Shah Marai (centre) embraces colleagues Massoud Hossaini (left) and Lawrence Bartlett (right), after Hossaini won the Pulitzer Prize in 2012, at the AFP office in Kabul. (AFP/JOHANNES EISELE) The attacks highlight the dangers journalists face in the war-torn country, where violence is increasing as the resurgent Taliban step up their campaign while the Islamic State group makes inroads. A double suicide blast in Kabul killed 25 people, including Marai along with at least eight other journalists, and wounded 49. Reporters Without Borders called it the most lethal single attack on the media since the fall of the Taliban. IS claimed the attack, which was condemned by the United Nations and the European Union. Kabul police spokesman Hashmat Stanikzai said the second explosion came minutes after the first and targeted reporters at the scene. "The bomber disguised himself as a journalist and detonated himself among the crowd," he said. The BBC confirmed that one of its reporters, … [Read more...] about 10 journalists among dozens killed in Afghan attacks
Afghan islamic press
Afghan troops press offensive against Islamic State
When Afghan troops pushed into Kot, a district close to the border with Pakistan, this week, they found many of the houses empty, with posters plastered on the walls and black flags left by departing Islamic State fighters. Backed by U.S. special forces troops and airstrikes that authorities say have killed hundreds of Islamic State fighters in recent weeks, the Afghan army has launched an offensive against the movement, which is now believed to be confined to three or four districts in eastern Afghanistan. Afghan commanders said they faced little resistance as they pushed into Kot after a heavy air and artillery bombardment as fighters pulled out into nearby mountain areas. "We have already destroyed their training camps in Kot district and the operations will expand to other districts too," said Shereen Agha, an Afghan army spokesman. Provincial government spokesman Attahullah Khogyani said 78 Daesh fighters had been killed in the operation and many bodies had been concealed inside … [Read more...] about Afghan troops press offensive against Islamic State
Naming of new Taliban chief seen dimming Obama’s hopes for Afghan peace talks
Taliban new leader Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada is seen in an undated photograph, posted on a Taliban twitter feed on May 25, 2016, and identified separately by several Taliban officials, who declined be named. Social Media via Reuters The selection of a hard-line cleric as the new Taliban chief on Wednesday all but dashes U.S. President Barack Obama's hopes for opening peace talks before he leaves office, one of his top foreign policy goals, current and former U.S. defense and intelligence officials said. The Taliban leadership council tapped Mullah Haybattulah Akhundzada, a conservative Islamic scholar from the group's stronghold in southern Afghanistan, to succeed Mullah Akhtar Mansour, four days after Mansour was killed in a U.S. drone strike. U.S. officials had called Mansour a major impediment to peace talks, and some had expressed hope his death would eliminate an obstacle to peace negotiations between the Taliban and the government of Afghan President Ashraf … [Read more...] about Naming of new Taliban chief seen dimming Obama’s hopes for Afghan peace talks
US, Afghanistan: no concessions over hostages
At Camp David, US President George W. Bush and visiting Afghan President Hamid Karzai agreed to make no concessions for the release of 21 South Korean hostages seized by the Taliban last month. According to Gordon Johnroe, National Security Council spokesman, there should be no quid pro quo for the hostages. Yonhap News reported that the Taliban's spokesman, Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, warned through the Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) that there will be a "horrible" outcome unless the two presidents agreed to exchange the hostages for Taliban prisoners held by the Afghan government. In Tehran, UN chief Ban Ki-moon called on Iran's help in resolving the hostage crisis. Iranian foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, condemned the Taliban's abductions as an "inhumane and a terrorist act". Ahmadi also said that Taliban leaders were willing to exchange the women captives for the same number of female prisoners, while accusing Ghazni Provincial officials of stealing the medicine left for the ill … [Read more...] about US, Afghanistan: no concessions over hostages
30 escape in Taliban prison break: officials
Around 30 prisoners managed to escape an Afghan prison after Taliban gunmen attacked the jail, sparking clashes that left three inmates dead and 28 wounded, officials said Friday. "This was followed by 10 minutes of gunbattles by the Taliban insurgents with Afghan security forces in which three inmates were killed and 28 others were wounded," he said. Around 31 inmates fled the prison but security forces managed to capture 16 of them and were hunting the rest, Khairzada said. Sari Pul police chief, Yaqoob Zabuli, confirmed the incident, saying the dead inmates were killed by prison guards. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, the Afghan Islamic Press agency reported. "As a result of the attack, 170 prisoners escaped from the prison. The mujahideen took them to safer places. The escaped detainees include Taliban's district chiefs and other commanders," AIP quoted spokesman Qari Yousaf Ahmadi as saying. In a spectacular jailbreak in April last year, almost 500 … [Read more...] about 30 escape in Taliban prison break: officials