March 28: A prominent Afghan campaigner for female education has been arrested by the Taliban, even as teenage girls and women remain barred from classrooms.
Matiullah Wesa, 30, who has travelled to remote parts of the country trying to improve access to education for all childr
Taliban will complete a year in power in Kabul in August; however, no country is talking about the formal recognition of the Taliban-led Afghan government
Afghan women in Kabul took to the streets on Tuesday against a slew of restrictions including those enforcing wearing of hijab in public by the Taliban.
Afghan women in Kabul took to the streets on Tuesday against a slew of restrictions including those enforcing wearing of hijab in public by the Taliban.
KABUL, Aug 14 :The Afghan Taliban said their members overran three more provincial capitals on Friday, after they have taken control over a dozen cities within a week.
Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, wrote on his social media account that they captured Tirin Kot, capital of southern Uruzgan province, and Firoz Koah, capital of western Ghor province.
He also said most parts of Pul-e-Alam, capital of eastern Logar province, have fallen to the Taliban, adding that clashes continued at an intelligence agency office and two army bases at midday on Friday.
Pul-e-Alam, about 60 km south of Afghanistan's capital Kabul, has been the scene of heavy clashes since early Friday when the Taliban stormed the city from different locations.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan's defense ministry said in a statement earlier Friday that at least 21 Taliban members were killed following an airstrike on the outskirts of provincial capital Pul-e-Alam.
A militants' vehicle, weapons and ammunition were destroyed by the raid, which was carried out by the Afghan Air Force, according to the defense ministry statement.
No fighting was reported in two other seized provincial centers, according to media reports.
The Afghan government has not confirmed the claim by the Taliban so far.
In western Herat province, the Taliban said that Ismahil Khan, a former anti-Soviet jihadi leader, together with provincial officials, military commanders and hundreds of soldiers surrendered to the Taliban members.
The Taliban members captured Herat city late on Thursday.
Earlier in August, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs expressed deep concerns about the safety of civilians in several provincial capitals for fear that tens of thousands were trapped by fighting.
KABUL, Aug. 12 : Taliban militants overran four provincial capitals in north and west of Afghanistan on Monday and Tuesday, bringing to nine the number of Afghan provincial capitals captured by Taliban.
Afghanistan has 34 provinces. And clashes have been continuing in nearly half the provinces within the recent months.
On Monday, Taliban militants claimed that the insurgents took control over Aybak city, the capital of northern Samangan province.
At the same time, the Afghan government said that the national forces repelled a militants' attack on Aybak city Sunday night, killing 20 Taliban militants and injuring eight others.
On Tuesday, the Taliban outfit seized three more cities in north and west of Afghanistan -- Farah city, the capital of Afghanistan's western Farah province, Faizabad, the center of northern Badakhshan, and Pul-e-Khumri, the capital of Baghlan province.
Earlier on Wednesday, Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani traveled to Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital of northern Balkh province. A security meeting was underway in the city. Taliban militants have a presence around the city, trying to capture Mazar-i-Sharif.
The security situation in the war-torn country has deteriorated as Taliban militants continue heavy fighting against government forces and gain ground since the drawdown of U.S. troops from May 1.
In Afghanistan's capital Kabul, thousands of displaced families arrived from the northern region, living in open grounds and public parks.
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