Afghan Army Independently Takes Over Security in Zabul Province
24 May 2011
Zabul Province, one of Afghanistan’s poorest, is mainly known for being a transit route for Taliban insurgents and NATO supply convoys. But recently Zabul, in southeastern Afghanistan, has become important for another, better reason: as a small but overlooked corner of the Afghan war that offers a glimpse of what a stable future might look like as Afghans take over their own security and administration by 2014. Afghan Army battalions have deployed...
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Germany Mediates Secret US-Taliban Talks
24 May 2011
The German government is mediating secret talks on German soil between the US government and representatives of the Taliban. Berlin is cautiously optimistic that the negotiations will deliver progress, but observers warn that the insurgents' morale remains high. It's still unknown where exactly in Germany the American and Afghan negotiators met, but when they met can be pinpointed fairly exactly: at the turn of the year and on the second weekend...
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Taliban Deny Mullah Omar Is Dead
24 May 2011
Afghanistan’s main intelligence agency said Monday it is investigating reports that Taliban leader Mohammad Omar and some of his top commanders have left their hideout near the Afghan-Pakistan border and cannot be located. The reports led some Afghan media outlets to say that Omar might have been killed. But the Taliban staunchly denied that in a statement issued Monday.“Claims and rumors were spread this morning by the Kabul stooge regime’s...
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Roadside Bomb Kills 10 Labourers; Afghan Officials Survive Assassination Attempts
24 May 2011
A roadside bomb killed 10 workers in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, and NATO again promised that the coalition would not abandon the country even if some members plan to withdraw their forces. Also Tuesday, two high-ranking government officials survived attempted assassinations. […] The workers on the truck were employed by the local government in the region to clean up rivers and streams, according to Dr. Qayoum Pakhla, the director of...
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