Afghanistan

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Panic, Disbelief in Kabul as More Cities Fall to Taliban

Group has completed sweep of southern Afghanistan

(Newser) - The Taliban's offensive in Afghanistan continued with terrifying speed Friday, with another three provincial capitals falling to the militants. Lashkar Gah, capital of Helmand province, was under Taliban control Friday after weeks of heavy fighting. Lawmakers in Uruzgat and Zabul provinces say their capitals have fallen to the Taliban,...

Taliban Take Afghanistan&#39;s 2nd- and 3rd-Largest Cities
Kandahar Falls 
to Taliban
Aug 13, 2021 1:26 AM CDT

Kandahar Falls to Taliban

Herat, the country's 3rd-largest city, does also

(Newser) - The Taliban captured two major Afghan cities, the country's second- and third-largest after Kabul, and a strategic provincial capital on Thursday, further squeezing the embattled government just weeks before the end of the American military mission in Afghanistan. The seizure of Kandahar and Herat marks the biggest prizes yet...

US Sends Troops to Help Evacuate Embassy

With Taliban closing in on Kabul, administration asks that its diplomatic post be spared

(Newser) - If the Taliban successfully storm Kabul, the US is asking that they please spare the American Embassy. In the meantime, troops are being sent to Afghanistan to help evacuate Americans stationed at the embassy. Other diplomatic stations in the country already have been closed as the Taliban overrun the nation...

Taliban Just Took Its Biggest Prize Yet

Third-largest city, Herat, falls to the group

(Newser) - Another day, another major city captured by the Taliban. And this time's it's the biggest prize to date. The militant group on Thursday overran Herat, Afghanistan's third-largest city and a strategic provincial capital near Kabul, further squeezing the country's embattled government just weeks before the end...

Report: Pentagon Fears Kabul Could Fall in 30 Days

Taliban seizes 10th provincial capital

(Newser) - Less than a week ago, the Taliban seized their first provincial capital since the withdrawal of US troops began. On Thursday, they seized their tenth, raising their flag in the city of Ghazni, just 80 miles southwest of Kabul, the AP reports. Another three of the country's 34 capitals...

With 'Stunning Speed,' Taliban Takes 3 More Provincial Capitals

Capitals of Badakhshan, Baghlan, and Farah provinces fall to fundamentalist Islamic group

(Newser) - The Taliban seized three more provincial capitals in Afghanistan and a local army headquarters in a blitz across the country's northeast, officials said Wednesday, with the insurgents now controlling some two-thirds of the nation as the US and NATO finalize their withdrawal after its decades-long war there. The fall...

Pentagon: 'It's Their Country to Defend Now'

US will not step up airstrikes in Afghanistan despite Taliban advance

(Newser) - The US showed no sign Monday of stepping up airstrikes in Afghanistan despite accelerating Taliban gains there. A Pentagon spokesman emphasized that Americans now see the fight as one for Afghan political and military leaders to win or lose. "When we look back, it’s going to come down...

Taliban Assassinate Country's Top Media Official

Fighters overrun capital of Nimruz province

(Newser) - The deputy governor of Nimruz province in southwest Afghanistan says its capital city has fallen to the Taliban, making it the first provincial capital to be overrun by Taliban fighters since American forces began their withdrawal. The attack on Zaranj marks an escalation in the Taliban campaign, which has mainly...

Slain Photojournalist's Body Mutilated Beyond Recognition

Taliban say they treated Danish Siddiqui's remains with respect

(Newser) - An Indian photojournalist was kidnapped by the Taliban and executed, then his body was mutilated, Afghan officials say. Danish Siddiqui, a Pulitzer Prize-winner working for Reuters, was ambushed while covering fighting in the Spin Boldak region, near Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan, in mid-July, the Hindu reports. Siddiqui managed...

Taliban Slaying of Online Comic Sparks Anger, Apprehension

Watchdog group says even mild criticism isn't safe

(Newser) - The Taliban's killing of a Kandahar police officer, better known as a goofy comic who posted his bits on social media, has drawn condemnation across Afghanistan. Nazar Mohammad Khasha, also known as Khasha Zwan, was dragged from his home and shot to death last week, the Washington Post reports....

Biden Message to First Afghan Evacuees: 'Welcome Home'

First group of interpreters arrives in US, with hundreds more to be brought over to escape Taliban retaliation

(Newser) - The Biden administration promised to help thousands of translators in Afghanistan flee their homeland ahead of the US troop withdrawal there next month. That promise is now coming to fruition, as the first 200 or so Afghans, mostly interpreters and their families, were evacuated and transported to Dulles International Airport,...

As Evacuations Near, Taliban Behead Translator

US has promised to evacuate translators but won't protect Afghans trying to reach planes

(Newser) - Sohail Pardis was last seen trying to run a Taliban checkpoint on a desert road. The Taliban opened fire, CNN reports. When the car stopped, Pardis was dragged from it and beheaded. He had been threatened after the Taliban learned he had served as a translator for US troops for...

Ambassador's Daughter Seized and Beaten

Afghanistan demands quick investigation by Pakistan

(Newser) - The daughter of Afghanistan's ambassador to Pakistan was abducted in the middle of the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, held for several hours, and brutally attacked, officials in both countries said Saturday. No one has been arrested in connection with Friday's assault on Silsila Alikhil, 26. The Afghan foreign...

As General Gives Up Command, an End to US' Longest War

Army Gen. Austin 'Scott' Miller to step down Monday as commander of US, NATO forces in Afghanistan

(Newser) - For nearly three years , Army Gen. Austin "Scott" Miller has been in command of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, which NBC News reports is longer than anyone else in that role. Now, Miller is set to step down from his post on Monday, in what NBC and other...

Taliban: We Now Control Almost All of Afghanistan

Group says it has 85% of territory amid American withdrawal

(Newser) - The Taliban claimed Friday that they now control 85% of Afghanistan's territory amid a surge in wins on the ground and as American troops complete their pullout. The announcement came at a press conference at the end of a visit by a senior Taliban delegation to Moscow this week—...

US Left Bagram Without Notifying New Commander

3.5M items were left behind at Afghanistan base

(Newser) - The US left Afghanistan's Bagram Airfield after nearly 20 years by shutting off the electricity and slipping away in the night without notifying the base's new Afghan commander, who discovered the Americans' departure more than two hours after they left, Afghan military officials said. The US announced Friday...

After Nearly 2 Decades, US Exits Bagram Airfield

Hands it over to Afghans as it works to end 'forever war'

(Newser) - After nearly 20 years, the US military left Bagram Airfield, the epicenter of its war to oust the Taliban and hunt down the al-Qaeda perpetrators of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America, two US officials said Friday. The airfield was handed over to the Afghan National Security and Defense Force...

After Almost 20 Years, Last German Troops Leave Afghanistan

150K have served there since 2001

(Newser) - Germany's last troops left Afghanistan Tuesday after a nearly 20-year deployment in the country, the defense minister said. Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer tweeted that the last Bundeswehr soldiers “left Afghanistan safely” Tuesday evening. She thanked the more than 150,000 troops who have served there since 2001 and...

Report: US Won't Pull 100% of Troops From Afghanistan

Those who stay will provide security for diplomats, sources tell AP

(Newser) - Roughly 650 US troops are expected to remain in Afghanistan to provide security for diplomats after the main American military force completes its withdrawal, which is set to be largely done in the next two weeks, US officials tell the AP . In addition, several hundred additional American forces will remain...

Hostage May End Up Left Behind as US Withdraws

Mark Frerichs was captured by Taliban last year

(Newser) - American contractor Mark Frerichs was seized in Kabul 17 months ago—and with the US withdrawal from Afghanistan picking up speed, his relatives fear he will be left behind. Special operations forces who could carry out a rescue operation if the 58-year-old were to be located will be gone from...

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