Afghanistan

Kabul, Sept 1 (AP) Taliban insurgents launched a complex attack on Tuesday morning against a military base in eastern Afghanistan, killing at least three public protection forces, an official said.

Five other forces were wounded in the attack, said Abdul Rahman Mangal, a spokesman for the governor in Paktia province.

CHARIKAR, Afghanistan, Aug 26 (NNN-XINHUA) – 25 people were killed and 40 others wounded, in torrential floods in Afghanistan’s eastern Parwan province last night, a provincial government spokesperson said today.

Wahida Shahkar said that, the flash floods resulted from heavy rains late last night, which ripped through a residential area in the central part of the province.

“At least 25 villagers were killed, over 40 others wounded and tens of houses and wide areas of arable lands have been washed out, during the overnight floods,” she said.

KABUL, Aug 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Afghanistan’s President, Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, yesterday met with NATO’s Senior Civilian Representative in Afghanistan, Stefano Pontecorvo, and discussed issues including the peace process in Afghanistan, the Presidential Palace said.

KABUL, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Two civilians were wounded after a bomb attached to a bicycle detonated in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan on Saturday, the capital police confirmed.

"The blast occurred at 5:17 p.m. local time in Police District 2. The two wounded were shifted to a nearest hospital. One of the wounded received life-threatening wounds," Ferdaws Faramarz from Kabul police told Xinhua.

Police and the bomb disposal team were inspecting the site after the explosion and traffic will return to normal soon, he said.

KABUL, Aug 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A rocket attack that struck Kabul this week as the city marked Afghanistan’s independence day killed at least three people, including two members of President Ashraf Ghani’s honour guard, officials said Wednesday.

Fourteen rockets were fired into central Kabul on Tuesday as the country marked the 101st anniversary of its independence, with one of the missiles slamming into the compound of the famous Arg presidential palace.

KABUL, Aug 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) – At least 21 Taliban militants were killed and seven others wounded, in two Afghan provinces yesterday, the command of the Afghan Special Forces confirmed today.

In western Badghis province, 12 militants were killed and another one wounded, after an airstrike was launched in support of ground forces, in Qarchaghi village of Qadis district, the Afghan National Army Special Operations Corps said, in a statement.

Local villagers and security forces were not hurt in the strike, the statement added.

KABUL (Reuters) - The Afghan government has begun releasing the last Taliban prisoners from a final batch of 400 who the militants want freed before they agree to start peace negotiations, a security agency spokesman said on Friday.

The government agreed on Sunday to release the 400 “hard-core” prisoners after consulting a grand assembly of elders and other community leaders, known as a Loya Jirga.

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan agreed on Sunday to release 400 “hard-core” Taliban prisoners, paving the way for the beginning of peace talks aimed at ending more than 19 years of war.

Under election-year pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump for a deal allowing him to bring home American troops, the war-torn country’s grand assembly, or Loya Jirga, on Sunday approved the release, a controversial condition raised by the Taliban militants to join peace talks.

KABUL, Aug 8 (NNN-XINHUA) — An Afghan national army officer and five militants were killed during clashes in Afghanistan’s western province of Badghis, the country’s Ministry of Defense confirmed on Saturday.

“On Friday evening, the Taliban insurgents tried to attack Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) position in Bala Murghab district, Badghis province. The ANDSF thwarted the vicious plan, killing five militants and injuring 12 others,” the ministry said in a statement.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A traditional council met Friday in Afghanistan’s capital to decide whether to release a final 400 Taliban prisoners, the last hurdle to starting negotiations between Kabul’s political leadership and the Taliban under a peace deal with the U.S.