Taliban

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Karzai Presses Taliban Talks
Karzai Presses Taliban Talks

Karzai Presses Taliban Talks

Afghan president offers amnesty, roles in government

(Newser) - As bloodshed escalates in Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai is pressing for negotiations with senior members of the Taliban, writes the Los Angeles Times. Foreign diplomats and members of Karzai's own government now believe that peace cannot be achieved by military means, and the president is hoping to achieve some form of...

More Than 50 Killed in Afghan Suicide Bombing

Six lawmakers are among the dead; explosion hit villagers, children gathered to greet visiting dignitaries

(Newser) - A suicide bomber killed more than 50 people in northern Afghanistan today, Reuters reports, including five lawmakers, in the worst bombing in the nation’s history. A huge crowd of residents and school children had gathered to greet a delegation of members of parliament, the bomb's apparent target, visiting a...

Pakistan Promises Election
Pakistan Promises Election

Pakistan Promises Election

Musharraf vows to leave military as emergency rule continues

(Newser) - Pakistan answered worldwide criticism of its military rule today by vowing to hold national elections in January, Reuters reports. "We don't want to disrupt the election process. We want a free election," the PM said. President Pervez Musharraf also promised to leave the military “once we correct...

Pakistan Aid Not Fighting Terror
Pakistan Aid Not Fighting Terror

Pakistan Aid Not Fighting Terror

US funds go to forces more suited for battle with India

(Newser) - The US has given Pakistan $7 billion in military aid over the past 6 years, yet the paramilitary forces fighting al-Qaeda and Taliban militants are armed with little but “sandals and bolt-action rifles,” a military official tells the LA Times. With militants on the rise because the forces...

250 Taliban Surrounded, Villagers Flee

But Afghan mission loses support of Japanese ships ordered home

(Newser) - Some 250 Taliban fighters are surrounded by coalition troops just 15 miles north of the Taliban’s old power base of Kandahar, the AP reports. Villagers fled as the insurgents took over their homes. “They’re surrounded and in big trouble,” said Kandahar police. But the coalition lost...

Pakistani Cleric Calls Ceasefire
Pakistani Cleric Calls Ceasefire

Pakistani Cleric Calls Ceasefire

Dozens killed in clashes with government troops, helicopters

(Newser) - Supporters of an extremist cleric who had declared a jihad against Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire today after fierce fighting this weekend claimed between 50 and 60 of their number, Al Jazeera reports. Pakistan had sent 2,500 paramilitary troops to Swat to head off Maulana Fazlullah, who wants to...

80 Taliban Killed in Afghan Battle
80 Taliban Killed in Afghan Battle

80 Taliban Killed in Afghan Battle

Coalition, Afghan forces pitch 6-hour battle after insurgent ambush

(Newser) - In a sudden new flash of violence in another American battle theater, US-led forces killed 80 Taliban fighters yesterday near a southern Afghanistan town held by insurgents. The battle erupted when Taliban troops ambushed a joint coalition and Afghan army patrol with machine gun and rocket-propelled grenade fire. Coalition forces...

Pakistan Turmoil Haunts US
Pakistan Turmoil Haunts US

Pakistan Turmoil Haunts US

Over-reliance on beleaguered Musharraf threatens war on terror

(Newser) - Political chaos in Pakistan could spell major danger for the US, as weakened President General Pervez Musharraf fights to keep Taliban and al-Qaeda forces—as well as the nation's numerous nuclear weapons—in check. One White House official called Pakistan's potential destabilization a "nightmare scenario" that appears to be...

Germany Paid Dearly for Hostage Release

Afghan captors secure cash, cronies' freedom in risky precedent

(Newser) - On one hand, the German government successfully negotiated the release of a German engineer held hostage in Afghanistan; on the other, the deal cost the Germans a hefty ransom, the release of five prisoners, and its hard line against granting terrorist demands, reports Der Spiegel. "I have purchased a...

Homeward Bound, Bhutto Fears for Life

Former PM concerned about ‘threat within the government’

(Newser) - Benazir Bhutto returns to Pakistan Thursday for the first time in 19 years, and she worries her life is at risk. A Taliban commander has vowed to murder the ex-PM with suicide bombers, but her fear is military officers “who have fought the jihad,” she told the Guardian....

Critics Force US to Review Terror Tribunal Findings

Hundreds of inmates cases to be reviewed

(Newser) - Facing mounting criticism of the justice system at Guantanamo Bay, US authorities will review hundreds of cases against inmates detained there. Officials have begun seeking new evidence or overlooked information because the  tribunal process which classified the inmates as enemy combatants has come under fire. The reviews could lead to...

Judge Halts Gitmo Transfer Back Home to Torture

First ruling of its kind in favor of detainee

(Newser) - In the first ruling of its kind, a federal judge has blocked plans by US officials to send a Guantanamo Bay terror suspect back home to risk torture and even death in a Tunisian prison. The order by a DC judge presents a major roadblock to the Bush administration's plans...

Battles Rage on Border of Pakistan and Afghanistan

Death toll skyrockets as soldiers clash with pro-Taliban militants

(Newser) - Violence has reached a fever pitch in Waziristan, where at least 45 Pakistani soldiers and 150 pro-Taliban militants have died during intense fighting over the past 3 days. Unconfirmed reports say another 50 rebels and an unknown number of civilians died today, according to the BBC. Pakistan’s ceasefire with...

US Targets Afghan Opium Crop
US Targets Afghan Opium Crop

US Targets Afghan Opium Crop

Karzai reluctant to allow spraying of heroin producing crop

(Newser) - The US is pressing the Afghan government to stem its booming poppy crop with mass spraying following the biggest opium harvests in its history—which accounts for 91% of the world's production. Therein lies much of the resurgent Taliban's revenue, the New York Times reports, but Karzai fears a Taliban-inspired...

NATO, Brits Accuse Iran of Arming Taliban

Shipment of roadside bombs intercepted at border fuels suspicions

(Newser) - NATO and the British military claim Iran is supplying Afghanistan's Taliban with the same equipment for explosive devices that it provides to Iraqi insurgents, the Telegraph writes. US Gen. Dan McNeill, the NATO commander in Afghanistan, said his forces discovered 50 roadside bombs and timers crossing the Iran-Afghanistan border in...

Pakistan Loses Ground on Terror
Pakistan Loses Ground on Terror

Pakistan Loses Ground on Terror

Musharraf's troubles delays new strategy

(Newser) - Pervez Musharraf’s efforts to keep Pakistan's presidency are increasingly distracting its military from devising new strategies for its fight with the Taliban and al-Qaeda—a fight it is losing. As casualties mount, the military is retreating from battles with better-armed insurgent forces, which have taken over Pakistan’s tribal...

Karzai Seeks Talks With Taliban
Karzai Seeks Talks With Taliban

Karzai Seeks Talks With Taliban

After bus attack, he offers to give group a spot in government

(Newser) - Hours after a Taliban suicide bomber blew up a bus and killed 30 people in Kabul, Afghan leader Hamid Karzai offered to meet with the group's leaders and give them a position in government, the Associated Press reports. "Why are you destroying the country?" Karzai asked the group's leaders....

Taliban Kidnaps Red Cross Staff
Taliban Kidnaps Red Cross Staff

Taliban Kidnaps Red Cross Staff

Group says humanitarian workers will be released soon

(Newser) - Taliban fighters kidnapped four Red Cross workers southwest of Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, yesterday, Reuters reports. A Taliban spokesman says the group has "nothing against the Red Cross," was unaware at the time that the kidnapped were Red Cross staff, and that the  four would be released soon. The...

Bin Laden Targets Pakistan in New Tape

Upcoming message will declare war on 'the tyrant Perez Musharraf'

(Newser) - Osama bin Laden is about to declare jihad against Pakistani President Perez Musharraf in a new tape, militant websites vowed yesterday, posting advertisements that usually presage a new recording by one to three days, according to the AP. At the same time, al-Qaida released a video on the same theme...

45 Taliban Die in Battle on Ramadan Eve

Month-long surge in fighting in Afghanistan expected to continue

(Newser) - Forty-five Taliban insurgents were killed in a clash with coalition and Afghan troops in Afghanistan today. The Taliban attacked a joint patrol; the Afghan forces responded, with help from coalition airstrikes. The skirmish comes at the beginning of Islam's holy month of Ramadan

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