afghanistan
Washington (AFP) - US officials denounced the deteriorating human rights situation in Afghanistan -- particularly for women and girls -- during a meeting with Afghan Taliban representatives in Doha, the State Department said Monday. The American delegation also expressed "deep concern" regarding the humanitarian crisis and the need to continue supporting aid organizations and UN bodies delivering assistance, a State Department statement said. The closed-door meeting was one of the highest-level known gatherings of US and Afghan government officials in months, with the Washington team headed by...
AFP
Kabul (AFP) - Afghanistan's Taliban government on Saturday seized on an off-the-cuff remark by US President Joe Biden to underscore their claim that there was no Al-Qaeda threat in the country. Biden was leaving a press conference on Friday on the US Supreme Court's decision to block his student debt relief program when a reporter asked if he admitted to mistakes during the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. "No, no. All the evidence is coming back," he replied, according to a White House transcript. "Do you remember what I said about Afghanistan? I said al Qaeda would not be there. I said i...
AFP
Washington (AFP) - Taliban government forces have killed the Islamic State mastermind of a devastating suicide bomb attack at the Kabul airport during the chaotic withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan in 2021, the White House said Tuesday. The bomber detonated a device among packed crowds at the airport's perimeter as they tried to flee Afghanistan on August 26, 2021. The blast killed some 170 Afghans and 13 US troops who were securing the airport for the traumatic exit. It was one of the deadliest bombings in Afghanistan and prompted a wave of criticism of President Joe Biden for his decis...
AFP
Washington (AFP) - The White House on Thursday released a long-awaited review of the US exit from Afghanistan, laying blame on Donald Trump and a huge intelligence failure, but defending overall US conduct of the traumatic operation. The classified review was sent to Congress, where the Republican majority in the House of Representatives is investigating what it says is President Joe Biden's failures during the August 2021 withdrawal. Presenting a declassified summary, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby conceded mistakes had been made in the exit, which saw the Taliban seize contro...
AFP
Washington (AFP) - The top US diplomat to Afghanistan on Thursday apologized for tweets that suggested struggling Afghan women might find inspiration in African American history and culture -- particularly the #BlackGirlMagic social media movement. US envoy Karen Decker tweeted that several of her posts earlier in the week went "awry" despite her "best intentions" when she suggested Afghan women could learn from examples such as pop culture icons Beyonce and Lizzo. Her comments sparked online indignation from users who objected to the seemingly tone deaf comments about the plight of Afghan wom...
AFP
Paris (AFP) - Five months after the United States announced the killing of Al-Qaeda's leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in Afghanistan, the global jihadist group has still not confirmed his death or announced a new boss. In early August, US President Joe Biden said US armed forces fired two missiles from a drone flying above the Afghan capital, striking al-Zawahiri's safe house and killing him. But the group's propaganda arms have continued to broadcast undated audio or video messages of the bearded Egyptian ideologue who led the group after US special forces in 2011 killed its charismatic founder Osam...
AFP
Washington (AFP) - The Taliban have freed two Americans in detention in Afghanistan, the State Department said Tuesday, on the same day that the militant regime faced condemnation for banning women at universities. "This, we understand, to have been a goodwill gesture on the part of the Taliban. This was not part of any swap of prisoners or detainees. There was no money that exchanged hands," State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters. The two Americans were released to Qatar, which has played a key role supporting US interests in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover. Price said tha...
AFP
Los Angeles (AFP) - The world's focus has shifted to the war in Ukraine, but two major new documentaries aim to throw the spotlight back on Afghanistan, and the people left behind by the United States' rapid withdrawal last year. National Geographic's "Retrograde" follows an Afghan general who tried in vain to hold back the Taliban advance in 2021, while Netflix's "In Her Hands" tells the story of the country's youngest woman mayor, who had to flee as the Islamists took over. "We've forgotten about this story -- when was the last time we discussed the war in Afghanistan, or read an article abo...
AFP
Kabul (AFP) - An American navy veteran detained in Afghanistan since 2020 was released in exchange for a Taliban ally imprisoned in the United States for heroin smuggling, US and Afghan officials announced Monday. The Taliban government freed Mark Frerichs, who was working as a civil engineer on construction projects in Afghanistan when he was detained 31 months ago. The US government, meanwhile, released Bashar Noorzai, a former regional strongman who was sentenced to life imprisonment in an American court 17 years ago for smuggling large amounts of heroin. "After long negotiations, US citize...
AFP
Washington (AFP) - The United States said Wednesday it was setting up an outside, professionally-run fund to manage $3.5 billion in Afghanistan's reserves, concluding it cannot trust the Taliban leadership with the country's money. The new Afghan Fund, based in Geneva, will be put in charge of core central bank functions such as paying Afghanistan's international arrears and for its electricity imports and potentially for future necessities such as printing currency. The decision comes after talks between the Taliban and the United States failed to convince President Joe Biden's administration...
AFP
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