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.

Pakistan’s military says suspected militants have opened fire on a paramilitary vehicle patrolling in the town of Hernai in southwestern Baluchistan province, killing two troops before fleeing.

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

A court in Pakistan has sentenced three militants to prison after convicting them on charges of financing terrorism.

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.

On May 19, 2019, a prison riot in Vakhdat, Tajikistan, left 29 people dead, including supporters of the so-called Islamic State. Allegedly orchestrated by militants, government information about the riot is limited and leaves many questions unanswered. Tajikistan has seen an uptick in jihadist-inspired violence over the last few years, signaling a worrisome trend for future instability in the country. […]

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.