Three foreign advisers killed in suicide bombing near Kabul airport

KABUL: A Taliban suicide bomber detonated himself on Tuesday outside Kabul International airport, killing three foreign advisers and an Afghan interpreter, police said.

The nationalities of the foreign advisers were not immediately clear.

The explosion comes days after one of the most audacious militant attacks in a year on the airport, which is used by both civilians and the military.

Afghanistan clashes leave 30 dead

At least 30 Taliban fighters have been killed, and 15 others wounded in various regions of Afghanistan, the country's Defense Ministry said Monday.

According to the ministry, security forces in the eastern Khost province carried out operations against the Taliban that left 23 fighters dead and 12 wounded.

Another seven Taliban fighters were killed and three others wounded in the southern province of Helmand.

Afghan suicide attack kills 16, including 4 NATO soldiers

A Taliban suicide bomber killed 16 people, including 10 civilians and four NATO soldiers, in an attack in eastern Afghanistan Tuesday, officials said, as foreign troops wind down their war against the insurgents.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying one of its suicide bombers had blown himself up near a NATO patrol in the province of Parwan, north of the capital Kabul.

The attack comes as Afghanistan is mired in political crisis, with a bitter row raging over allegations of fraud in the presidential runoff election.

Taliban leader Mullah Omar says prisoner swap "big victory"

KABUL: Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mohammad Omar on Sunday hailed the release of five senior insurgents in exchange for US soldier Bowe Bergdahl as a "big victory"."I extend my heartfelt congratulations to the entire Afghan Muslim nation, all the mujahideen and to the families and relatives of the prisoners for this big victory regarding the release of five Taliban leaders from Guantanamo prison," he said in a rare statement.

Taliban's Mehsud faction severs ties with TTP

PESHAWAR: The spokesman of the Mehsud faction of the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Azam Tariq on Monday announced that his group has formally separated from the central outlawed militant group.

The spokesman of the Mehsud group, who was also a central member of the Taliban shura, made the announcement in a press conference.

He added that the other Taliban factions were also becoming distrustful of the main organisation.

Azam further said that the Mehsud group had tried to reform the TTP, adding that despite its efforts, conniving elements in the organisation had emerged successful.

Govt ignores TTP threat, to execute three militants

ISLAMABAD: Despite threats by the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the government has decided to carry out the execution of condemned prisoners and the death penalty for the first batch of terrorists belonging to outlawed groups will be implemented next week.

While the TTP has issued a ‘warning’ to the government to refrain from implementing the death penalties of its members, the interior minister says the new government is determined to establish the writ of law.

Top Pak cop likens Taliban, police relationship to that of 'bowler and batsman'!

While speaking to the media on Monday, he said that the police was the batsmen as the Taliban keep bowling. Sometimes the police scores a six and many a times lose a wicket.

Inspector General Police (IGP) Ihsan Ghani of Khyber-Paktunkhwa (K-P) has compared the relationship between the Taliban and police as one between a batsman and a bowler.

Taliban plans to storm Musharraf's farmhouse: Report

Islamabad: After successfully pulling off a daring attack on a high-security prison in Northwest Pakistan, banned militant outfits have planned to attack former dictator Pervez Musharraf's farmhouse here, a media report on Wednesday said. Musharraf - who is an accused in multiple criminal cases - is being held at his Chak Shahzad farmhouse, which was declared a sub-jail on April 20.

Blast kills nine in southern Afghanistan: officials

KANDAHAR: A roadside bomb blamed on the Afghan Taliban tore through a police vehicle in southern Afghanistan at the weekend, killing nine people and wounding 15, officials said on Monday.

The bombing took place late Sunday in the Shahjoy district of Zabul province, on the main Kabul-Kandahar road which is a hotspot of the Taliban insurgency.

Three Nato soldiers killed in Afghan suicide blast

GHAZNI: A suicide bomber rode a donkey Tuesday into an Afghan and Nato military convoy, killing three Western soldiers and their Afghan interpreter, officials said.

Nato’s International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) confirmed three casualties in a bombing in eastern Afghanistan but gave no details.

Karzai sets conditions for Pakistan visit

Pakistan on Sunday sent its top diplomat to offer further assistance to Afghanistan's efforts to reach a deal with Taliban to end 12 years of war.

Foreign affairs adviser Sartaj Aziz held talks with Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul and met Karzai to deliver in person the invitation from new Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif -- already extended twice by telephone.

On Monday the president's office said Karzai accepted the invitation "in principle".

Pakistan could end Afghan war in weeks: army chief

Pakistan could end the Afghan war "in weeks" if it were serious about peace, and is complicit in US drone strikes despite its denunciations of the anti-militant campaign, Afghanistan's army chief says.

In a BBC interview broadcast Wednesday, General Sher Mohammad Karimi laid bare the mistrust between Kabul and Islamabad as US-led troops wind down more than a decade of war against Taliban and other insurgents.

By closing down madrassa schools that serve as incubators of Islamist extremism, Pakistan had "unleashed" the Taliban on Afghanistan today, the chief of staff of the Afghan National Army said.

Afghan talks must not undermine legitimacy of state: Khurshid

India on Tuesday supported Afghanistan's reconciliation process with the Taliban, but warned that it must not undermine the legitimacy of the Afghan government and should be within the internationally accepted "red lines".

"We support the efforts made by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to establish a peaceful dialogue with all armed opposition groups," External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said in his Intervention at 20th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) meeting here today.

Police names three TTP suspects in Peshawar attack

PESHAWAR: Three commanders of the banned Tehrik-Taliban Pakistan were on Monday named responsible for yesterday’s car bomb attack on a convoy of the Frontier Corps in Badhber on Peshawar’s outskirts.

The case pertaining to the attack was registered in the Badhber police station. Police said Jangrez, Ghufran and Aurangzeb, all associated with the TTP, were found responsible for the attack as initial investigations into the incident went underway, adding that all three of them were said to hail from Darra Adamkhel.

SC adjourns Musharraf treason case indefinitely

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Thursday adjourned the treason case against former military ruler General (retd) Pervez Musharraf for an indefinite period to hold consultations over setting up of a special court to hear the case against the ex-army strongman.

Moreover, the apex court also rejected a plea to order the formal arrest of Musharraf citing that no formal charges against the former president had been put before the court.

Pakistan should hold talks with Taliban: Fazl

ISLAMABAD: Welcoming the initiation of Doha peace process, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Wednesday reiterated his desire that the Pakistan government should also hold talks with Taliban to bring peace and stability in the region.

“The use of force does not work all the time and in all situations,” said the JUI-F chief while talking to a group of reporters after his meeting with a delegation headed by the Special Representative of United Nations (UN) Secretary General on Afghanistan Jan Kubis.

Pakistani Taliban claim attack on SHC judge in Karachi

KARACHI: At least nine people were killed and 15 others injured on Wednesday when a bomb targeting the convoy of Sindh High Court judge Justice Maqbool Baqir exploded near Karachi’s Burns Road area.

Spokesperson for the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Ehsanullah Ehsan, told Dawn.com that the militant organisation was responsible for the attack on the senior SHC judge.

Ehsan further said that the judge was targeted for what he said were "anti-Taliban and anti-mujahideen decisions" adding that the group would continue to target judiciary.

No US-Taliban talks scheduled: State Department

The United States has not scheduled talks with the Taliban, the State Department said, after reports that discussions with the Afghan insurgent group could begin this week in Qatar.

"Reports of a meeting being scheduled or on the books aren't accurate," spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters, saying Washington had "never confirmed" the date and place of any specific meeting.

Militants kill 6 soldiers in Pakistan

Six soldiers were killed and two more injured when militants ambushed an army patrol on the outskirts of Peshawar in North-west Pakistan, security sources said on Thursday.

The patrol was passing through the Mattani area on the outskirts of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa capital when it was attacked by a group of militants at 10 pm on Wednesday.

Somali Islamist rebels attack UN base, 22 dead

MOGADISHU: Islamist militants carried out a deadly assault on the main UN compound in the Somali capital on Wednesday, dealing a blow to fragile security gains that have allowed a slow return of foreign aid workers and diplomats.

The assault, claimed by Islamist group al Shabaab, began before midday when a car bomb exploded outside the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) base. Rebel gunmen forced their way into the compound and fought with security guards.