The administration of President Ashraf Ghani vowed Friday to defend its capital, Kabul, from the Taliban, while efforts by Abdullah Abdullah, head of the country’s National Reconciliation Council, to strike a political deal with the group seemed be gaining momentum. “It was decided with conviction & resolve that we stand firm against Taliban terrorists & do [everything] to strengthen the […]

Taliban fighters carrying out a blitzkrieg-like offensive across Afghanistan appear to have the capital, Kabul, in their sights, advancing toward the city even as the first of thousands of U.S. troops to be sent back to the country set foot on the ground. The Taliban on Friday claimed victory in five major provincial capitals, including the country’s second- and third-largest […]

After 20 years, Biden finally got the US military out of Afghanistan. Even though it can seem to signal the end of an era for US interventionism, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Leaving Afghanistan is simply a necessary step in America’s new chapter of interventionism in China’s neighbourhood, argues Hew Strachan. What was shocking about President Biden’s decision […]

The first of some 3,000 US soldiers and Marines ordered by the Biden administration back into Afghanistan began arriving at Kabul’s international airport Friday as six more of Afghanistan’s provincial capitals were overrun by the Taliban, bringing the total to 18 that have fallen to the insurgency. Another 4,000 US troops are being sent to Kuwait for a possible rapid […]

The United States lost the Afghanistan War a long time ago, as is quickly becoming apparent as the Taliban take city after city. After 2002, it was never clear what the US war aim was. You can’t win a war if you don’t have a clear objective. The war is lost before it begins. The initial US military action against […]

Taliban fighters entered the outskirts of the Afghan capital on Sunday and said they were awaiting a “peaceful transfer” of the city after promising not to take it by force, but panicked residents raced to the leave, with workers fleeing government offices and helicopters landing at the U.S. Embassy. In a nationwide offensive that has taken just over a week, […]

Fierce battles were reported between Afghan forces and the Taliban near Mazar-e-Sharif city in northern Balkh province. Balkh governor Farhad Azimi said that the Taliban on Saturday morning launched attacks on the city from various directions, but the security forces “bravely resisted” the group. He said that initially the Taliban made some advances but the security forces repelled their attacks […]

The centers of Logar, Paktika, Kunar and Paktia provinces and 10 districts fell to the Taliban in the last 24 hours, according to sources as the group’s advances continue. Sources said the Taliban has released all prisoners in these provinces while local officials have relocated to the army bases in the four provincial capitals. Reports say that there had been […]

Concerned about the implications of a Taliban victory for regional security, Moscow is searching for a diplomatic solution to Afghanistan’s conflict. As the security situation inside Afghanistan deteriorates by the day, Moscow fears that a Taliban victory could see Afghanistan exporting terrorism, strife, drugs and insecurity to Russia’s historical Central Asian backyard. Moscow’s new strategic worries contrast with its earlier […]

The TTP has experienced a reversal of fortunes, in part thanks to the changing circumstances within Afghanistan. Since its inception in 2007, the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has been the largest and most active armed opposition group in Pakistan. It was formed by several small groups operating in the tribal areas of Pakistan and to a lesser extent in the North-West […]