Kabul

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>

Taliban Releases Elderly British Couple

Qatari intervention ends ordeal for longtime Afghanistan residents

(Newser) - A British couple, Peter and Barbie Reynolds, have been freed after spending almost eight months in Taliban custody in Afghanistan. The pair, aged 80 and 76, have lived in Afghanistan for nearly 20 years. Their detention began in February, when they were stopped while heading to their home in...

CNN Pushes Back at Pentagon Account of Kabul Airport Attack

Outlet says new evidence turns over narrative of a lone suicide bomber in Afghanistan

(Newser) - Few claim that the US withdrawal from Afghanistan almost three years ago went smoothly. Now, conflicting accounts of the war's final days are emerging that puts the Pentagon's narrative at odds with others.
  • Bombing: In the late afternoon of Aug. 26, 2021, a blast brought about by an
...

More Witness Interviews in Kabul Bombing Ordered

US general says he wants new accounts of airport attack taken seriously

(Newser) - For the first time, almost 20 eyewitnesses to the bombing at the Kabul airport as US forces were leaving Afghanistan will be able to tell their stories to Pentagon investigators. Gen. Michael Kurilla ordered the interviews of US personnel who were wounded in the August 2021 attack and whose public...

Lawsuit Against Baldwin From Marine's Family Dismissed

He called fallen Marine's sister an 'insurrectionist'

(Newser) - A $25 million defamation lawsuit against Alec Baldwin from the widow and sisters of a Marine killed in the 2021 suicide attack at Kabul's airport has been dismissed—again. The actor donated $5,000 to the family of Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum after the attack. He was sued...

Russia Denounces Bombing of Its Embassy in Kabul

Islamic State ally opposed to Taliban has been suspected in series of attacks

(Newser) - A suicide bombing outside the Russian Embassy in the Afghan capital of Kabul on Monday killed two members of the embassy staff and at least one Afghan civilian in a rare attack on a foreign diplomatic mission in Afghanistan. The blast went off at the entrance to the embassy's...

Blast Kills Cleric, 20 Others During Evening Prayers

Witnesses say suicide bomber attacked Kabul mosque

(Newser) - A bombing at a mosque in the Afghan capital of Kabul during evening prayers killed at least 21 people, including a prominent cleric, and wounded at least 33 others, eyewitnesses and police said Thursday. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack Wednesday night, the latest to strike...

Afghan Cleric Killed by Bomb Concealed in Prosthetic Leg

It's a 'very huge loss' for the country, Taliban official says of death claimed by ISIS

(Newser) - An Afghan cleric who supported the Taliban and went up against the Islamic State has been killed in a suicide bombing claimed by that same group. Sheikh Rahimullah Haqqani died at an Islamic seminary in Kabul when a man detonated a bomb hidden in his prosthetic leg, reports Reuters . In...

After Kabul Strike, Aid Worker Recognizes Former Home

'It was a nice balcony,' he says after strike that killed Ayman al-Zawahri

(Newser) - When news reports showed the Kabul villa where al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri was killed in a US drone strike Sunday, American aid worker Dan Smock was startled. He recognized the distinctive home he shared with several colleagues while working on a US government-funded project. "Reports said the CIA had...

Al-Zawahri's Killing Reveals a Worrisome Alliance

Al-Qaeda leader must have been hiding in Kabul with Taliban's blessing: Fred Kaplan

(Newser) - For journalist Fred Kaplan, the killing of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri stands out not so much for the event itself. Al-Qaeda "is far from the potent global force that it was a decade ago," writes Kaplan at Slate , and while al-Zawahri certainly had a key role in planning...

Pentagon Adjusts Account of Kabul Airport Attack

Investigation concludes that a single bomber was responsible

(Newser) - The mass killing at the Kabul airport last August, as US forces were withdrawing from Afghanistan, was carried out by a single attacker, a Pentagon investigation has found. At least 170 Afghans and 13 American troops were killed in the blast . The Pentagon report says it was caused by one...

As Kabul Fell, a Last-Minute Scramble to Evacuate: Report

Critics question whether better planning from the Biden administration could have saved lives

(Newser) - The Biden administration was working out crucial details of the civilian evacuation from Kabul even as the Taliban descended on the Afghan city, according to a document obtained by Axios . The National Security Council's summary notes from the Aug. 14 meeting of the Deputies Small Group—chaired by Homeland...

It's Tough to Get Out of Kabul, but These Americans Just Did

Charter flight thought to have dozens of US citizens heads to Qatar amid flight groundings by Taliban

(Newser) - Since November, Americans have had a tough time getting out of Kabul after the Taliban grounded most flights. This week, a chartered flight paid for by the US State Department and run by Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs was finally able to depart the Afghan capital for Qatar with...

New Video Shows US Drone Strike That Killed 7 Kids

'We deeply regret the loss of life,' says US Central Command rep

(Newser) - The Pentagon has released video footage of last year's botched drone strike in Kabul, Afghanistan, which killed 10 civilians, seven of them children. In two silent videos obtained by the New York Times through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, two drones observe a car backing into a walled...

The Strange Fate of the Baby Handed Over Kabul Airport Wall

Little Sohail Ahmadi spent months with a stranger before being reunited with his grandfather

(Newser) - Desperate parents handed their baby handed over a barbed-wire topped wall to a soldier during the fall of Kabul Aug. 19, 2021, and couldn’t find him afterward . Finally, they know where he is. Sohail Ahmadi’s parents handed their 2-month-old infant over out of fear he would be crushed...

Pentagon Won't Punish Anyone for Civilian Deaths

10 people were killed in Kabul after US commanders decided aid worker was with ISIS-K

(Newser) - The Pentagon won't discipline any US personnel involved in the mistaken drone strike that killed 10 civilians in Afghanistan in August. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin accepted recommendations on the issue that did not include punishment, press secretary John Kirby said Monday. The recommendations from two commanders were mostly procedural,...

If Taliban Don't Pay Electric Bill, It'll Be Lights Out

Foreign suppliers could cut off power, leading to blackouts in Kabul

(Newser) - On top of everything else, the people of Afghanistan could soon lose power because the ruling Taliban aren't paying foreign electrical suppliers. "This would be a really dangerous situation," said Daud Noorzai, who quit as head of Afghanistan's power monopoly after the Taliban takeover, the Wall ...

Kabul Has Deadliest Attack Since US Left

Mosque bombed during Taliban service, reportedly killing at least 5 civilians

(Newser) - At least five civilians were killed in a bomb blast at the entrance to a Kabul mosque Sunday, a Taliban official said, describing the deadliest attack in the Afghan capital since US forces left at the end of August. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but suspicion fell on...

Afghans Hide Books, Paintings as Crackdown on Culture Looms

Taliban says Islamic law will determine what kinds of art are allowed

(Newser) - The bad old days are back in Afghanistan, where artists have hidden or destroyed paintings, musicians have stopped working, and residents are hiding books ahead of an expected Taliban crackdown on art and culture deemed un-Islamic. The group—which banned movies, television, and music during its rule from 1996 to...

Kabul Tells Female Workers Men Are Taking Their Jobs

Taliban make exceptions for public toilet attendants

(Newser) - Female employees in city government have been told to stay home, with work only allowed for those who cannot be replaced by men, Kabul's interim mayor said Sunday. The announcement is another sign that the Taliban are enforcing their harsh interpretation of Islam despite promises that they would be...

US Drone Hits Vehicle Taking Suicide Bombers to Airport

Secondary blasts indicate a load of explosives, officials say

(Newser) - A US drone strike on a vehicle killed suicide bombers on their way to the Kabul airport on Sunday, Pentagon officials said. US officials said the attack eliminated "an imminent ISIS-K threat," the New York Times reports. According to initial reports, no civilians were injured, a spokesman said,...

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>
Most Read on Newser