Afghanistan

KABUL  – The US military said on Friday that Afghan and international troops had killed 30 militants in Afghanistan’s province of Helmand, a flashpoint region where the Taliban control several districts. The heavy clash on Thursday was in the Gereshk district where a prominent anti-Taliban parliamentarian was killed in a …

A key element of Obama’s plan is to erode militants’ power by strengthening local leaders, who can in turn provide incentives for foot soldiers to switch sides. Reporting from Washington — The Obama administration’s plan to overhaul the Afghanistan war will include a reinvigorated effort to sap the strength and …

KABUL – President Hamid Karzai warned the international community Wednesday against meddling in Afghanistan’s politics as it prepares for a presidential election later this year, saying the country is not “a puppet state.” Karzai faces an election in August, at a time when the country is embroiled in a vicious …

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – A suicide bomber in a police uniform detonated explosives he was carrying inside a police headquarters in southern Afghanistan on Monday, killing 11 people and wounding 29 others, the Interior Ministry said. The bombing followed a surge in violence in Afghanistan over the weekend that led to …

LONDON: Britain’s Ministry of Defense says two British soldiers have died in an explosion in southern Afghanistan. The ministry said the pair from the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers were traveling in an armored vehicle which was hit by a blast Sunday in the Garmsir district of Helmand province. The …

KABUL, Afghanistan — Four American soldiers were killed in eastern Afghanistan in a roadside explosion on Sunday, the United States military said, in the worst of several attacks by insurgents around the country. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, a spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, said. The Taliban have been threatening …

Sherzai welcomes Obama’s bid to reach out to moderate Taliban elements and end bloodshed. A former warlord tipped to unseat Hamid Karzai in Afghanistan’s coming elections has backed President Barack Obama’s plans to negotiate with the Taliban. Gul Agha Sherzai was the first Afghan leader Mr Obama met when he …

Barack Obama has hinted that the US could talk to moderate elements of the Taliban as part of its strategy in Afghanistan. The US president’s words come ahead of a visit on Monday by Joe Biden, the US vice president, to Europe for consultations with America’s Nato allies on the …

Relations between President Karzai’s Afghan government and Washington are at an all-time low. As Richard Holbrooke – President Obama’s envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan – prepares to make his first visit to the region since being appointed, the BBC’s Ian Pannell in Kabul looks at why the relationship has soured. …

US President Barack Obama has said the US is not winning in Afghanistan, saying it is more complex than Iraq. In an interview with the New York Times, he said reaching out to the Taleban could be an option, in the same way outreach had worked in Iraq. However, the …