Author: Kathy Gannon
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Taliban official: Strict punishment, executions will return
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KABUL, Afghanistan • One of the founders of the Taliban and the chief enforcer of its harsh interpretation of Islamic law when they last ruled Afghanistan said the hard-line movement will once again carry out executions and amputations of hands, though perhaps not in public. In an interview, Mullah Nooruddin Turabi dismissed outrage over the…
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U.S. vows to isolate Taliban if they take power by force
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KABUL, Afghanistan • A U.S. peace envoy brought a warning to the Taliban on Tuesday that any government that comes to power through force in Afghanistan won’t be recognized internationally after a series of cities fell to the insurgent group in stunningly quick succession. Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. envoy, traveled to Doha, Qatar, where the…
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Top US general says security in Afghanistan deteriorating
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KABUL, Afghanistan • The U.S.’s top general in Afghanistan on Tuesday gave a sobering assessment of the country’s deteriorating security situation as America winds down its “forever war.” Gen. Austin Miller said the rapid loss of districts around the country to the Taliban — several with significant strategic value — is worrisome. He also cautioned…
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Pakistan court overturns conviction in death of Daniel Pearl
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KARACHI, Pakistan • A Pakistani court Thursday overturned the murder conviction of a British Pakistani man found guilty of the 2002 kidnapping and killing of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. Instead, the court found Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh guilty of the lesser charge of kidnapping and sentenced him to seven years in prison. Pearl…
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U.S. starts troop pullout, seeks end to Afghan leaders’ feud
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KABUL, Afghanistan • The United States began withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, the U.S. military said Tuesday, taking a step forward on its peace deal with the Taliban while also praising Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s promise to start releasing Taliban prisoners after he had delayed for over a week. The U.S.-Taliban deal signed Feb. 29 was…
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Karzai says Afghan election threatens peace
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KABUL, Afghanistan • A presidential election that is days away in Afghanistan threatens the troubled nation’s best chance of making peace with the Taliban and ending 18 years of war, former President Hamid Karzai said Tuesday, comparing the vote to asking a heart patient to run a marathon. Karzai, still one of the most important…
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Suicide truck bomb in Afghanistan kills 20
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KABUL, Afghanistan • A powerful suicide truck bomb devastated a hospital in southern Afghanistan early Thursday morning, killing 20 people and wounding 97 others, according to the province’s governor, while a deadly drone strike in the country’s east was blamed on U.S. forces. The Taliban, who claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing, have carried out…
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Taliban attack kills top Afghan official, U.S. general not injured
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KABUL, Afghanistan • A high-level meeting to lay out security plans for Afghanistan’s upcoming parliamentary elections had just concluded when an elite Afghan guard turned his gun Thursday on the departing delegation in an attack that killed the powerful Kandahar police chief but missed the top U.S. commander in the country, Gen. Scott Miller. The…
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Truck bomb kills 90, wounds hundreds in Afghan capital
KABUL, Afghanistan — A suicide attacker struck the fortified heart of the Afghan capital with a massive truck bomb Wednesday, killing 90 people, wounding 400 and raising new fears about the government’s ability to protect its citizens nearly 16 years into a war with insurgents. The bomber drove into Kabul’s heavily guarded diplomatic quarter during…
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Pakistani politicians shelter militants
JHANG, Pakistan — Authorities in Pakistan’s biggest and richest province are tolerating — if not promoting — some of the country’s most violent Islamic militant groups. Leaders in Punjab province have flouted repeated calls from the U.S. for Pakistan to crack down on militant groups such as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, which claimed responsibility for a failed…