Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

News Sections

Newser Specials

Return of the Taliban

Started by C Miller; Last updated by D Lim | View history

Rate it:

Print

E-mail

|

Digg

Seed this on Newsvine

Add this link to Del.icio.us

StumbleUpon

| Edit thread | Notify editors | + Start a new thread

Return of the Taliban

They're back ?"and they're making themselves heard

At one point they were broken, disorganized, and on the run, hiding in the caves of Tora Bora, beaten down by an all-out attack by America and its allies following 9/11. Now, riding popular discontent over civilian casualties caused by allied forces, and with the US distracted by the war in Iraq, they are resurgent, challenging Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s control of the country. Inspired by Al-Qaeda’s devastating suicide bomb attacks in Iraq, the Taliban have imported this tactic to Afghanistan, making them a powerful—and deadly—threat once again

Stories

Stories 41 - 60 of 154

<< Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next >>

September 2008
- US Ground Forces Raid Pakistan Outposts
  
  New York Times | Sep 4, 08 2:48 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - American commandos raided al-Qaeda encampments inside Pakistan yesterday, the New York Times reports. The US has carried out air strikes in the region before but this is the first acknowledged ground raid inside Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, long suspected of being the hideout of Osama Bin Laden. The commandos were airlifted by helicopter into the troubled South Waziristan tribal area. More »
August 2008
- US, Pakistan Hold Secret Security Meet
  
  New York Times | Aug 28, 08 7:24 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A group of top US and Pakistani military officials, including the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and David Petraeus, met in secret aboard an aircraft carrier Tuesday to discuss the deteriorating situation along the Afghan border, the New York Times reports. The US has been frustrated lately by the Taliban’s ever-growing capabilities—particularly across the border in Afghanistan—and Pakistan’s inability or unwillingness to drive them from its southern environs. More »
- Al-Qaeda Works Cheap, Stays Hidden
  
  Washington Post | Aug 24, 08 10:18 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - International efforts to cut off terrorists from funding have failed because al-Qaeda cells operate cheaply and independently, avoiding official funding channels, experts say. While the US and its allies have focused on freezing bank accounts and monitoring financial transactions, operatives build $15 bombs, drum up hard-to-trace cash through illegal scams, and move money in person, reports the Washington Post . More »
- Taliban Govern Large Areas of Afghanistan
  
  Guardian (UK) | Aug 24, 08 6:47 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Taliban is regaining significant ground in Afghanistan, running a harsh but effective parallel government that wields more power than the official administration, reports the Observer . Taliban influence has spread as far as the outskirts of Kabul, and is firmly entrenched in large parts of the south and east. More »
- Toll Hits 70 in Pakistan Bombings
  
  New York Times | Aug 22, 08 5:07 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The death toll in yesterday's twin suicide blasts in Pakistan has risen to 70 people as the tragedy continues to rattle the civilian government just days after the ouster of President Pervez Musharraf, the New York Times reports. Pakistan's Taliban has claimed responsibility for the bombings at the gates of the country's main weapons complex, and warned of more to come if the government fails to cease operations against militants in the country's tribal areas. More »
- Afghans: US Intentionally Fostering Instability
  
  Reuters | Aug 20, 08 10:50 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Many Afghans believe the US is purposely avoiding attacking Taliban strongholds in Pakistan in an effort to keep Afghanistan destabilized and justify a continued military presence, according to Anis , the country’s state-run newspaper. Such suspicions have long run through the country, but their appearance in the paper could be a sign the government is impatient with its top backer, Reuters reports. More »
- Sarkozy Headed to Afghanistan After French Troop Deaths
  
  Guardian (UK) | Aug 19, 08 10:53 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy plans to visit Afghanistan after 10 French troops were killed and 21 injured by Taliban fighters in an ambush near Kabul, the Guardian reports. The battle—which began yesterday and continued into today—nearly doubled the number of French soldiers who have lost their lives in Afghanistan—only 14 had been killed since the 2001 invasion. More »
- Bombing Outside US Base in Afghanistan Kills 12
  
  New York Times | Aug 19, 08 6:57 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A suicide bomber killed 12 workers and wounded 22 others after detonating his vehicle outside a US military base in eastern Afghanistan yesterday, the New York Times reports. No American military personnel were injured or killed. A second suicide car-bomber tried to follow soon after but was turned back, as were militants wearing explosive vests who stormed the base this morning. More »
- Taliban Bomb Kills 14 in Pakistan
  
  Associated Press | Aug 12, 08 10:49 AM CDT
  
  (AP) - A roadside bomb destroyed an air force truck on a bridge today in Pakistan's volatile northwest and killed as many as 14 people. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, calling it "an open war" and retaliation for recent military operations in the region. "If this kind of operations continue against us... we will continue this," a Taliban spokesman said. More »
- French Troops Head to Afghanistan
  
  Associated Press | Aug 7, 08 8:00 AM CDT
  
  (AP) - Hundreds of French troops have been deployed to train local infantry battalions in southern Afghanistan to help them fend off Taliban fighters, according to NATO officials. The deployment was one of the largest ground military convoys in the area in years, and came in response to NATO commanders' repeated requests for help in the area. More »
- 500th US Death a Troubling Omen in Afghan War
  
  New York Times | Aug 7, 08 5:11 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The 500th American died in Afghanistan last month and the grim milestone has helped bring the conflict back to the forefront of the nation's consciousness, the New York Times writes. Afghanistan has long been overshadowed by the Iraq war, but enemy action killed over three times as many Americans in Afghanistan than Iraq last month and analysts warn the outlook is bleak. More »
- Pakistani Suicide Bombers Tipping Afghan War
  
  Wall Street Journal | Aug 1, 08 11:30 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - One says he wanted to kill himself anyway. Another says he was duped. Both were captured in failed suicide bombings in Afghanistan, where such attacks were unheard of until the last 2 years, denounced by village elders as cowardly and un-Islamic. Now, these bombings are at all-time highs as the Taliban recruits poor, uneducated men and boys in Pakistani religious schools. The Wall Street Journal looks at how the trend is helping turn the tide against NATO forces. More »
July 2008
- Taliban Targets Attacks for Maximum Panic in Kabul
  
  Newsweek | Jul 27, 08 8:35 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan lack the firepower to spark a massive attack, but they’re doing their best to wage psychological warfare on Kabul, Newsweek reports. Creating a sense of instability through frequent small-scale attacks, “we can create panic and undermine the last vestiges of support for the regime,” said a Taliban spokesman. Kabul threatens to become the "new Baghdad." More »
- Obama Declares Afghanistan 'Precarious and Urgent'
  
  USA Today | Jul 20, 08 1:41 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) -