Our investigation, in partnership with Lighthouse Reports, identified 110 killings of former Afghan National Defense and Security Forces troops since 2023.
The Pentagon claims the Afghan government, the U.S. and coalition partners will continue to face risks from al Qaeda, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria-Khorasan Province, and from some in the Taliban.
The gains religious minorities and women have made will be lost since both groups will be severely curtailed and persecuted if the Taliban return, as they have not changed since their downfall in 2001, the author of this commentary writes.
All-Afghan talks that brought together Afghanistan’s warring sides ended Tuesday with a statement that appeared to push the country a step closer to peace, by laying down the outlines of a roadmap for the country’s future and ending nearly 18 years of war.
The U.S. peace envoy to Afghanistan said Saturday that for the first time he can report “substantive” progress on all four issues key to a peace agreement in the country’s 17-year war, calling the latest round of talks with the Taliban the “most productive” so far.
A surprise announcement by President Donald Trump seemed to accelerate the expected time frame for U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan ahead of an all-Afghan peace summit planned for July 7-8 in Qatar. The gathering apparently will be held on Taliban terms as there will be no official Afghan government representation.
At least 26 children were among the wounded, many of whom were cut by shards of glass when the bomb shattered nearby windows, government spokesman Feroz Bashari said. He said a total of 105 people were hurt.