Taliban

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Taliban Snipers Finally Learn How to Shoot

Deadly marksmen a new challenge for US, Afghan forces

(Newser) - In their battle with US-led troops in Marjah, the Taliban seem to have traded up from their characteristically shoddy marksmen to skilled snipers who are taking a toll. Sniper fire, rarely seen in more than eight years of fighting in Afghanistan, has killed one Marine and struck four others in...

Joint Sting Bags Another Key Taliban Leader

US-Pakistan effort captures provincial 'shadow governor'

(Newser) - On the heels of news that US and Pakistani forces working together captured the Taliban’s No. 2 leader comes word that the cooperative effort has bagged the group’s “shadow governor” of Afghanistan’s northern Kunduz province. The Pakistanis pinched Mullah Abdul Salam last week in the northeastern...

Taliban Using Human Shields in Marjah

Troops strive to avoid civilian casualties, take city center

(Newser) - Taliban fighters in Marjah are increasingly using civilians as human shields, as they try to thwart NATO's house-to-house searches, according to the top Afghan general in the offensive. “The enemy is fighting from compounds where soldiers can very clearly see women or children on the roof or in a...

In Taliban Commander's Capture, a Coup for Pakistan

Mullah Baradur's arrest likely to complicate Taliban peace talks

(Newser) - The capture of the Taliban's military commander is a major coup for Pakistan that is likely to win the country a bigger say in Afghanistan's future, analysts say. Pakistani officials had complained that they were being excluded from American negotiations with the Afghan Taliban. But with Mullah Baradar in their...

Captured Taliban Commander Said to Be 'Talking'
Captured Taliban Commander Said to Be 'Talking'
UPDATED
Feb 16, 2010 7:51 AM CST

Captured Taliban Commander Said to Be 'Talking'

Arrest of Abdul Ghani Baradar signals new US-Pakistani cooperation

(Newser) - The arrest of the Taliban's top military commander in a joint CIA-Pakistani operation in Karachi signals a major victory against the insurgents, officials said today. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar is the group's No. 2 leader behind Afghan Taliban founder Mullah Mohammad Omar and a close associate of Osama bin Laden....

Marjah Taliban 'Running Out of Gas'

Commaders say half town's fighters are dead or fled

(Newser) - The number of Taliban fighters in Marjah has dropped by half and morale is fading fast among the rest, according to American and Afghan commanders. Some 100 of the 400 fighters in the area when the AFghan offensive began Saturday have been killed and commanders say close to 100 more...

US-Pakistan Raid Nets Taliban's Military Chief

Mullah Baradar best capture yet: officials

(Newser) - American officials say they’ve scored their best enemy capture since the beginning of the Afghanistan war, nabbing the Taliban’s military chief in Pakistan in a joint operation with that country’s security services. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar is second only in influence to spiritual leader Mullah Muhammad Omar,...

Snipers Pin Troops in Marjah
 Snipers Pin Troops in Marjah 
Feb 15, 2010 9:09 AM CST

Snipers Pin Troops in Marjah

Firefights erupt across town

(Newser) - Sniper teams attacked US Marines and Afghan troops across the Taliban haven of Marjah today, the third day of a major offensive to seize the extremists' southern heartland. Multiple firefights broke out in different neighborhoods as American and Afghan forces worked to clear out pockets of insurgents and push slowly...

Allies Storm Marjah, Begin Treacherous Sweeps

Fighting sporadic but fierce as US wonders how many Taliban remain

(Newser) - US, British, and Afghan troops encountered little initial resistance as they swept into Marjah yesterday and took up "all the strategic points in the area" in the biggest offensive since the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan. It was as they began individually searching houses, reports Dexter Filkins in the New ...

Marjah Offensive Ends 'Mowing the Grass' Strategy
Marjah Offensive Ends 'Mowing the Grass' Strategy
analysis
Feb 13, 2010 10:54 AM CST

Marjah Offensive Ends 'Mowing the Grass' Strategy

When fighting ends, an Afghan government will move in

(Newser) - The massive new assault under way in Afghanistan represents the new military strategy of Gen. Stanley McChrystal, writes Dexter Filkins. When the fighting is over and coalition forces have taken control of the Taliban stronghold of Marjah, the Afghan government will quickly set up government offices along with a police...

Taliban: We Still Control Marjah

Insurgents deny NATO's claims of early success

(Newser) - A Taliban spokesman says Afghan insurgents are still in control of the southern town of Marjah amid ongoing fighting with NATO and Afghan forces. Spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi said by phone today that Taliban fighters are holding their ground, and that Afghan government claims of 20 dead Taliban fighters were...

Major Afghan Assault Begins
 Major Afghan Assault Begins 
Feb 12, 2010 6:00 PM CST

Major Afghan Assault Begins

US, Afghan forces attack Taliban-held Marjah

(Newser) - The largest US-led offensive in Afghanistan since the 2001 charge that unseated the Taliban is now under way, with Marines and Afghan troops attacking the southern Taliban stronghold of Marjah, which they surrounded yesterday. Operation Moshtarak—meaning “together” in the native Dari tongue—could involve as many as 15,...

Afghan Bomber Wounds 5 Americans at US Base

Bomber infiltrates US base near Pakistani border

(Newser) - A suicide bomber wearing an Afghan border policeman's uniform blew himself up today at a US base near the Pakistani frontier, wounding five Americans, an Afghan official said. The attack occurred after sundown in a barracks at a US facility in the Dand aw Patan district in eastern Afghanistan, about...

Pakistan Wants In on Afghan Peace Talks With Taliban

Could offer reconciliation with lethal branch of militants

(Newser) - As the US and Afghanistan mull reconciliation with the Taliban as a way to wind down the war, Pakistan wants a role in potential peace talks. The Pakistanis would bring to the table their influence over the Haqqanis, a particularly lethal Taliban branch that is fighting against allied soldiers in...

Attack Draws Attention to Quiet US Efforts in Pakistan

Taliban may have had intelligence from within the Frontier Corps

(Newser) - The US had an uncomfortable light shined on its training operations in Pakistan yesterday, when three American soldiers were killed in a Taliban suicide bombing in Lower Dir. The soldiers were part of a Special Operations team training Pakistan’s paramilitary Frontier Corps, the New York Times reports, a program...

3 US Soldiers Killed in Attack on Pakistan Girls' School

Bomb targets convoy traveling to school's opening ceremony

(Newser) - Three US soldiers were among at least 10 people killed when the Pakistani Taliban targeted the opening ceremony of a girls' school today. At least 70 people, including many schoolgirls, were injured when a roadside blast hit a group traveling in a convoy guarded by a military escort, the BBC...

Karzai Seeks Saudi Help in Taliban Talks

Afghan president arrives in Riyadh

(Newser) - Hamid Karzai arrived in Riyadh today, hoping to secure Saudi Arabia’s help in peace negotiations with the Taliban. Karzai and his entourage will first make a pilgrimage to Mecca, then meet with King Abdullah tomorrow to discuss the reconciliation process. Abdullah has said his government won’t participate as...

Pakistani Taliban Leader Reported Dead

Army probes reports that drone strike killed Hakimullah Mehsud

(Newser) - The Pakistani army is investigating reports that the leader of the Taliban in the country has died after being injured in an American military drone strike. Hakimullah Mehsud, 28, had been at the helm of the Pakistani Taliban for 5 months, having taken over after the death—also in a...

France: No More Combat Troops for Afghanistan

Minister says France will consider sending extra trainers

(Newser) - The 7,000 reinforcements NATO has promised to send to Afghanistan along with the American surge won't be coming from France. French officials have ruled out sending more combat troops to the country but will consider sending more trainers for Afghanistan's army and police, Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told CNN...

Afghan Tribe to Fight Taliban in Deal for US Aid

US hopes for similar deals throughout Afghanistan

(Newser) - In a groundbreaking pact, an entire Afghan tribe has pledged to join with the US-backed government to fight the Taliban. The 400,000-strong Shinwari tribe, which controls key areas on the Pakistan border, will battle insurgents, burn down homes harboring Taliban fighters, and contribute one military-aged male from each family...

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