Afghanistan

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An armed member of the militant group al-Shabaab attends a rally on the outskirts of Mogadishu, Somalia, in this Monday, Feb. 13, 2012, photo. (AP Photo) **FILE**

Al-Shabab threatens to trap U.S. military in Somalia ‘endless war’

By Ben Wolfgang - The Washington Times

Pakistani officials: Roadside bomb hits army, kills 3 troops

By RIAZ KHAN - Associated Press

Visitors enjoy a ride at Kabul City Park in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, July 24, 2020. Desperate for relief from endless war combined with the pandemic, Afghans are rushing back to public recreation as the government eases the lockdown it imposed to fight coronavirus. Since mid-July, Afghans can once again frequent parks, swimming pools and gyms, shop in malls and celebrate marriages in wedding halls. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul) ** FILE **

Afghans return to games, parks, weddings despite virus fears

By Rahim Faiez - Associated Press

Afghan Security personnel work at the site of a suicide truck bombing in northern Balkh province of Afghanistan, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020. Afghan officials said the latest attacks across the country have left at least 12 people dead and scores wounded, including the Taliban truck bombing in the country’s north that targeted a commando base. The violence comes as expectations had been rising that negotiations could soon get underway between the Afghan government and the insurgents. (AP Photo)

Afghan president names council for peace deal with Taliban

By RAHIM FAIEZ - Associated Press

In this photo provided by Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, right, greets members of a Taliban political team on their arrival at the Foreign Ministry for talks, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020. The team arrived in Pakistan on Monday as efforts appear to be ramping up to get negotiations underway between the Afghan government and the insurgents. The start of the talks, envisaged under a U.S.-Taliban peace agreement signed in February, was hampered by a series of delays that have frustrated Washington. (Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs via AP) **FILE**

Afghan officials hopeful Taliban peace talks begin next week

By Lauren Toms - The Washington Times

Afghans walk on a road partially blocked by debris following a mudslide, in Parwan province, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020. The death toll from heavy flooding in northern and eastern Afghanistan rose to at least 150 on Thursday, with scores more injured as rescue crews searched for survivors beneath the mud and rubble of collapsed houses, officials said. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

‘Big progress’ expected in intra-Afghan negotiations, Afghanistan’s acting foreign minister says

By Lauren Toms - The Washington Times

Afghans remove mud from inside their house after a mudslide in Parwan province, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020. The death toll from heavy flooding in northern and eastern Afghanistan rose to at least 150 on Thursday, with scores more injured as rescue crews searched for survivors beneath the mud and rubble of collapsed houses, officials said. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Death toll from heavy Afghanistan flooding surpasses 150

By RAHMAT GUL and TAMEEM AKHGAR - Associated Press

Afghan Security personnel work at the site of a suicide truck bombing in northern Balkh province of Afghanistan, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020. Afghan officials said the latest attacks across the country have left at least 12 people dead and scores wounded, including the Taliban truck bombing in the country’s north that targeted a commando base. The violence comes as expectations had been rising that negotiations could soon get underway between the Afghan government and the insurgents. (AP Photo)

Afghan officials: Taliban truck bomb, other attacks kill 17

By RAHIM FAIEZ - Associated Press

Afghans fail to arrest ex-soccer head on sex abuse charges

Associated Press

Afghan security personnel inspect site of a roadside bomb explosion in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2020. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

Afghan official: Bomb kills 7 civilians in eastern province

Associated Press

In this Feb. 29, 2020, file, photo, Afghanistan's Taliban delegation arrives for the agreement signing between Taliban and U.S. officials in Doha, Qatar. Taliban officials said Friday, July 17, 2020, that the son of the movement’s feared founder has been put in charge of its military wing and added powerful figures to its negotiating team ahead of expected talks aimed at ending Afghanistan’s decades of war, The moves mark one of the most significant shake-ups in years. (AP Photo/Hussein Sayed, File)

Pakistan issues orders enforcing UN sanctions on Taliban

By KATHY GANNON - Associated Press

Police inspect the site of a rocket attack in the city of Kabul during Independence Day celebrations at the Defense Ministry in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020, Several mortar shells slammed into various part of Kabul on Tuesday morning as Afghans marked their country's Independence Day amid new uncertainties over the start of talks between the Taliban and the Kabul government. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Officials: attacks in Kabul, provinces of Afghanistan kill 5

By RAHIM FAIEZ - Associated Press

Iran denies Taliban were paid bounties to target US troops

Associated Press

FILE - In this Feb. 5, 2019, file photo, Afghan politician Fawzia Koofi speaks to media before the &quot;intra-Afghan&quot; talks in Moscow, Russia. Koofi survived an assassination attempt, Afghan officials said Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020. A spokesman for the Interior Ministry said that Koofi was attacked late Friday afternoon near the capital of Kabul returning from a visit to the northern province of Parwan. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)

Female member of Afghan peace team survives attack by gunmen

By RAHIM FAIEZ - Associated Press

FILE - In this May 26, 2020, file photo, prisoners are released from Bagram Prison in Parwan province, Afghanistan. The Afghan government freed hundreds of prisoners, its single largest prisoner release since the U.S. and the Taliban signed a peace deal earlier this year that spells out an exchange of detainees between the warring sides. Afghanistan has released the first 86 of a final 400 Taliban prisoners, paving the way for negotiations between the warring sides in Afghanistan’s protracted conflict, the government said Friday, Aug. 14, 2020. (AP Photo/ Rahmat Gul, File)

Kabul begins release of final 400 Taliban, talks to follow

By KATHY GANNON and TAMEEM AKHGAR - Associated Press

U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth McKenzie Jr., commander of U.S. Central Command, left, walks to a House Armed Services hearing, on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, March 10, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) ** FILE **

U.S. general warns of long-term ISIS resurgence

By Ben Wolfgang - The Washington Times

Defense Secretary Mark Esper testifies during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Thursday, July 9, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Greg Nash/Pool via AP)

Mark Esper: U.S. to reduce troops in Afghanistan to ‘less than 5,000’ by end of November

By Lauren Toms - The Washington Times

Delegate poses for photograph on the second day of the Afghan Loya Jirga meeting in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2020. The traditional council opened Friday in the Afghan capital to decide the release of a final 400 Taliban - the final hurdle to the start of negotiations between Kabul's leadership and the Taliban in keeping with a peace deal the United States signed with the insurgent movement in February. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Afghan council frees Taliban prisoners to set up peace talks

By RAHIM FAIEZ and KATHY GANNON - Associated Press

Delegates wait for transportation on the first day of the Afghan Loya Jirga meeting in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. The traditional council opened Friday in the Afghan capital to decide the release of a final 400 Taliban - the final hurdle to the start of negotiations between Kabul’s leadership and the Taliban in keeping with a peace deal the United States signed with the insurgent movement in February. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Traditional Afghan council meets on release of 400 Taliban

By TAMEEM AKHGAR and KATHY GANNON - Associated Press

FILE - In this May 3, 2019 file photo, delegates attend the last day of the Afghan Loya Jirga meeting in Kabul, Afghanistan. Afghan officials said a traditional consultative council or Loya Jirga will convene Friday, Aug. 7, 2020, to decide whether the last 400 Taliban prisoners will be released as part of a peace agreement, even as its Health Ministry says half of Kabul’s residents are infected with the coronavirus. The Taliban have rejected any changes to the deal they signed in February with the U.S. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, File)

Afghan council to decide whether Kabul releases 400 Taliban

By TAMEEM AKHGAR and KATHY GANNON - Associated Press