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Fourteen years after US invasion, Taliban offensive claims major city

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Afghan government pledges to retake Kunduz one day after coordinated assault by Taliban

A Taliban fighter sitting on a motorcycle in Kunduz on Tuesday. (Photo: Uncredited/AP)

A Taliban fighter sitting on a motorcycle in Kunduz on Tuesday. (Photo: Uncredited/AP)

by Jon Queally, Common Dreams

The U.S. military launched airstrikes against targets in Kunduz, Afghanistan on Tuesday, just a day after Taliban fighters caught the U.S. Army, the Afghan National Security Forces, and local security forces off guard by staging a massive military offensive to capture the key northern city.

According to the ToloNews, a privately-run Afghan 24/7 news agency, local reports from the city “indicate that there are civilian casualties because of Afghan and foreign troops airstrikes.” On Monday, a Doctors Without Borders team working in a Kunduz hospital reported numerous casualties from the initial Taliban offensive.

The Guardian reports:

Kunduz is the first provincial capital in 14 years to effectively fall to the Taliban, and is possibly the militants’ biggest victory since they were ousted from power in 2001.

By Tuesday morning, roads were blocked and some government buildings set on fire, several residents told the Associated Press.

“From this morning, the Taliban have been setting up checkpoints in and around the city, looking for the government employees,” one resident said. “Yesterday it was possible for people to get out of the city, but today it is too late because all roads are under the Taliban control.”

On Tuesday morning the Afghan Ministry of Defense confirmed that the Army, along with other security personnel, had commenced a ground-level counter-offensive just after 8 am local time. Speaking from Kabul, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani later gave a televised address in which he vowed to retake the city. Ghani claimed the “enemy has sustained heavy casualties” and said government forces were “retaking government buildings … and that reinforcements, including special forces and commandos are either there or on their way there.”

The Wall Street Journal reports:

According to Jason Ditz, writing at Anti-War.com, “The loss of Kunduz is a huge blow to the Afghan government, because it had never really been under control of the Taliban even when the Taliban were in power. Kunduz was the center of the Northern Alliance rebellion against the Taliban, which eventually took over the key government positions during the U.S. occupation, and holds them to this day.”

And Bill Roggio, editor of the Long War Journal, argues that the fall of the city speaks to a more robust failure of the Obama administration’s strategy in Afghanistan, which has allowed the war to drag on—”token” draw downs aside—with nearly no progress towards a negotiated settlement, despite nearly 14 years of continuous fighting.

“The fall of Kunduz,” wrote Roggio on Monday, “would invalidate the entire U.S. ‘surge’ strategy from 2009 to 2012. The U.S. military focused its efforts on the southern Afghan provinces of Helmand and Kandahar, claiming that these provinces were the key to breaking the Taliban. Little attention was given to other areas of Afghanistan, including the northern provinces, where the Taliban have expended considerable effort in fighting the military and government. Today, the Taliban are gaining ground in northern, central, eastern and southern Afghanistan, with dozens of districts falling under Taliban control over the past year.”

Regarding additional updates on the fighting on Tuesday, Al Jazeera correspondent Qais Azimy, reporting from Baghlan, just south of Kunduz, said government troops attempted to reenter the city but were turned back due to intense fighting.

The fall of Kunduz, reported Azimy, “sends a message to the international community and Kabul, that the Taliban fighters are now capable of taking control of a provincial capital after 14 years.”

Hundreds of inmates escape as Taliban raid Afghan jail

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Taliban fighters storm prison in eastern Afghan province of Ghazni, freeing hundreds of inmates, police officials say.

The interior ministry said up to 400 inmates managed to escape the prison following the Taliban attack [FILE - AP]

The interior ministry said up to 400 inmates managed to escape the prison following the Taliban attack [FILE – AP]

by Al Jazeera

Taliban fighters have stormed a prison in the central Afghan city of Ghazni, killing police officers and releasing many prisoners, police officials said.

A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the attack, which occurred early on Monday.

“Around 2:30am six Taliban insurgents wearing military uniforms attacked Ghazni prison. First they detonated a car bomb in front of the gate, fired an RPG and then raided the prison,” deputy provincial governor Mohammad Ali Ahmadi told AFP news agency.

Ahmadi said at least four police guards were killed and seven others were wounded, and that three Taliban fighters were also killed in the early morning battle.

The interior ministry said 355 of the prison’s 436 inmates escaped. Most were charged with crimes against national security and other criminal offences.

“This successful operation was carried out at 2:00am and continued for several hours. The jail was under Taliban control,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement.

“In this operation, 400 of our innocent countrymen were freed … and were taken to mujahideen-controlled areas,” it added.

In 2011 almost 500 Taliban fighters and commanders escaped from a prison in an audacious jailbreak in Kandahar province, in what the government described as a security “disaster”.

The Taliban at the time said they sprang the inmates through a one-kilometre tunnel that took five months to dig.

The Taliban are stepping up their summer offensive despite a simmering leadership succession dispute after the confirmation of the death of longtime chief Mullah Omar.

Deadly blast hits Afghan capital Kabul

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At least three people killed and 18 wounded in blast near US embassy and ISAF headquarters.

Kabul

by Al Jazeera

An explosion in the diplomatic district of Afghanistan’s capital Kabul has killed three people and wounded 18, according to the Afghan Ministry of Public Health.

The blast took place near the US embassy and International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) headquarters, witnesses said.

There was no immediate confirmation of what caused the blast on Saturday afternoon, but Afghan users on Twitter said alarms could be heard ringing in the area.

There have been a number of attacks in the city within the past month.

At least four people were killed at Kabul airport on August 10 and dozens of civilians were killed in multiple suicide attacks a week earlier.

Large explosion hits Kabul airport entrance

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At least four dead in blast, officials say, after scores were killed in recent attacks in the Afghan capital.

Kabul was already on high alert before the blast after last week's attacks which killed at least 50 civilians [Reuters]

Kabul was already on high alert before the blast after last week’s attacks which killed at least 50 civilians [Reuters]

by Al Jazeera

A large explosion has hit the entrance to Kabul airport, killing at least five people and wounding many more, according to Afghan officials.

Sources told Al Jazeera that a car bomb was used in the attack, which took place at the civilian entrance of the main airport in the capital on Monday.

Five civilians were killed and 17 people wounded, including a woman and a child, said Wahidullah Mayar, a spokesman for the public health ministry.

The Afghan Taliban claimed responsibility for the airport blast.

The tangled, flaming wreckage of one of the cars lay on its side, as dozens of firefighters and police gathered.

Kabul was already on high alert before the blast after last week’s attacks which killed at least 50 civilians and security forces personnel in the worst violence seen in the city in years.

The wave of violence comes days after a change of leadership in the Afghan Taliban, who announced the death of their founder, Mullah Mohammad Omar, late last month and named Mullah Mohammad Akhtar Mansour as their new leader.

However his swift appointment by a small council of leaders in the Pakistani city of Quetta has angered others in the group, causing rifts within the movement and adding to speculation that the latest wave of violence is linked to the leadership dispute.

The blast struck near the entrance of Kabul’s international airport during the peak lunchtime period [AFP]

Death toll rises in deadly 24 hours in Afghanistan

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Attacks on military base and other areas in Kabul kill at least 40, including NATO soldier

Afghan security staff inspect the site of a truck bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan on Friday, August 7, 2015. (Photo: Rahmat Gul/AP)

Afghan security staff inspect the site of a truck bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan on Friday, August 7, 2015. (Photo: Rahmat Gul/AP)

by Nadia Prupis, Common Dreams

As of Saturday, a deadly 24 hours in Afghanistan has seen more than 44 people killed and hundreds wounded in a wave of attacks on a military base and other sites in Kabul.

Among those killed were dozens of civilians and service members, including one NATO soldier. The attacks targeted a police academy, a residential area, and the military base Camp Integrity, all in Kabul.

The nationality of the NATO soldier has not yet been released. One international service member and eight Afghan contractors were killed in the attack on Camp Integrity, with several others wounded. The bombing of the police academy killed at least 20 and wounded 24, when a man dressed in a police uniform reportedly detonated an explosive vest as recruits lined up for classes.

The Guardian reports:

While the truck bomb exploded outside a Ministry of Defence base, the exact purpose remains unclear, and the timing of the attack [at 1am] was unusual. According to a security source speaking to the Guardian, the US military frequently visits the Afghan army base in Shah Shaheed, which also contains a facility housing several high-level detainees.

A Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahed, said the group was responsibile for the attack on the police academy, but no one has yet claimed the truck bomb attack or the assault on Camp Integrity.

Reuters adds:

Previously seen as open to reviving peace talks, the Taliban have since pledged to press on with the insurgency that has killed and wounded thousands this year.

….The conflict between the Western-backed government and the Taliban has intensified since the NATO combat mission ended last year, but Afghan security forces and civilians have borne the brunt of the violence.

There have been almost 5,000 civilian casualties in Afghanistan in the first half of the year, U.N. figures show.

Deadly explosion rocks Afghanistan’s capital Kabul

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At least 15 killed and hundreds injured after truck bomb explodes near military base in the city’s District 8.

Cars parked on roads in the vicinity of the blast were damaged for at least 100 metres, a witness said [AFP]

Cars parked on roads in the vicinity of the blast were damaged for at least 100 metres, a witness said [AFP]

by Al Jazeera

A truck bomb has killed at least 15 people and injured about 400 more in central Kabul, near an Afghan army base in the city’s District 8, police sources have told Al Jazeera.

The explosion occurred early on Friday morning, rattling nearby homes.

“Moments ago there was a car bomb in the Shah Shahid area. Civilian casualties are feared,” Deputy Interior Minister General Mohammad Ayub Salangi wrote on Twitter.

Al Jazeera’s Qais Azimy, reporting from Kabul, said: “The police suspect that the [casualty] numbers will go higher,” he said, adding that sources said that the target of the attack had been an Afghan military base.

“A truck bomb detonated close to an army compound,” Kabul police chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi told the Reuters news agency.

Officials said 400 people had been wounded in the blast.

Dozens of the wounded were hurt by debris and glass shattering in the heavily populated area. Cars parked on roads in the vicinity of the blast were damaged for at least 100 metres, a witness said.

Al Jazeera’s Jennifer Glasse, reporting from Kabul, said the explosion was heard from miles around the city in the middle of the night.

“Those injured and killed were hurt by flying glass as windows shattered, buildings collapsed – the damage was very significant from this explosion,” Glasse said.

A local hospital official said their facility had been flooded with patients, including many women and children. Most were arriving on foot, the official said, and were being treated for superficial injuries.

The explosion follows a number of attacks carried out in Kabul over the past two months, all claimed by the Taliban.

A Taliban suicide bomber struck a military convoy on July 7, injuring nearby civilians.

The attack followed a Taliban car bomb attack on NATO soldiers in late June, which killed two Afghan civilians and injured 26 others, including women and children.

On June 22, the armed group launched an attack on Afghanistan’s parliament, killing five people and losing seven of its own members.

The Taliban launched its annual spring offensive in April.

A surge in attacks has taken a heavy toll on civilians, according to the UN Assistance Mission to Afghanistan.

In the first four months of 2015, civilian casualties jumped 16 percent from the same period last year, it said.

Taliban elects new leader after Mullah Omar’s death

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Taliban sources tell Al Jazeera that Mullah Akhtar Mansoor is new leader of the group, confirming death of Mullah Omar.

Mullah Omar

by Al Jazeera

The Taliban has elected Mullah Akhtar Mansoor as its new leader, Taliban sources have told Al Jazeera, as the group confirmed the death of Mullah Omar.

The election, which was reported on Thursday, however, was not officially confirmed by the group.

The Afghan government said on Wednesday that Omar died more than two years ago, in a hospital in Karachi.

Following the announcement, a second round of peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government have been postponed.

Wedding celebrations in Afghanistan turn bloody

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At least 20 people killed by gunmen who opened fire at wedding guests in northern Baghlan province.

Afghanistan

by Al Jazeera

At least 20 people have been killed by gunmen who opened fire at a wedding in Afghanistan’s north, officials said.

The attack, apparently linked to a feud between two families, happened in the Andarab district of Baghlan province on Sunday night. One family was hosting a wedding as members of a rival family arrived and started shooting at male guests, sources told Al Jazeera.

The bride and groom survived the attack.

Most of the dead were wedding guests aged from 14 years old to 60 years old, Jaweed Basharat, the governor of Baghlan province, told the AP news agency. He said 10 people were also injured.

The remote district, with little government presence, has witnessed frequent family disputes over land and other issues, Al Jazeera’s Qais Azimy said. Deaths in such disputes are reported almost every month but the number of casualties at the wedding was unusually high.

Police has sent reinforcement to the area, but gunfire was still reported there on Monday morning.

Fatal gun fights and celebratory gun fire are common at Afghan weddings, which have boomed in recent years in a country battered by nearly 40 years of war.

Afghan soldiers fired mortars at a wedding party in late December in the southern province of Helmand, killing 17 women and children.

US air strike kills top Al Qaeda commander in Afghanistan

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Al Qaeda commander in Afghanistan

Baghdad: A US air strike in Afghanistan killed a senior Al Qaeda commander in charge of suicide bombing and two other militants, the Pentagon said Friday.

The attack, which occurred in Paktika province on July 11, killed Abu Khalil al-Sudani, a “high-ranking Al-Qaeda operational commander”, the Pentagon said in a statement released to reporters in Iraq who were travelling with US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter.

“Al-Sudani was one of three known violent extremists killed in the strike. The death of al-Sudani will further degrade Al Qaeda operations across the globe,” the statement said.

The Pentagon described Sudani as a senior shura member and head of Al Qaeda’s suicide and explosive operations, and said he was directly linked to plotting attacks against the United States.

“He also directed operations against Coalition, Afghan and Pakistani forces, and maintained a close association with Aymar al-Zawahiri, Al Qaeda’s leader,” the statement said.

In the statement, Carter said the killing of Sudani underscored the work done by General John Campbell, the commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan, and his troops “to take the fight to Al Qaeda”.

“We will continue to counter violent extremism in the region and the world,” Carter said

(AFP)

Bomb kills at least ten civilians in northern Afghanistan

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At least 10 were killed and scores wounded in a bombing attack at a market. Image used for illustrative purposes. (AFP/File)

At least 10 were killed and scores wounded in a bombing attack at a market. Image used for illustrative purposes. (AFP/File)

by Press TV

At least 10 civilians have been killed and scores of others wounded in a bombing attack at a market in Afghanistan’s north, police say.

Deputy provincial police chief Baryalia Basharyar said that the attack took place when a bomber blew himself up among a crowd of shoppers in Almar district in Faryab Province on Wednesday.

The police official said that the death toll is expected to rise.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.

The blast comes less than a week after a powerful explosion claimed the lives of four children in the province of Maidan Wardak in the east-central region of Afghanistan.

The incident took place on July 16 as the children were playing in the area.

Afghanistan is witnessing growing violence despite the presence of thousands of foreign forces in the war-ravaged country.

The United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan in 2001 as part of Washington’s war on terror. The offensive removed Taliban from power, but insecurity still remains in several areas across the country.

The US-led combat mission in Afghanistan officially ended on December 31, 2014, but thousands offoreign forces have remained in the country.

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