Taliban

Biden vows to change strategy in Afghanistan as Taliban take over WASHINGTON - US President Joe Biden has bowed to change his strategy in the fight against terrorism, especially in Afghanistan, which has seen the Taliban insurgents take over, despite Washington's immense investment in rebuilding the Afghan army. The Taliban swept through several cities before entering the capital Kabul, just…

Kabul, Afghanistan - Within days, Afghanistan had fallen into the hands of the Taliban, a move that could plunge the Asian nation into possible collapse, after years of civil war that saw even the US military intervene. After 20 years of the "boring" Afghan war, the United States is expected to end its mission in a few days. But despite the 300,000 Afghan soldiers and police trained by the international community, the Taliban are on the verge of seizing most of the country. Already, the Taliban have taken control of…

As the Taliban gain ground throughout Afghanistan, Afghans who worked as interpreters for foreign armies live in fear of reprisals. The Taliban are perceived as traitors and have appealed to Western nations to give them visas so that they can flee the country. Although the Taliban say no harm will be done to previous interpreters who show remorse, Afghans working for foreign forces have a hard time believing this promise. Some of them agreed to speak anonymously with FRANCE24. .

At least three rockets landed near the Afghan presidential palace on Tuesday as the country's leader Ashraf Ghani held outdoor prayers with top officials to mark the beginning of the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday. Although there was no immediate claim of responsibility, it was the first rocket attack on Kabul since the Taliban…

Representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban met in Doha for talks on Saturday, AFP correspondents say, as violence rages in the country with foreign forces almost completely back. The two sides have been meeting on and off for several months in the Qatari capital, but talks have lost momentum as the rebels have made…

A Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer with Reuters news agency was killed on Friday covering clashes between Afghan security forces and the Taliban near a border crossing with Pakistan, media reported and quoted an army commander. Afghan forces fought to retake Spin Boldak when Danish Siddiqui and a senior officer were killed in…

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has offered to secure Afghanistan’s vital Kabul international airport in a bid to improve US-Turkey relations as American and NATO troops complete their pullout from the war-battered country. But a Taliban warning underscores the military and diplomatic challenges of the Turkish offer. The drive to Kabul’s main airport has turned into a crawl during the 20-year US security presence in Afghanistan, with ever-increasing security checkpoints slowing travellers as they inch towards the…

The Taliban has offered a three-month ceasefire in exchange for the release of 7,000 insurgent prisoners, an Afghan government negotiator said on Thursday, when Pakistan confirmed that the militant group had control of an important border crossing. "There is a huge demand," said Nader Nadery, a key member of the government group involved in peace talks with the Taliban, adding that the rebels also demanded that their leaders' names be removed from a UN blacklist. It was not immediately clear how the government would…

The Taliban captured the strategic border crossing between Spin Boldak at the border and Pakistan on Wednesday, and continued to make big gains since foreign forces intensified their withdrawal from Afghanistan. Afghanistan's Interior Ministry denied that the rebels had taken the area even when social media was flooded with…

France on Tuesday urged all its citizens in Afghanistan to leave the country due to security concerns, the French embassy in Kabul said, as the Taliban continued a blowing offensive while foreign forces completed their withdrawal. "The government will set up a special flight on the morning of July 17, departing from Kabul, to…