Taliban

Latest Stories

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, center, walks Gen. Scott Miller, right, chief of the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan, at the U.S. military headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2019. Esper arrived Sunday in Afghanistan, where stalled peace talks with the Taliban and persistent violent attacks by the insurgent group and Islamic State militants have complicated the Trump administration’s pledge to withdraw more than 5,000 American troops. He told reporters traveling with him that he believes the U.S. can reduce its force in Afghanistan without hurting the counterterrorism fight against al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. (AP Photo/Lolita C. Balbor) **FILE**

Afghan official: Taliban storm checkpoint, kill 15 policemen

By RAHIM FAIEZ - Associated Press

FILE - In this May 28, 2019 file photo, Suhail Shaheen, spokesman for the Taliban's political office in Doha, speaks to the media in Moscow, Russia. The Taliban said Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2019, that a fresh round of intra-Afghan peace talks is to be held in China next week. The announcement raises hopes for renewed negotiations, even as violence surges in Afghanistan’s 18-year war. Shaheen said Tuesday that the talks are planned for Oct. 28 and 29. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

Taliban say new intra-Afghan peace talks to be held in China

By KATHY GANNON - Associated Press

UN: 85 civilians killed in attacks targeting Afghan election

By RAHIM FAIEZ - Associated Press

Separate gun attacks target Afghan government officials

Associated Press

Afghan officials say raid killed top Al-Qaida commander

By RAHIM FAIEZ - Associated Press

FILE - In this May 28, 2019, file photo, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban group's top political leader, left, and Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, the Taliban's chief negotiator, talk to each other during a meeting in Moscow, Russia. Taliban officials say several of the group’s members have been freed from Afghan jails, including former shadow governors, the first move of its kind since a peace deal that seemed imminent was declared “dead” and just days after a U.S. envoy met with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and other top Taliban leaders in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

Taliban say Afghanistan has freed several of their prisoners

By KATHY GANNON - Associated Press

In this Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019, photo, Aziz Rahman a village elder, who had contracted the farmers to harvest the pine nuts, speaks during an interview to the Associated Press in Jalalabad city east of Kabul, Afghanistan. Anger is mounting over the increasing numbers of civilians dying in misdirected US aerial strikes and heavy- handed tactics of CIA-trained Afghan force. Some Afghans calling for Americans to be tried in Afghan courts. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Anger grows at civilian deaths by US, Afghan forces

By KATHY GANNON - Associated Press

In this photo released by the Foreign Office, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, center, receives members of Taliban delegation at the Foreign Office in Islamabad, Pakistan, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2019. Senior Taliban leaders are meeting with Qureshi in Islamabad as part of a push to revive an Afghanistan peace deal that has included stops in Russia, China and Iran. (Pakistan Foreign Office via AP)

Taliban meet US peace envoy for first time since ‘dead’ deal

By KATHY GANNON - Associated Press

In this photo released by the Foreign Office, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, center, receives members of Taliban delegation at the Foreign Office in Islamabad, Pakistan, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2019. Senior Taliban leaders are meeting with Qureshi in Islamabad as part of a push to revive an Afghanistan peace deal that has included stops in Russia, China and Iran. (Pakistan Foreign Office via AP)

Pakistan, Afghan Taliban call for resumption of peace talks

By MUNIR AHMED - Associated Press

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi (fourth from right) heads talks with Taliban delegation at the Foreign Office in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Thursday. Taliban leaders are meeting with Mr. Qureshi as part of a push to revive a peace deal. (Associated Press Photographs)

Pakistan, Taliban push for restart of U.S. peace talks

By Lauren Toms - The Washington Times

Wounded Afghans lie on a bed at a hospital after a bomb attacks in the city of Jalalabad east of Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019. Afghans headed to the polls on Saturday to elect a new president amid high security and Taliban threats to disrupt the elections, with the rebels warning citizens to stay home or risk being hurt. (AP Photo/Mohammad Anwar Danishyar)

Taliban send high-level delegation to Islamabad

By Munir Ahmed and Kathy Ganon - Associated Press

Official: Taliban attack a northern city in Afghanistan

Associated Press

Men line up outside a polling station in western neighborhood of Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019. Afghans headed to the polls on Saturday to elect a new president amid high security and threats of violence from Taliban militants, who warned citizens to stay away from polling stations or risk being hurt. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Afghan officials: Taliban attack kills at least 11 policemen

By RAHIM FAIEZ - Associated Press

Afghan protesters claim US strikes kill 5 civilians in east

Associated Press

Afghan election workers stack ballot boxes at the warehouse of Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2019. Presidential elections are over, and Afghanistan faces possible political chaos amid allegations of power abuse and a disorganized, sloppy voting process. A final tally is only expected Nov. 7, deepening uncertainty. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

With vote over, Afghanistan faces possible political chaos

By KATHY GANNON - Associated Press

FILE - In this Nov. 6, 2018 file photo, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, listens during a news conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, at the presidential palace, in Kabul, Afghanistan. While there will be 18 names on the presidential ballot when Afghans go to the polls on Sept. 28 only five, including Ghani, have been campaigning after several suspended their campaigns believing a peace deal with the Taliban was imminent. (AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini)

The Latest: Afghan polls close amid complaints, violence

Associated Press

FILE - In this Nov. 6, 2018 file photo, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, listens during a news conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, at the presidential palace, in Kabul, Afghanistan. While there will be 18 names on the presidential ballot when Afghans go to the polls on Sept. 28 only five, including Ghani, have been campaigning after several suspended their campaigns believing a peace deal with the Taliban was imminent. (AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini)

Top 5 Afghan presidential candidates in Saturday’s election

By TAMEEM AKHGAR and KATHY GANNON - Associated Press

In this Monday, Sept. 23, 2019 photo, an Afghan soldier stands guard in front of an election poster for presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani in Kabul, Afghanistan. The Taliban have warned Afghanistan’s 9.6 million eligible voters to stay away from polling stations during Saturday’s presidential election. Ghani and and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah -- who shared power for five years in a so-called unity government -- are the leading contenders in the election. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

At a glance: Key factors in Afghanistan’s tense election

By RAHIM FAIEZ - Associated Press

FILE - In this Nov. 6, 2018 file photo, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, listens during a news conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, at the presidential palace, in Kabul, Afghanistan. While there will be 18 names on the presidential ballot when Afghans go to the polls on Sept. 28 only five, including Ghani, have been campaigning after several suspended their campaigns believing a peace deal with the Taliban was imminent. (AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini)

Fraud, misconduct threaten Afghan presidential election

By RAHIM FAIEZ and KATHY GANNON - Associated Press

In this Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019 photo, Afghan National Army soldiers stand guard at a checkpoint ahead of presidential elections scheduled for Sept. 28, in Kabul, Afghanistan. Afghans facing down Taliban threats are torn between fear, frustration and sense of duty as they decide whether to go to the polls Saturday to choose a new president. But the security preparations have been elaborate. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Afghan voters torn between fear, frustration, sense of duty

By KATHY GANNON - Associated Press