taliban’s “victory” in Afghanistan. He claims that America’s “defeat” proves that its superior technology is no match for the jihadists’ faith, adding that America’s army no longer wants to fight.

In an effort to convince the Taliban to open negotiations, the Afghan government has freed hundreds of Taliban prisoners without conditions, and will free hundreds more. The Taliban has not responded to the prisoner release, and continues to refuse to negotiate with the Afghan government.

An oft-cited assessment used to measure U.S. progress in Afghanistan, recently tossed aside by commanders, is still being collected, but is no longer available to the public.

Last week, members of the Afghan Taliban along with Afghan politicians and power brokers met in Moscow to discuss the contours of a potential peace deal for the war-ravaged country. Representing the Taliban was one of the group’s original co-founders, Abdul Ghani Baradar, who offered support for a negotiated political settlement.

As the West continues to hold out hope for peace talks within Afghanistan, the Taliban presses its military efforts to take control of more areas of the country.

An Afghan military spokesman says troops have freed 84 prisoners from a Taliban-run facility in the northern Faryab province.

The Afghan Taliban is unlikely to call a ceasefire any time soon, the group’s leader has indicated, even though the “doors of dialogue” with the United States to end the 18-year-long war in the country remain open.

The US envoy negotiating with the Taliban will hold new talks this month with the group in Qatar, the US State Department has said, as momentum builds for a deal to end America’s longest war.

A suicide bomber dispatched by the Islamic State’s Khorasan province struck outside the Marshal Fahim National Defense University in Kabul earlier today. It is the second time that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s loyalists have targeted the academy, which hosts training for Afghan Army recruits.

Herat, Afghanistan: Taliban fighters have stormed several security posts providing protection to Afghanistan’s historic minaret of Jam, cutting access to the UNESCO World Heritage Site and killing 18 security forces, officials said Wednesday.