Afghanistan

28 July 2019; DW: An Afghan government official had earlier said a delegation would meet the Taliban within the next two weeks in Europe. The militant group dubs the government an "American puppet" with no negotiating power.

The Taliban on Sunday denied reports that they would be holding direct talks with the Afghan government's representatives in the coming weeks.

KABUL, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Campaign for the Afghan presidential election in late September started on Sunday amid growing attacks and fear of frauds in the militancy-plagued country.

A total of 18 candidates, including incumbent President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, embarked on a two-month campaign which will conclude on Sept. 25.

KABUL, July 25 (Xinhua) -- At least five people have been confirmed dead and 16 others injured as three blasts rocked Afghanistan's Kabul in the morning rush hour on Thursday, Interior Ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said.

According to Rahimi, the first blast targeted a mini-bus of the Mines Ministry carrying its employees in Police District 16 at 8:10 a.m. local time, leaving five people dead and injuring 16 others. They are all civilians including women and children.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A powerful bomb exploded outside the gates of Kabul University in the Afghan capital on Friday, killing at least six people and wounding 27, according to police and health officials.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest to target Kabul. Both the Taliban and the Islamic State group often stage large-scale bombings in the city, targeting Afghan forces, government officials and minority Shiites.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An All-Afghan conference that brought Afghanistan’s warring sides together appears to get the country a step closer to peace with a statement that laid out the foundations for a roadmap to end to nearly 18 years of war.

Washington is hoping the roadmap can be decided by Sept. 1, also allowing the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban carried out a devastating suicide car bombing in central Afghanistan Sunday that killed 12 people and wounded over 150 others, said Afghan officials.

The attack came as an all-Afghan peace conference, which includes the Taliban, was underway Sunday in Doha in an effort to end the country’s relentless wars.

A provincial council member, Hasan Raza Yousafi, said the car bomb exploded nearby an intelligence department compound in Ghazni, the capital of the province of the same name. The dead included eight security personnel, he said.

TASS, July 5: More than forty civilians have been killed or injured as mortar shell hit a market in Afghanistan, Pajhwok Afghan News agency reported on Friday.

According to the agency, the incident took place in the northwestern province of Faryab. Details to come.

KANDHAR, Afghanistan, June 30 (Xinhua) -- A total of 19 people including 11 security personnel and eight members of Kandahar provincial election commission were killed, following series of car bomb attacks, conducted by the Taliban militants in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province, officials said Sunday.

According to Kandahar police chief Tawdin Khan, 11 security personnel were killed in the blasts and shooting conducted by the Taliban in Marof district late Saturday night and 27 others were injured.

Kabul, Jun 26; AFP/GANASHAKTI: Two US service members were killed in Afghanistan on Wednesday, NATO said, the latest international casualties as the US and the Taliban prepare for a new round of talks.

NATO's Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan gave no further details, but the deaths came less than 24 hours after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made an unannounced visit to Kabul and said he hopes for a peace deal with the Taliban "before September 1".

JALALABAD, Afghanistan (AP) — The Islamic State group has lost its caliphate in Syria and Iraq, but in the forbidding mountains of northeastern Afghanistan the group is expanding its footprint, recruiting new fighters and plotting attacks on the United States and other Western countries, according to U.S. and Afghan security officials.