By , , KABUL/JALALABAD (Reuters) - Gunmen disguised as police attacked a hospital in the Afghan capital Kabul on Tuesday, killing 16 people including two newborn babies from a maternity clinic run by the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders.In a separate attack the same day, a suicide bomber struck the funeral of a police commander, attended by government officials and a member of parliament, in the eastern province of Nangahar, killing at least 24 people and injuring 68. Authorities said that toll could rise.Islamic State Khorasan, the Afghan affiliate of the...…By , , KABUL/JALALABAD (Reuters) - Gunmen disguised as police attacked a hospital in the Afghan capital Kabul on Tuesday, killing 16 people including two newborn babies from a maternity clinic run by the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders.In a separate attack the same day, a suicide bomber struck the funeral of a police commander, attended by government officials and a member of parliament, in the eastern province of Nangahar, killing at least 24 people and injuring 68. Authorities said that toll could rise.Islamic State Khorasan, the Afghan affiliate of the...WW…

By , KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his rival Abdullah Abdullah signed a power-sharing deal to end a months-long political stalemate, Ghani’s spokesman said on Sunday, a step that could smooth efforts to end the country’s long-running war.Abdullah had disputed the results of an election in September and announced the formation of a parallel government earlier this year, undermining Ghani’s administration at a time when the United States was trying to advance a peace process with the Taliban to end the 19-year Afghan war.“Today is a historic day for our dear Afghanistan....…By , KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his rival Abdullah Abdullah signed a power-sharing deal to end a months-long political stalemate, Ghani’s spokesman said on Sunday, a step that could smooth efforts to end the country’s long-running war.Abdullah had disputed the results of an election in September and announced the formation of a parallel government earlier this year, undermining Ghani’s administration at a time when the United States was trying to advance a peace process with the Taliban to end the 19-year Afghan war.“Today is a historic day for our dear Afghanistan....WW…

By , , KABUL (Reuters) - After struggling to get pregnant for years, Zainab, 27, gave birth to a baby boy on Tuesday morning at a small hospital in the southwestern corner of Kabul. She was overjoyed and named the boy Omid, meaning ‘hope’ in Dari.At around 10 a.m. (0530 GMT), an hour before she and her family were set to return home to neighbouring Bamiyan province a three-hour drive away, three gunmen disguised as police burst into the hospital’s maternity ward and started shooting.Zainab, who rushed back from the washroom after hearing the commotion, collapsed as she took in the scene....…By , , KABUL (Reuters) - After struggling to get pregnant for years, Zainab, 27, gave birth to a baby boy on Tuesday morning at a small hospital in the southwestern corner of Kabul. She was overjoyed and named the boy Omid, meaning ‘hope’ in Dari.At around 10 a.m. (0530 GMT), an hour before she and her family were set to return home to neighbouring Bamiyan province a three-hour drive away, three gunmen disguised as police burst into the hospital’s maternity ward and started shooting.Zainab, who rushed back from the washroom after hearing the commotion, collapsed as she took in the scene....WW…

By , , KABUL/JALALABAD (Reuters) - Gunmen disguised as police attacked a hospital in the Afghan capital Kabul on Tuesday, killing 16 people including two newborn babies from a maternity clinic run by the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders.In a separate attack the same day, a suicide bomber struck the funeral of a police commander, attended by government officials and a member of parliament, in the eastern province of Nangahar, killing at least 24 people and injuring 68. Authorities said that toll could rise.Islamic State Khorasan, the Afghan affiliate of the...…By , , KABUL/JALALABAD (Reuters) - Gunmen disguised as police attacked a hospital in the Afghan capital Kabul on Tuesday, killing 16 people including two newborn babies from a maternity clinic run by the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders.In a separate attack the same day, a suicide bomber struck the funeral of a police commander, attended by government officials and a member of parliament, in the eastern province of Nangahar, killing at least 24 people and injuring 68. Authorities said that toll could rise.Islamic State Khorasan, the Afghan affiliate of the...WW…

By , WASHINGTON/KABUL (Reuters) - The U.S. government said on Sunday all options remain on the table for its remaining 2,500 troops in Afghanistan, saying it has made no decisions about its military commitment after May 1.The State Department comments came after reports emerged that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had made a new urgent push for a United Nations-led peace effort that included a warning that the U.S. military was considering exiting Afghanistan by May 1.Blinken in a letter to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said the United States is “considering the full withdrawal of...…By , WASHINGTON/KABUL (Reuters) - The U.S. government said on Sunday all options remain on the table for its remaining 2,500 troops in Afghanistan, saying it has made no decisions about its military commitment after May 1.The State Department comments came after reports emerged that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had made a new urgent push for a United Nations-led peace effort that included a warning that the U.S. military was considering exiting Afghanistan by May 1.Blinken in a letter to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said the United States is “considering the full withdrawal of...WW…

By KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Ashraf Ghani will put forward a three-phase peace roadmap for Afghanistan during a proposed meeting in Turkey, seeking an agreement with the Taliban and a ceasefire before elections, a document seen by Reuters shows.Washington is pushing for a conference to be hosted by Turkey, with U.N. involvement, this month to finalise a peace deal between the government and the Taliban as a May 1 deadline looms for the withdrawal of all foreign troops.Ghani’s plan will be presented as a counter to proposals put forward by Washington, rejected by the Afghan...…By KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Ashraf Ghani will put forward a three-phase peace roadmap for Afghanistan during a proposed meeting in Turkey, seeking an agreement with the Taliban and a ceasefire before elections, a document seen by Reuters shows.Washington is pushing for a conference to be hosted by Turkey, with U.N. involvement, this month to finalise a peace deal between the government and the Taliban as a May 1 deadline looms for the withdrawal of all foreign troops.Ghani’s plan will be presented as a counter to proposals put forward by Washington, rejected by the Afghan...WW…

By , KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan government and Taliban representatives reached a preliminary deal on Wednesday to press on with peace talks, their first written agreement in 19 years of war and welcomed by the United States as a chance to halt the violence.The agreement lays out the way forward for discussion but is considered a breakthrough because it will allow negotiators to move on to more substantive issues, including talks on a ceasefire, even as Taliban attacks on Afghan government forces have continued unabated.“The procedure including its preamble of the negotiation has been...…By , KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan government and Taliban representatives reached a preliminary deal on Wednesday to press on with peace talks, their first written agreement in 19 years of war and welcomed by the United States as a chance to halt the violence.The agreement lays out the way forward for discussion but is considered a breakthrough because it will allow negotiators to move on to more substantive issues, including talks on a ceasefire, even as Taliban attacks on Afghan government forces have continued unabated.“The procedure including its preamble of the negotiation has been...WW…

By , KABUL (Reuters) - More than a dozen rockets struck Kabul on Tuesday, wounding at least ten people, including children, prompting some foreign embassies to order a lockdown, officials and sources in the Afghan capital said.The identity of the attackers was unknown, though an interior ministry spokesman said two suspects had been arrested.The attack comes at time when the United States is encouraging peace talks between the government and the Taliban, while preparing to withdraw the last U.S. troops to end almost 19 years of war.Smoke billowed, alarms rang out and shrapnel flew, said...…By , KABUL (Reuters) - More than a dozen rockets struck Kabul on Tuesday, wounding at least ten people, including children, prompting some foreign embassies to order a lockdown, officials and sources in the Afghan capital said.The identity of the attackers was unknown, though an interior ministry spokesman said two suspects had been arrested.The attack comes at time when the United States is encouraging peace talks between the government and the Taliban, while preparing to withdraw the last U.S. troops to end almost 19 years of war.Smoke billowed, alarms rang out and shrapnel flew, said...WW…

United States KABUL (Reuters) - The Afghan government agreed on Sunday to release 400 “hard-core” Taliban prisoners, paving the way for peace talks aimed at ending almost two decades of war. The insurgent group welcomed the move and said it was ready to begin talks within 10 days of the release. Under election-year pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump for a deal allowing him to bring home American troops, the country’s grand assembly, or Loya Jirga, on Sunday approved the release. The Taliban militant had demanded the release of the 400, the last batch among 5,000 prisoners to be...…United States KABUL (Reuters) - The Afghan government agreed on Sunday to release 400 “hard-core” Taliban prisoners, paving the way for peace talks aimed at ending almost two decades of war. The insurgent group welcomed the move and said it was ready to begin talks within 10 days of the release. Under election-year pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump for a deal allowing him to bring home American troops, the country’s grand assembly, or Loya Jirga, on Sunday approved the release. The Taliban militant had demanded the release of the 400, the last batch among 5,000 prisoners to be...WW…