Afghan Peace Deal in Tatters, Near Collapse
The Afghan government will release 100 Taliban prisoners on Wednesday, an official said, a day after the Taliban said they were walking out of talks with Kabul.
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Taliban
Taliban Team Arrives in Kabul to Monitor Prisoner Release
A three-member Taliban technical team arrived Tuesday in the Afghan capital to monitor the release of their prisoners as part of a peace deal signed by the Taliban and the U.S., a spokesman for the insurgent group said.
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US Slashes Aid to Bickering Afghanistan
The Trump administration is slashing $1 billion in assistance to Afghanistan and threatening more reductions in all forms of cooperation after the country’s rival leaders failed to agree on forming a new government.
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Pompeo in Kabul as Peace Process Teeters
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in the Afghan capital Monday amid a lengthy political crisis, a raging Taliban insurgency and rising coronavirus cases — all of which threaten an already-floundering peace process.
Read more24 Afghan Security Forces Killed in Insider Attack
At least two dozen Afghan security forces were killed Friday in an insider attack at their base in southern Afghanistan, officials said, as fighting raged in the war-weary country and efforts to start talks with the Taliban stalled.
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US Begins Pulling Troops From Afghanistan
American forces have started pulling out of two bases in Afghanistan, a U.S. official said Tuesday, the day peace talks between Kabul and the Taliban were due to start despite widespread violence and a political crisis.
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Afghanistan’s Dueling Leaders to Hold Parallel Inaugurations
Afghanistan’s two rival leaders were preparing to hold parallel presidential inaugurations Monday, after they failed to reach a deal in the face of a unified and resurgent Taliban.
Read moreDozens Killed in Attack on Afghan Political Rally
At least 27 people were killed in an attack on a political rally in Kabul on Friday, in the deadliest assault in Afghanistan since the United States signed a withdrawal deal with the Taliban.
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Taliban Attack Afghan Army Bases, Seeking Edge
The Taliban launched more than a dozen attacks on Afghan army bases, officials said Tuesday, hours after ending a partial truce and throwing into doubt peace talks with Kabul.
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US ‘Reduction in Violence’ in Afghanistan to Start Saturday
A permanent ceasefire between U.S. forces and the Taliban in Afghanistan is on the horizon as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Friday plans to sign a peace accord next week.
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Taliban Tell Washington to Take It or Leave It
The Taliban have issued an ultimatum to Washington after weeks of talks with a U.S. peace envoy, demanding a reply to their offer of a seven-day reduction of violence in Afghanistan, or they would walk away from the negotiating table, two Taliban officials said Wednesday.
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Suicide Bombing Kills 6 Near Kabul Military School
A suicide bomber targeting a military academy in the Afghan capital on Tuesday killed at least six people, including two civilians and four military personnel, the Interior Ministry said.
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Thousands of Taliban Await Release From Prisons
Thousands of Taliban prisoners jailed in Afghanistan see a peace deal allegedly being hammered out between the United States and the Taliban as their ticket to freedom.
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Taliban Deny Reports of Ceasefire
The Taliban on Monday denied agreeing to any ceasefire in Afghanistan after rumors swirled of a potential deal that could reduce fighting after more than 18 years of war.
Read moreUS Contractors Accused of Funding Taliban Attacks Against American Troops
Nearly 400 people who were either wounded while serving in the U.S. military in Afghanistan or family members of service members who died in the conflict sued a group of companies on Friday they say helped fund attacks against Americans by making protection payments to the Taliban.
Read moreAfghan Official Says Taliban Abducted 26 Peace Activists
The Taliban ambushed a peace convoy in western Afghanistan and abducted 26 activists, members of a peace movement, a police spokesman said Wednesday.
Read moreTaliban Claim Monday Attack That Killed US Soldier
The Taliban claimed responsibility for a Monday attack on American troops that killed one U.S. soldier and according to the insurgents, wounded several more.
Read moreTaliban Free Two Western Hostages in Prisoner Swap
The Taliban released two Western hostages in southern Afghanistan Tuesday, handing them over to U.S. forces more than three years after they were abducted in Kabul, insurgent sources and police said.
Read moreTaliban Prisoners to Be Swapped for American & Australian
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said Tuesday that his government has released three prominent Taliban figures in an effort to get the insurgents to free an American and an Australian professor they abducted in 2016 and have held captive for more than three years.
Read moreTaliban Meet US Peace Envoy for First Time Since Dead Deal
The Taliban met with a U.S. envoy in the Pakistani capital, a Taliban official said Saturday, the first such encounter since President Donald Trump announced a month ago that a seemingly imminent peace deal to end Afghanistan’s 18-year war was dead.
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