INSIDER
Taliban hard-liners turning back the clock in Afghanistan
Read full article: Taliban hard-liners turning back the clock in AfghanistanTaliban hard-liners are turning back the clock in Afghanistan with a flurry of repressive edicts over the past days that hark back to their harsh rule from the late 1990s.
Ex-Afghan president: Biden order on frozen funds an atrocity
Read full article: Ex-Afghan president: Biden order on frozen funds an atrocityAfghanistan’s former president has called a White House order to unfreeze $3.5 billion in Afghan assets held in the U.S. for families of 9/11 victims an atrocity against the Afghan people.
Afghans protest US move to unfreeze $3.5B for 9/11 victims
Read full article: Afghans protest US move to unfreeze $3.5B for 9/11 victimsDemonstrators in Afghanistan’s capital have condemned President Joe Biden’s order freeing up $3.5 billion in Afghan assets held in the U.S. for families of America’s 9/11 victims.
Afghan museum reopens with Taliban security -- and visitors
Read full article: Afghan museum reopens with Taliban security -- and visitorsThe National Museum of Afghanistan is open once again and the Taliban, whose members once smashed their way through the facility, now appear to be among its most enthusiastic visitors.
Friction among Taliban pragmatists, hard-liners intensifies
Read full article: Friction among Taliban pragmatists, hard-liners intensifiesThe friction between pragmatists and ideologues in the Taliban leadership has intensified since the group formed a hard-line Cabinet last week that is more in line with their harsh rule in the 1990s than their recent promises of inclusiveness.
Sweeping conquests test US hopes of more moderate Taliban
Read full article: Sweeping conquests test US hopes of more moderate TalibanSweeping Taliban conquests in Afghanistan are challenging the Biden administration’s hopes that a desire for international legitimacy will moderate the Taliban's worst behavior.
Afghanistan claims killing an al-Qaida leader wanted by FBI
Read full article: Afghanistan claims killing an al-Qaida leader wanted by FBIThis image released by the FBI shows the wanted poster of al-Qaida propagandist Husam Abd al-Rauf, also known by the nom de guerre Abu Muhsin al-Masri. Al-Qaida did not immediately acknowledge al-Rauf's reported death. The violence and al-Rauf's reported killing threaten the face-to-face peace talks and risk plunging this nation beset by decades of war into further instability. The agency released a photograph late Sunday afternoon it described as al-Rauf's corpse, which resembled FBI images of the militant leader. Al-Qaida did not immediately acknowledge al-Rauf's reported death.
Taliban make big changes ahead of expected talks with Kabul
Read full article: Taliban make big changes ahead of expected talks with KabulISLAMABAD In one of the most significant shake-ups in years, the Taliban put the son of the movement's feared founder in charge of its military wing and added powerful figures to its negotiating team ahead of expected talks aimed at ending Afghanistans decades of war, Taliban officials say. As head of a newly united military wing, 30-year-old Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, brings his father's fiercely uncompromising reputation to the battlefield. Equally significant is the addition of four members of the insurgent group's leadership council to the 20-member negotiating team, Taliban officials told The Associated Press. Surprisingly the shuffle also sidelined senior Taliban leader Amir Khan Muttaqi, removing him from the negotiating committee. The newly strengthened negotiating team includes Abdul Hakeem, a former Taliban chief justice and confidant of Akhunzada, as well as Maulvi Saqib, chief justice during the Taliban rule.
US, Russia share a complex and bloody history in Afghanistan
Read full article: US, Russia share a complex and bloody history in AfghanistanMoscow and Washington are intertwined in a complex and bloody history in Afghanistan, with both suffering thousands of dead and wounded in conflicts lasting for years. Now both superpowers are linked again over Afghanistan, with intelligence reports indicating Russia secretly offered bounties to the Taliban to kill American troops there. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, File)ISLAMABAD Moscow and Washington are intertwined in a complex and bloody history in Afghanistan, with both suffering thousands of dead and wounded in conflicts lasting for years. Now both superpowers are linked again over Afghanistan, with intelligence reports indicating Russia secretly offered bounties to the Taliban to kill American troops there. Even as Russia and the U.S. vie for influence in Afghanistan, they are aligned in their opposition to IS.