Afghanistan, War On Terror | featured news

Taliban leaders in Pakistan are pressing their soldiers in Afghanistan to step up attacks but minimize civilian casualties, a message that is dividing fighters from the leadership and may encourage some to quit the insurgency, a top Pentagon official said.

Security officials frequently talk of Mali as being “the new Afghanistan.” They fear that deep inside the country’s northern desert, al-Qaida has carved out a new home -- not only a safe haven for terrorists, but a training ground for a new generation of Islamist militants.

A diminished but resilient al-Qaida, whose 9/11 attacks drew America into its longest war, is attempting a comeback in Afghanistan's mountainous east even as U.S. and allied forces wind down their combat mission and concede a small but steady toehold to the terrorist group....

The United States handed control of the controversial giant Bagram jail and its 3,000 suspected Taliban inmates to Afghan authorities on Monday, amid concerns the transfer could leave prisoners vulnerable to further rights abuses.

The interior minister says the initial investigation into a bombing at a wedding hall suggests the Taliban and terrorists were responsible.

While the Taliban publicly disavowed the new group, Mullah Dadullah Front, Afghan intelligence officials depicted it as a faction of the Taliban.

After more than a year of sporadic contacts, U.S.-Taliban talks have been stalled for months, deflating Obama administration hopes that progress toward a political solution to the Afghan war would be well underway this spring.

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.

President Barack Obama marked the anniversary of Osama bin Laden's death with a speedy trip to Afghanistan, signing a strategic pact with Kabul on Wednesday and delivering an election-year message to Americans that the war is winding down.

President Obama marked the tenth anniversary of the Afghanistan war with a statement praising the U.S. military and pledging to follow through ...