Afghanistan

Twenty-two dead, dozens injured in crash involving Afghan returnees from Pakistan

Abdul Malik Niazi, a Taliban official, told The Media Line that “the accident occurred on the main highway linking Kabul with Nangarhar province. 

|ByARSHAD MEHMOUD/THE MEDIA LINE
Trucks transporting Afghan nationals, who were expelled from Pakistan, are parked as refugees wait for registration at the Omari refugee camp in Mohmand Dara, Torkham border, Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, April 15, 2025.
Illustration of ISIS terrorists.

Russia warns ISIS-K recruiting Central Asian migrants for regional terror networks

Director of Russia’s Federal Security Service Alexander Bortnikov said the group’s “Khorasan Branch” had stepped up efforts to recruit members from other extremist groups.

|ByARSHAD MEHMOOD/THE MEDIA LINE
People gather as they search for survivors after a blast near a railway track in Quetta, Pakistan, May 24, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone

Powerful bomb explodes near train in Pakistan's Quetta, killing at least 24

The attack, which killed at least 24 people and injured more than 70, was the latest in a series of major strikes on infrastructure in the Pakistani province that borders Iran and Afghanistan.

|ByREUTERS
Taliban security personnel climb barefoot up a steep and sandy mountainside on a weekend at the Sayad area of Reg-e-Rawan in Kapisa province on April 24, 2026.

Russia says it's establishing 'full-fledged partnership' with Afghan Taliban

Russia sees a need to work with Kabul as it faces a major security threat from Islamist militant groups based in a string of countries from Afghanistan to the Middle East.

|ByREUTERS

Iranian regime relying on foreign militias to bolster security efforts, suppress protests - report

Iran’s government has not officially acknowledged the role of these foreign militias.

MAY 10, 2026ByMIRIAM SELA-EITAM
A member of Iranian militia forces (Basij) gestures during an anti-Israeli march in Tehran, Iran, January 10, 2025; illustrative.

Fourteen Pakistani police officers killed in car bombing, ambush in Bannu

Three personnel have been found alive and transferred to the hospital, the officer added.

MAY 10, 2026ByREUTERS
Residents gather as heavy machinery clears the rubble of a damaged police post after a car bombing in Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan May 10, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone.

Arrest of Pakistani journalist spurs dispute over Al-Qaida allegations

Supporters of Muhammad Saad bin Riaz say the accusations do not match his work as a researcher and journalist focused on regional conflicts and information warfare.

MAY 6, 2026ByARSHAD MEHMOOD/THE MEDIA LINE
Muhammad Saad bin Riaz

Trump considering plan to send Afghan refugees who helped US to Congo - NYT

AfghanEvac President Shawn VanDiver criticized the move, describing it as giving the refugees a choice between "the world’s number one refugee crisis to the world’s number two refugee crisis.”

APRIL 23, 2026ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Evacuees from Afghanistan arrive at Hamad International Airport in Qatar's capital Doha on September 10, 2021.

Taliban arrests senior co-founder Mullah Mutasim Agha Jan amid deepening internal rifts

Agha Jan, a close associate of the late Taliban founder Mullah Mohammad Omar, served as finance minister in the group’s first government prior to the 9/11 attacks.

APRIL 20, 2026ByARSHAD MEHMOOD/THE MEDIA LINE
Mutasim Agha Jan.

Australian former soldier gets bail on Afghanistan war crime charges

Police arrested and charged Ben Roberts-Smith, 47, with five counts of war crimes last week over the murder of five unarmed Afghan civilians between 2009 and 2012.

APRIL 17, 2026ByREUTERS
Former Australian Defence Force soldier Ben Roberts-Smith's parents, Len and Sue Roberts-Smith, leave the Downing Centre Courts after Ben Roberts-Smith was granted bail in Sydney, Australia, April 17, 2026.

Afghan women’s rights advocates urge Melania Trump to support girls facing Taliban restrictions

Over 100 Afghan women’s rights defenders have written to Melania Trump, urging her to help restore education and freedom to Afghan women and girls under Taliban rule.

APRIL 16, 2026ByARSHAD MEHMOOD/THE MEDIA LINE
Taliban Deputy Spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat speaks during a press conference about the conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan, in Kabul, Afghanistan, March 3, 2026.

Gas pipeline blown up in southern Pakistan by unknown assailants, says official

It suspended gas supply to several parts of the city and at least five more districts, the official said.

MARCH 30, 2026ByREUTERS
(Illustrative) sign indicating the location of the Millenium Pipeline buried under a cut in the forest, March 30, 2026.

Afghan national jailed for 15 years in the UK for raping 12-year-old girl

Ahmad Mulakhil, 23, was convicted after a trial at Warwick Crown Court of one count of raping a child under 13 in Nuneaton, central England, last July.

MARCH 27, 2026ByREUTERS
Police officers stand outside New Scotland Yard, the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, in London, Britain March 21, 2023.

Afghanistan releases American detainee in an effort to improve Taliban, US relations

Dennis Coyle, an American citizen held in Afghanistan since authorities detained him at his Kabul home in 2025, is among the hundreds of Americans freed by the Trump administration.

MARCH 24, 2026ByTOBIAS HOLCMAN, REUTERS
THE BLUE Mosque in Kabul.