Haqqani Network

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Al-Zawahri's Killing Reveals a Worrisome Alliance

Al-Qaeda leader must have been hiding in Kabul with Taliban's blessing: Fred Kaplan

(Newser) - For journalist Fred Kaplan, the killing of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri stands out not so much for the event itself. Al-Qaeda "is far from the potent global force that it was a decade ago," writes Kaplan at Slate , and while al-Zawahri certainly had a key role in planning...

Hostage May End Up Left Behind as US Withdraws

Mark Frerichs was captured by Taliban last year

(Newser) - American contractor Mark Frerichs was seized in Kabul 17 months ago—and with the US withdrawal from Afghanistan picking up speed, his relatives fear he will be left behind. Special operations forces who could carry out a rescue operation if the 58-year-old were to be located will be gone from...

FBI Offers $1M Reward for Caitlan Coleman's Captors

Feds say they want to bring justice to kidnapped US citizen

(Newser) - More than two years after she was rescued by Pakistani forces , the FBI is offering a reward for the Taliban-linked captors of US woman Caitlan Coleman and her husband, Canadian citizen Joshua Boyle. A reward notice states that the government will give up to $1 million for information leading to...

Hostage Mom Breaks Her Media Silence

Caitlan Coleman sits down with ABC News

(Newser) - Caitlan Coleman is telling her side of the story. The woman once held by the Taliban with her husband—who she says bit, punched, slapped, choked , and raped her in captivity—sat down with ABC News to explain how they ended up in Afghanistan, what happened there, and how his...

CIA Asset Turned Ruthless US Enemy Dies

Jalaluddin Haqqani founded Haqqani network

(Newser) - The Taliban say the Afghan Haqqani network founder, Jalaluddin Haqqani, an ex-US ally turned fierce enemy, has died after years of ill health. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed told the AP that Haqqani died on Monday inside Afghanistan. The elderly founder of the outlawed group had been paralyzed for the past...

Thanks to 'Double Game,' Pakistan Loses US Aid

(Newser) - President Trump, who slammed Pakistan in his first tweet of the year , has now made good on his threat to cut off aid. The administration says it's suspending all security assistance to the country until it takes "decisive action" against Taliban and Haqqani militants on its territory targeting...

Freed Hostage Mom Played Beheading Game With Son

In an effort to make him less afraid, says Caitlan Coleman Boyle

(Newser) - The American hostage mom who was freed five years after being captured by the Taliban-related Haqqani network is detailing the abuse she suffered to ABC News in hopes that those responsible will see some measure of justice for the "human rights violations" committed against the family. Caitlan Coleman Boyle,...

Taliban: Kidnapped US Professor Is Extremely Sick

Kevin King's condition worsens by the day, militants say

(Newser) - An American professor kidnapped in Afghanistan more than a year ago is extremely ill and getting worse all the time, the Taliban says. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid says 60-year-old Kevin King has "dangerous" heart and kidney diseases that have "exponentially worsened" during his time in captivity. "His...

Rough Weekend for 'Broken' Freed Family

Joshua Boyle says he and his wife didn't think the adjustment to freedom would be so hard

(Newser) - After five years in captivity, freedom is a lot harder than Joshua Boyle expected. The Canadian man tells CNN he and his American wife, Caitlan Coleman, and their three children are suffering. "We're pretty broken and we didn't expect this," he says. After arriving in Toronto...

Rescued Hostage Has Harsh Words for US Interests

And Joshua Boyle says kidnappers killed one of his children

(Newser) - US-Canadian couple Caitlan Coleman and Joshua Boyle landed in Canada late Friday, five years after they were kidnapped in Afghanistan, the AP reports. They arrived with their three young children, who were all born in captivity. Coleman and Boyle were rescued Wednesday , five years after they had been abducted by...

During Dramatic Rescue, a Shout of 'Kill the Hostages'

But Canadian-American abductees were freed; they may wind up living in Canada

(Newser) - Hidden in the trunk of a car traveling through northwest Pakistan Wednesday, a US-Canadian family of five suddenly heard gunfire, followed by a cry from one of their abductors. "Kill the hostages," the man shouted, per the New York Times . After a short firefight, however, Pakistani forces pulled...

5 Years, 3 Kids Later, Couple Is Freed From Taliban Group

American Caitlan Coleman, family are 'safe and sound'

(Newser) - An American woman, her Canadian husband, and their three children born during five years in Taliban captivity are finally free. Caitlan Coleman and Josh Boyle, both in their 30s, and their three children were rescued by Pakistani security forces shortly after the family crossed into the country on Wednesday, Pakistan'...

Bergdahl: I Was Tortured, Caged for 5 Years

Letter outlines brutal treatment from captors

(Newser) - Bowe Bergdahl spent his five years as a Taliban captive caged and tortured both physically and psychologically, according to a letter his lawyer released soon after he was charged with desertion . "I was kept in constant isolation during the entire five years, with little to no understanding of time,...

After 6-Month Hiatus, Drone Strikes Again Hit Pakistan

At least 13 killed overnight

(Newser) - Missiles from US drones slammed into militant hideouts overnight in northwestern Pakistan, killing 13 suspected insurgents and marking the resumption of the CIA-led program after a nearly six-month break, officials said today. The two separate drone strikes sparked swift condemnation by the Pakistani government. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said...

Clinton Wasn't Real Keen on Bergdahl Deal

Inside the administration debate

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton offered a less-than-ringing endorsement of the Bowe Bergdahl prisoner swap yesterday, calling the administration's no-man-left-behind ideal "noble," but adding, "I think we have a long way to go before we really know how this is going to play out." Which isn't surprising,...

US Sweetens Taliban Deal in Bid to Get POW Back

Sources say officials are willing to set 5 Gitmo prisoners free at once

(Newser) - Time is ticking away for the US to extract American POW Bowe Bergdahl before the bulk of US forces withrdraw from Afghanistan this year, and the Obama administration is now once again considering a prisoner swap. The administration is looking to re-open talks with the Taliban about trading the Army...

New Video Proves Captive US Soldier Is Alive

But Bowe Bergdahl looks to be in poor health

(Newser) - The US military has received fresh video of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl , who was captured by the Taliban in June 2009 and is the only US soldier currently held in captivity. The "proof of life" video, found on a thumb drive the US obtained last week, is the first glimpse...

Afghan Army Boss: Pakistan Could End War

He accuses neighbor of controlling militants as drone strike kills 17

(Newser) - The Taliban is being controlled by Pakistan and Islamabad could bring fighting in Afghanistan to a halt "in weeks" if it gave the order, the chief of the Afghan National Army tells the BBC . The Taliban's "leadership is in Pakistan," Sher Mohammad Karimi says, accusing Afghanistan'...

Afghan Suicide Bomber Strikes Near NATO HQ

Six Afghans are killed in Kabul

(Newser) - A teenage suicide bomber blew himself up outside NATO headquarters in the Afghan capital today, killing six civilians in a strike that targeted the heart of the US-led military operation in the country. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast, the latest in a series of attacks carried out by...

US Blacklists Haqqani Network
 US Blacklists Haqqani Network 

US Blacklists Haqqani Network

Step could be a blow to relations with Pakistan, Taliban

(Newser) - The Obama administration intends to slap the Haqqani network onto its terrorism blacklist, in a risky bid to strangle the group's fundraising. The idea has been hotly debated in the administration, with many arguing that it could harm relations with Pakistan, undercut Taliban peace talks, and endanger the life...

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