The percentage of territory that Afghanistan’s central government controls has reached its low point since a U.S. special inspector general began gathering such data two years ago. The Kabul government now controls or influences 57 percent of the country’s 407 districts (Voice of America)
Yesterday, a suicide bombing inside Kabul’s diplomatic quarter, claimed by the Islamic State, killed seven people and injured more than twenty others (Wall Street Journal)
Taliban Says U.S. Hostage in ‘Dangerous’ Health
A professor from the American University of Afghanistan who was kidnapped by militants in August of last year is suffering from heart disease and kidney complications, according to a Taliban spokesman. The militant group has called on the United States to negotiate his release (Guardian)
Tillerson Pushes Pakistan to Act Against Taliban
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrived in Islamabad today to meet top Pakistani officials for counterterrorism talks. Tillerson said he has made “very specific requests” of Islamabad to undermine the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan (Dawn)
Majority of Afghan Army Unit Killed in Attack
At least forty-three soldiers from an Afghan army unit were killed in an attack in Kandahar Province today by militants using an explosives-laden vehicle. It was the third major attack on Afghan security personnel this week (New York Times)
Attacks on Afghan Security Forces Kill More Than Seventy
The Taliban carried out a series of attacks today involving suicide bombings and an assault by Taliban fighters on a police compound in Paktia province and a government compound in Ghazni province. Afghan authorities said more than seventy people have been killed and more than one hundred injured in these and a series of smaller attacks across the country (Washington Post)
Afghan Peace Talks Begin in Oman
Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, and the United States are meeting in Oman today to discuss a political settlement to the Afghan conflict after a sixteen-month pause on such talks. A senior Taliban official said the militant group has “nothing to do” with the negotiations (Voice of America)
Taliban Dismisses Upcoming Oman Dialogue
A senior Taliban militant said the insurgent group’s position that it will not participate in peace talks with the Afghan government “remains unchanged” ahead of a dialogue in Oman next week that will include envoys from Afghanistan, China, Pakistan, and the United States (Voice of America)
Afghanistan Air Strikes Hit Seven-Year High
The United States and its allies dropped 751 weapons on Afghanistan in September, a 50 percent increase compared to preceding months. The U.S. Air Forces Central Command said the rise was due to President Trump’s “strategy to more proactively target extremist groups” (Military Times)
Red Cross to Scale Back Work in Afghanistan
The International Committee of the Red Cross said it will “drastically” reduce its work in Afghanistan following attacks that killed seven of its personnel this year. The ICRC’s operations in the country constitute its fourth-largest humanitarian program (RFE/RL)
Afghan Security Forces Killed in Suicide Attack
At least a dozen Afghan security forces were killed in a suicide bombing that targeted government and police headquarters in Kandahar. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack (RFE/RL)
U.S. Strike in Kabul Hits Civilians
The U.S.-led NATO mission in Afghanistan said a missile it launched in Kabul to repel an insurgent attack malfunctioned, hitting civilians, but did not provide details on the number of casualties (Washington Post)
Mattis and NATO Chief Make Surprise Visit to Kabul
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg made an unannounced visit to Kabul to meet with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. Both the Taliban and the self-proclaimed Islamic State claimed responsibility for a rocket attack on Kabul’s international airport shortly after Mattis’s arrival; at least five civilians were injured (AP)
Thousands More U.S. Troops Head to Afghanistan
U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said yesterday that three thousand additional troops were en route to Afghanistan to boost the eleven thousand U.S. servicemen already there; the move comes several weeks ahead of the war’s sixteenth anniversary (Voice of America)
Taliban Claim Attack That Wounds Two U.S. Soldiers
A suicide bomber wounded two U.S. soldiers and at least three civilians in an attack yesterday, the sixteenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks that triggered the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, on a NATO convoy near Bagram Airfield (Radio Free Europe)
Taliban Claims Attack for Offending U.S. Pamphlet
The Taliban claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing outside the Bagram Airfield, the largest U.S. base in Afghanistan, that wounded several people yesterday. A spokesman for the group said the attack was a response to U.S. forces distributing a leaflet that insulted Islam, for which the military had apologized hours earlier (Radio Free Europe)
U.S. Says More Troops in Afghanistan Than Disclosed
The Pentagon said that some eleven thousand U.S. troops are currently in Afghanistan, rather than the previously disclosed total of 8,400. The additional two thousand personnel assist local forces on counterterrorism missions (New York Times)
Suicide Bomber Kills Five Near U.S. Embassy in Kabul
The Taliban claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in Kabul’s diplomatic quarter that killed at least five people and injured nine on Tuesday (DW)
Trump Continues Afghan War
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani thanked U.S. President Donald J. Trump for his support to continue fighting terrorism following Trump’s announcement that he will prolong the sixteen-year U.S. military intervention in Afghanistan (CBS)
Russia Prepares for Instability of Afghan Government
Russia’s defense minister announced the country will host war games with Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan later this year to address the threat of instability posed by conflict between the Afghan government and Taliban militants (Radio Free Europe)
Three Aid Workers Killed in Afghanistan
Gunmen killed three employees of the U.S.-based Catholic Relief Services and wounded two others in the central Ghor Province, according to a spokeswoman for the organization. The motive of the assailants was unclear (Radio Free Europe)
Taliban Letter to Trump Calls for Withdrawal of Troops
An Afghan Taliban spokesman called on U.S. President Donald J. Trump in a letter sent to journalists to remove U.S. troops from the country to bring “an end to an inherited war” (Associated Press)
Taliban Releases Hundreds of Hostages in Northern Afghanistan
The Taliban freed 235 hostages held since it captured a town in northern Afghanistan in early August. The Taliban still holds as many as one hundred people (BBC)
Dozens of Afghans Killed in Insurgent Attack
Afghan officials described an attack that killed up to fifty villagers and militia members in the northern Sar-e-Pul province as a joint operation by the Taliban and a commander loyal to the Islamic State. Most of the victims belonged to the Shia Hazara community (Guardian)
Taliban Kills Two U.S. Servicemembers in Afghanistan
The Taliban took credit for a suicide bombing on a NATO convoy in southern Afghanistan that killed two U.S. servicemembers (NPR)
Suicide Bombing at Afghan Mosque Kills Twenty-Nine
Suicide bombers struck a Shiite mosque in western Afghanistan, killing twenty-nine and wounding sixty-four. Two armed attackers entered the mosque and began shooting before one of the attackers blew himself up (New York Times)