By , KABUL (Reuters) - Gunmen opened fire in a mosque in central Afghanistan on Tuesday evening, killing eight worshippers breaking their Ramadan fast and wounding five others, officials said.“Unknown gunmen fired on people praying inside a mosque during iftar time,” said Wahida Shahkar, spokeswoman for the governor of Parwan province, referring to the meal eaten to break daytime fasting during the Islamic holy month.The Ministry of Interior confirmed the attack in Parwan’s provincial capital Charekar, blaming it on the insurgent Taliban. The Taliban denied responsibility and said Afghan...…By , KABUL (Reuters) - Gunmen opened fire in a mosque in central Afghanistan on Tuesday evening, killing eight worshippers breaking their Ramadan fast and wounding five others, officials said.“Unknown gunmen fired on people praying inside a mosque during iftar time,” said Wahida Shahkar, spokeswoman for the governor of Parwan province, referring to the meal eaten to break daytime fasting during the Islamic holy month.The Ministry of Interior confirmed the attack in Parwan’s provincial capital Charekar, blaming it on the insurgent Taliban. The Taliban denied responsibility and said Afghan...WW…

By KABUL (Reuters) - United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in an unnanounced visit to Kabul on Sunday,as Washington reviews the peace process there and its planned troop withdrawal.Austin said on Twitter he had come to “listen and learn”, on his first trip to Afghanistan since his appointment.“This visit been very helpful for me, and it will inform my participation in the review we are undergoing here with (U.S. President Joe Biden),” he added.The meeting comes at a crucial time for the Afghan peace process ahead of a May 1 deadline for the...…By KABUL (Reuters) - United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in an unnanounced visit to Kabul on Sunday,as Washington reviews the peace process there and its planned troop withdrawal.Austin said on Twitter he had come to “listen and learn”, on his first trip to Afghanistan since his appointment.“This visit been very helpful for me, and it will inform my participation in the review we are undergoing here with (U.S. President Joe Biden),” he added.The meeting comes at a crucial time for the Afghan peace process ahead of a May 1 deadline for the...WW…

By KABUL/HERAT (Reuters) - Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Monday expressed grief over the deaths of civilians in an airstrike by the country’s military, a move that came a day after government officials said only Taliban fighters had been killed.Locals in the southern province of Nimroz on Sunday said the airstrike by the Afghan air force had resulted in the deaths of 14 civilians, but government officials denied the claim. Residents later brought the bodies of the deceased to the provincial capital in protest.In a statement, Ghani said he was “deeply saddened” over the civilian...…By KABUL/HERAT (Reuters) - Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Monday expressed grief over the deaths of civilians in an airstrike by the country’s military, a move that came a day after government officials said only Taliban fighters had been killed.Locals in the southern province of Nimroz on Sunday said the airstrike by the Afghan air force had resulted in the deaths of 14 civilians, but government officials denied the claim. Residents later brought the bodies of the deceased to the provincial capital in protest.In a statement, Ghani said he was “deeply saddened” over the civilian...WW…

By KABUL (Reuters) - Afghans shared accounts of violence linked to the Taliban on social media with the hashtag phrase ‘don’t redeem the Taliban’ as anxiety grows as the United States withdraws troops and attempts to usher peace talks with the militant group.The accounts of alleged violence and human rights abuses with the hashtag phrase in Dari meaning ‘don’t redeem the Taliban’ have been shared more than 100,000 times on Twitter.Kabul-based Twitter user Ejaz Malikzada, 26, said the message had gained traction as Afghan social media users sought to remind foreign powers not to sacrifice...…By KABUL (Reuters) - Afghans shared accounts of violence linked to the Taliban on social media with the hashtag phrase ‘don’t redeem the Taliban’ as anxiety grows as the United States withdraws troops and attempts to usher peace talks with the militant group.The accounts of alleged violence and human rights abuses with the hashtag phrase in Dari meaning ‘don’t redeem the Taliban’ have been shared more than 100,000 times on Twitter.Kabul-based Twitter user Ejaz Malikzada, 26, said the message had gained traction as Afghan social media users sought to remind foreign powers not to sacrifice...WW…

By , KABUL (Reuters) - Taliban militants kidnapped about 60 civilians in central Afghanistan over the past week, officials said on Sunday, with more than half still being held amid efforts by the United States and other foreign powers to start peace talks.The Taliban took the hostages in the central province of Daikundi after a women escaped a Taliban-controlled village in a neighbouring province, according to the provincial deputy governor, Mohammad Ali Uruzgani.Some 26, including women and children, had been released and tribal elders were mediating to free the remaining civilians,...…By , KABUL (Reuters) - Taliban militants kidnapped about 60 civilians in central Afghanistan over the past week, officials said on Sunday, with more than half still being held amid efforts by the United States and other foreign powers to start peace talks.The Taliban took the hostages in the central province of Daikundi after a women escaped a Taliban-controlled village in a neighbouring province, according to the provincial deputy governor, Mohammad Ali Uruzgani.Some 26, including women and children, had been released and tribal elders were mediating to free the remaining civilians,...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…