Afghanistan

The killing of longtime al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri could accelerate a trend that has been consistently emerging in recent years—the factionalization and regionalization of the global jihadist movement. To survive, al-Qaeda adopted a franchising strategy which led it to expand worldwide and establish regional branches in the Levant, North Africa, …

Al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahri’s death in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan is raising questions about whether the country is being used as a base of operations for the terrorist group. “What unnerves me is that Al Zawahri felt comfortable enough being out in the open in the Kabul area after the …

On July 28, 2022, Security Forces (SFs) killed two Hafiz Gul Bahadur (HGB) militants in the Manzer Khel area of the North Waziristan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. The Hafiz Gul Bahadur faction is a breakaway of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan. On July 23, 2022, three HGB militants were killed in …

The Iranian Border Police units and the Taliban forces exchanged fire at a border region in east of Iran on Sunday. Reports suggest that the armed clashes broke out on Sunday noon in Hirmand border region, near the Iranian city of Doost Mohammad, which is located 30 km northeast of …

As NATO holds its Summit in Madrid on June 28-30, the war in Ukraine is taking center stage. During a pre-Summit June 22 talk with Politico, NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg bragged about how well-prepared NATO was for this fight because, he said: “This was an invasion that was predicted, …

If you have ever wondered what hell might feel like, ask an Afghan refugee. While you may not personally know any, there is a good chance that if you live near a major urban center in Europe, Canada or the United States, you’ve unknowingly passed someone on the street or …

An earthquake which has been called the deadliest in two decades hit Afghanistan on June 22. The latest reports indicate that nearly 1000 people have died and the death toll is likely to increase as more reports are received from remote, cut-off areas. It is feared that crucial rescue help …

The anger directed by Americans at Pakistan in the wake of the disorderly end of the U.S. war in Afghanistan is understandable. After all, Pakistan really did give shelter to the Afghan Taliban, something that played a vital role in the Taliban’s eventual victory. However, the reaction in Washington is …

After a military retreat by Afghanistan’s National Resistance Front last week in the Panjshir Valley, the group’s head of foreign relations, Ali Nazary, appeared in Washington last Friday to vow that it would continue holding out against the Taliban and to seek military assistance for doing so. Yesterday, The New …

On Feb. 11, U.S. President Joe Biden issued an executive order that proposed a plan for the $7 billion of frozen Afghan reserves that have been locked up in U.S. financial institutions since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August. Half was to be placed in a trust that would …