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The head of the British army, General Sir David Richards, and the head of the CIA, Leon Panetta, were asked in separate interviews over the weekend about the notion of talking to the Taliban as part of Britain and America’s exit strategy from Afghanistan. Their answers were so different that they point to potentially the…
Channel 4 News reveals Taliban insurgents fighting British and US forces are being supported by Iranian weapons – mines, mortars and plastic explosives – smuggled over the border, writes Nima Elbagir.
Trooper Pete Sheppard enjoys some brief rest and recuperation back at base after ten days of “hard work” fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan’s tough conditions.
It is set to be a momentous fortnight for Nato, who at last appear to have wrestled the “narrative” of the insurgency from the Taliban’s hands. In a nutshell, here is their good news: an assault on their stronghold and the capture now of four senior Taliban commanders, apparently with the help of the Pakistanis. There…
In a close-up account from behind enemy lines in Afghanistan, video journalist Vaughan Smith joins the Grenadier Guards to reveal the ambush strategies UK troops are using to beat the Taliban.
Pakistan’s military finally admit Taliban commander Mullah Baradar has been captuted, but as Nick Paton Walsh blogs, his arrest could help the country’s ISI intelligence service regain control over negotiations over Afghanistan.
Pakistanis and Afghans are divided over what to make of the reported arrest in Karachi of the Afghan Taliban’s top military commander and deputy to Mullah Omar himself, writes Jonathan Miller.
Alex Thomson blogs about the fight against the Taliban as military commander Mullah Baradar is reportedly arrested in Karachi.
Alex Thomson on the challenges facing NATO and the Afghan government on keeping the Taliban out of areas of Helmand cleared during Operation Moshtarak.
An update from outside the rally of Aghanistan election candidate Abdullah Abdullah: – Read more of Lindsey Hilsum’s blogs from Afghanistan here.
My Pakistani journalist friend was clear. “This is the first serious effort by the Pakistani army since 9/11 to eliminate the Taliban.” In other words, the military assault to oust the militants from Swat shows that Pakistan’s strategic thinking has changed. An intelligence contact reinforced the point. “It may have been America’s war in the…
MARDAN, PAKISTAN – The Taliban said they would take revenge for the attacks on them in the Swat valley, and they might do it anywhere in Pakistan. It seems they have been as good as their word. This morning, we were in Mardan visiting refugees from the fighting in Swat when we heard about the…
Jon Snow
Yesterday in Downing Street I asked Gordon Brown whether Saudi Arabia is still funding the Taliban. I was attending a news conference he was hosting with Pakistan’s President Zardari. Mr Brown did not address my specific question. Sidestepping the Saudi aspect, he described the MI6 financial units that are now hard at work tracking Taliban…
Jets and helicopters are bombing Taliban forces in Pakistan’s Swat valley and the timing can hardly be coincidental. Thousands – possibly hundreds of thousands – of Pakistanis could be fleeing their homes this week onwards, as their President, Asif Ali Zardari, is in Washington trying to convince lawmakers he is serious about taking on Taliban…
They worry this is the tip of the iceberg. Swat used to be called the Switzerland of Pakistan. A tidy, idyllic valley where the elite used to ski, the surroundings themselves so beautiful as to make you feel rested. But today, that’s all changed. About two years of intense clashes between the army and militants there…