Afghanistan says it thwarted Pakistan airstrikes on Bagram airbase

Sporadic clashes reported in several provinces in Afghanistan as both sides give conflicting death tolls

Afghanistan has said it had thwarted Pakistan’s attempted airstrikes on Bagram airbase, the former US military base north of Kabul, as cross-border fighting between the two countries stretched into a fourth day.

Months of clashes have flared up again since Thursday, when Afghanistan launched attacks along the frontier and Pakistani forces hit back on the border and from the skies. Pakistan has declared it is in “open war” with Afghanistan.

Continue reading...

US backs Pakistan’s ‘right to defend itself’ against Taliban after strikes on Afghanistan

Taliban offer to resolve dispute via dialogue after Pakistan bombed cities in Afghanistan in latest escalation with its neighbour

Washington endorsed Pakistan’s “right to defend itself” after it bombed major cities across Afghanistan amid heightened tensions between the two hostile neighbours.

The Taliban government in Kabul stressed it was ready to negotiate on Friday as violence intensified between the two countries.

Continue reading...

Pakistan strikes militant hideouts on Afghan border after surge in attacks

‘Intelligence-based, selective operations’ carried out against Pakistani Taliban camps, says information ministry

Pakistan carried out strikes along the border with Afghanistan on Saturday night, stating it was targeting hideouts of Pakistani militants it blames for recent attacks inside the country.

Islamabad did not say in precisely which areas the strikes were carried out or provide other details. There was no immediate comment from Kabul, and reports on social media suggested the strikes were carried out inside Afghanistan.

Continue reading...

Special forces chief tried to cover up concerns about SAS conduct in Afghanistan, inquiry told

Whistleblower says chain of command failed to stop extrajudicial shootings, including of children, after alarm was raised

The former director of UK special forces and other senior military officers tried to cover up concerns that SAS units were carrying out unlawful killings in Afghanistan, an inquiry has heard.

A senior special forces whistleblower said the chain of command failed to stop extrajudicial shootings, including of two small children, after the alarm was first raised in early 2011. That failure allegedly allowed them to continue until 2013.

Continue reading...

Taliban accuses Pakistan of killing 10 – including nine children – in strikes on Afghanistan

The strikes come a day after a suicide attack on a security compound in Pakistan’s Peshawar city

Pakistan strikes on neighbouring Afghanistan have killed 10 people – among them nine children – a Taliban government spokesperson has said, a day after a suicide attack on a security compound in Pakistan’s Peshawar city.

“The Pakistani invading forces bombed the house of a local civilian resident ... As a result, nine children (five boys and four girls) and one woman were martyred” in Khost province, Zabihullah Mujahid said on X.

Continue reading...

Pakistan Taliban claim responsibility for deadly terror attack in Islamabad

Defence minister says country is in ‘state of war’ after suicide blast kills 12 and injures 27 outside court buildings

At least 12 people have been killed in a suicide blast in Islamabad carried out by the Pakistan Taliban, as the country’s defence minister said a deadly surge in terror attacks had put the country in a “state of war”.

The explosion, which was confirmed as a suicide attack by several government ministers, took place outside district court buildings in the capital on Tuesday at about 12.30pm. The area is usually heavily crowded with lawyers and litigants attending trials.

Continue reading...

Powerful Afghan earthquake leaves at least 20 dead and hundreds injured

Northern provinces of Balkh and Samangan worst hit by magnitude 6.3 quake, which also damaged Mazar-i-Sharif’s Blue Mosque

A powerful 6.3 magnitude earthquake shook northern Afghanistan before dawn on Monday, killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 640 others, 25 critically, a disaster management official said. Health officials said the numbers could rise.

The US Geological Survey said the quake’s epicentre was located 22km (14 miles) south-west of the town of Khulm, and that it struck at 12.59am at a depth of 28km (17 miles).

Continue reading...

Dozens killed in fresh clashes along Afghanistan-Pakistan border

Two sides declare ceasefire after Islamabad carries out retaliatory strikes on Kabul and Kandahar province

Dozens of soldiers and civilians have been killed after fresh clashes broke out along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and Islamabad carried out retaliatory airstrikes on the Afghan capital, Kabul, and Kandahar province.

The two sides declared a ceasefire by Wednesday night after the latest outbreak of violence, which came after the deadliest cross-border clashes in years over the weekend.

Continue reading...

Heavy clashes erupt along Pakistan-Afghanistan border

Escalation comes after Pakistani airstrike in Kabul, with Taliban launching reprisals against military posts

Intense clashes erupted along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border on Saturday night after an attack by the Taliban on Pakistani military posts.

This escalation comes after a Pakistani airstrike in Kabul this week, as reported by security officials from both nations.

Continue reading...

Iran may release hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees into Iraq and Turkey

Tehran considers move as part of multi-pronged offensive after bombing of nuclear sites and restoration of sanctions

Iran is considering releasing hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees across its western borders with Iraq and Turkey. It would be part of what officials describe as a necessarily more offensive and unpredictable strategy in the wake of the bombing of its nuclear sites and the European reimposition of UN sanctions.

The multi-pronged offensive includes expansion of its missile programme, strengthening air defences, suspending cooperation with the UN weapons inspectorate and on 18 October blocking the establishment of a UN committee to oversee the administration of the reimposed sanctions. Officials remain opposed to reopening talks with the US, believing the talks would fail.

Continue reading...

Afghanistan ‘blind without phones and internet’ on second day of telecoms blackout

Taliban authorities cut fibre-optic network in nationwide shutdown of communications to prevent ‘vice’

Afghans are living under a near-complete communications blackout after Taliban authorities cut internet and mobile phone services for a second day as part of an unprecedented country-wide crackdown.

The former insurgents, who retook control of Afghanistan in 2021, began gradual restrictions on internet access earlier this month. The measures also affect telephone lines, as they are often routed over the internet.

Continue reading...

US citizen Amir Amiry freed by Taliban in Afghanistan

Secretary of state Marco Rubio welcomes release as ‘important step forward’ as Taliban seek to normalise relations with US

The Taliban on Sunday freed a US citizen from an Afghan prison, weeks after they said they had reached an agreement with US envoys on a prisoner exchange as part of an effort to normalise relations.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio welcomed the release of Amir Amiry, saying it marked the administration’s determination, reinforced by Donald Trump’s recent executive order, to protect American nationals from wrongful detention abroad.

Continue reading...

US citizen Amir Amiry freed by Taliban in Afghanistan

Secretary of state Marco Rubio welcomes release as ‘important step forward’ as Taliban seek to normalise relations with US

The Taliban on Sunday freed a US citizen from an Afghan prison, weeks after they said they had reached an agreement with US envoys on a prisoner exchange as part of an effort to normalise relations.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio welcomed the release of Amir Amiry, saying it marked the administration’s determination, reinforced by Donald Trump’s recent executive order, to protect American nationals from wrongful detention abroad.

Continue reading...

British couple released after detention in Afghanistan say they feared being executed

Barbie Reynolds, 76, and husband Peter, 80, said it was never explained to them why they were imprisoned

A British couple who were reunited with their family in the UK after being released from almost eight months in detention in Afghanistan have said they feared being executed by the Taliban.

Peter Reynolds, 80, and his wife, Barbie, 76, who arrived at Heathrow on Saturday, said it was never explained to them why they were imprisoned in Afghanistan after their arrest in February.

Continue reading...

British couple detained by Taliban in Afghanistan return to UK

Barbie Reynolds, 76, and husband Peter, 80, were released after being held without charge for nearly eight months

A British couple who were detained without charge for nearly eight months by the Taliban in Afghanistan have arrived in the UK.

Barbie Reynolds, 76, and her husband Peter, 80, were released on Friday, having been arrested as they travelled to their home in Bamyan province, central Afghanistan, in February.

Continue reading...

Third earthquake hits Afghanistan as death toll rises above 2,200

South-east of country rocked as rescuers struggle to find survivors of first quake

A magnitude 6.2 earthquake has shaken Afghanistan as the death toll from the devastating quake on Sunday rose to more than 2,200.

It struck south-eastern regions on Thursday night, according to the Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences in Germany. It was not immediately clear how much damage there was.

Continue reading...

Afghan earthquake death toll jumps to more than 2,200, say Taliban

Aid agencies plead for funds as rough terrain hinders relief effort and 98% of buildings in one province are damaged

The death toll from a major earthquake in Afghanistan this week has jumped to more than 2,200, just as another magnitude 6.2 earthquake hit the southeastern region of the country on Thursday night.

On Thursday, Taliban spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat confirmed that the death toll from Sunday’s earthquake had risen to 2,205 – up from previous estimates of 1,400 – making it one of the deadliest natural disasters to hit the country in decades.

Continue reading...

More than 7,300 Afghans to be resettled in UK after MoD data leak, says National Audit Office

Watchdog’s report says government is unable to calculate exact cost of response to data breach, raising doubt over £850m estimate

More than 7,300 Afghans are expected to be resettled in the UK as a result of a major government data breach, according to a National Audit Office report that raises doubts over officials’ claims of a £850m cost.

The accidental leak by an MoD official in 2022 of 18,700 Afghans’ details who had worked with or for the British government led to the opening of a new route by which those endangered could seek relocation to the UK from their home country.

Continue reading...

Afghanistan earthquake: at least nine dead after 6.0 magnitude quake near Jalalabad

At least 25 people were injured in the quake that hit at a depth of just 8km near the Pakistan border

A magnitude 6.0 earthquake shook eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistan border leaving nine people dead and many more injured.

The quake struck at 11:47pm on Sunday and was centred 27km northeast of the city of Jalalabad in Nangarhar province, the US Geological Survey said. It was just 8km deep. Shallower quakes tend to cause more damage.

Continue reading...

Men celebrate fourth anniversary of Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan

Thousands gather for Kabul ‘flower showers’ while women stage protests

Thousands of men gathered across Kabul on Friday to watch flowers being scattered from helicopters to mark the fourth anniversary of the Taliban’s return to power – a celebration that women were barred from attending.

Three of the six “flower shower” locations were already off-limits to women, who have been prohibited from entering parks and recreational areas since November 2022.

Continue reading...