The U.S. military appears just days away from completing its withdrawal from Afghanistan, well ahead of the Sept. 11 deadline set by President Joe Biden to end America’s longest war, U.S. officials told Reuters on Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity. The withdrawal of troops and equipment from Afghanistan would not include forces that will remain to protect diplomats at […]

Some American troops will stay on in Afghanistan to protect the U.S. diplomatic presence after the troop withdrawal process ends, Pentagon Spokesperson John Kirby confirmed Tuesday. Addressing a press briefing, Kirby also said that the US is still working on details of how to secure the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul once troops have left the country. Turkey has […]

Abdullah Abdullah, Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR), said Wednesday that clashes between security forces and the Taliban have reached the entrance gates of the capital, Kabul, and that “people have to support the system”. Addressing the sixth session of the HCNR’s Leadership Committee meeting, Abdullah stated that as the international forces are close to completing their […]

Taliban have seized control of six district centers – in Takhar, Kapisa, Balkh, Samangan, Ghazni, and Kandahar provinces – in the past 24 hours, local sources told Ariana News. According to the sources, Farkhar district in Takhar, Alasay in Kapisa, Kaldar in Balkh, Feroz Nakhchir in Samangan, Gelan in Ghazni and Khakrez in Kandahar province fell to the Taliban in […]

Germany has completed its troop pull-out from Afghanistan, started in May, the defence ministry announced Tuesday, ending a nearly 20-year deployment there alongside US and other international forces. The announcement of the pull-out of German troops, whose presence there was second only to the US forces, came as the US aims to complete its own withdrawal by September 11. “After […]

The commander of US forces in Afghanistan General Scott Miller said the US will support the Afghan security forces as foreign forces leave the country. Miller said that the Taliban’s expansion of violence makes it difficult to achieve peace. He said that the Taliban will not be able to win the war militarily, and should stop the violence. “Coalition or […]

As intense fighting continues in the country, Afghan authorities on Tuesday said that over 6,000 Taliban fighters, including Pakistani nationals, have been killed in fighting with the Afghan National Security and Defense Forces (ANDSF) over the past one month. Ajmal Omar Shinwari, a spokesman for Afghan forces, on Tuesday said that another 3,400 Taliban fighters were wounded during this period. […]

As clashes continue between security forces and the Taliban in many parts of the country, the Defense Ministry said it had recently recaptured areas of Kaldar district in Balkh province and Pashtun Kut and Khan Chahar Bagh districts in Faryab province. Operations are underway to retake other districts that are under Taliban control, the MoD said. It was also reported […]

Russian ambassador to Afghanistan Dmitry Zhirnov said Monday that there is no direct threat to Russia from the Taliban activities in Afghanistan, Russia’s TASS news agency reported on Tuesday. “There is no immediate direct threat [to Russia] from the Taliban,” Dmitry told Rossiya-24 television channel when he was asked whether the Taliban’s activities could threaten Russia directly. Tass also reported […]

The Taliban’s spokesman in Doha, Qatar, Mohammad Naeem, on Tuesday accused the Afghan Republic’s negotiating team of not being interested in moving peace talks forward. In a video message Tuesday, Naeem said: “Although the two sides had held a number of joint meetings after Eid, the government delegation was not interested in talks and was probably looking forward to [President […]