Afghanistan, Taliban | featured news

The Taliban is stronger now than before President Barack Obama ordered a surge of troops to Afghanistan, two senior U.S. lawmakers said on Sunday, contradicting the administration's assessment of the insurgency.

Prospects for an orderly withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan suffered two blows on Thursday, as President Hamid Karzai demanded that American troops be confined to major bases by next year.

The Afghan government has joined the United States in talks with the Taliban, Afghan President Hamid Karzai says in a new report.

After 10 months of secret dialogue with Afghanistan's Taliban insurgents, senior U.S. officials say the talks have reached a critical juncture and they will soon know whether a breakthrough is possible, leading to peace talks whose ultimate goal is to end the Afghan war.

Taliban members who agree to stop fighting are being paid 100 pounds per month in an attempt to reduce attacks against NATO troops in Afghanistan, a newspaper says.

The Taliban vowed to keep fighting until all foreign forces left Afghanistan in a statement on Friday to mark the 10th anniversary of the U.S. military campaign in the country.

Pakistan has denied the Afghan government's claim its spy agency was involved in the killing of Afghanistan's envoy for Taliban peace talks.

An unidentified attacker on Tuesday killed former President Burhanuddin Rabbani, the leader of Afghanistan’s High Peace Council, whose main responsibility was negotiating a political end to the war with the Taliban.

The Taliban said Saturday it is launching a new offensive against foreign troops and Afghan security forces -- and will focus on military bases and convoys.

Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Gen. David Petraeus says the U.S. has stopped the Taliban's momentum in Afghanistan, but he warns that the gains are 'fragile and reversible' and that hard fighting still lies ahead. Key senators express confidence in the war effort.The U.S.