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Hello Jammu News at 2:42:00 PM 0

Kabul Sep 7: US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis landed in Kabul on Friday for an unannounced visit to war-torn Afghanistan, adding his weight to a flurry of diplomatic efforts to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table.

His trip comes a little more than a year after President Donald Trump unveiled a revamped strategy for Afghanistan that saw him commit thousands of additional US forces to the country on an open-ended basis.

Mattis, on his second visit to the country in recent months, will meet with President Ashraf Ghani and the new US commander for American and NATO forces, General Scott Miller.

His arrival in Kabul comes at a sensitive time in the 17-year war.

The grinding conflict has seen little progress by Afghan or US forces against the Taliban, the country's largest militant group.

Afghan and international players have been ratcheting up efforts to hold peace talks with the Taliban, which was toppled from power by US-led forces in 2001.

An unprecedented ceasefire in June followed by talks between US officials and Taliban representatives in Qatar in July fuelled hopes that negotiations could bring an end to the fighting.

But a recent spate of attacks by the Taliban and the smaller but potent Islamic State group that left hundreds of security forces and civilians dead has severely dented that optimism.

A twin bomb attack on a wrestling club in a Shiite neighbourhood of Kabul on Wednesday was just the latest in a long line of devastating assaults, killing at least 26 people and wounding 91.

The attack underscored the challenges facing Afghanistan's beleaguered security forces that have been beset by corruption and low morale.

Trump's strategy, announced in August 2017, increased the US troop presence in the country and now includes a renewed push to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table.

But there are fears that Trump is growing frustrated with the pace of progress in the country, spurring US diplomats and other officials to intensify their efforts.

The Taliban have long insisted on direct talks with Washington and refused to negotiate with the Afghan government, which they see as illegitimate.

There is speculation that another meeting between US and Taliban representatives could be held this month.

Mattis arrived in Kabul from Delhi where he and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with their Indian counterparts.

Pompeo also visited Islamabad on Wednesday where he held talks with new premier Imran Khan and other senior officials.

Pompeo said he was "hopeful" of resetting the troubled relationship with Pakistan, a key player in the Afghan conflict.

Miller, who took command of US and NATO forces at a handover ceremony in Kabul on Sunday, replaces General John Nicholson, who rotated out of the role after a more than two-year deployment.

Nicholson told reporters last month that the warring parties now had an "unprecedented" opportunity for peace, and insisted Trump's strategy for the country was working.

But his optimism belied recent setbacks on the battlefield.

The Taliban last month launched an extraordinary attack on the provincial capital of Ghazni -- just a two-hour drive from Kabul.

Militants held large parts of the city for days and Afghan forces needed US air power to push them back. (AFP)
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Hello Jammu News at 6:10:00 PM 0

Kabul, Sep 6: Insurgents killed 19 security personnel in separate assaults in Afghanistan, officials said Thursday, a day after twin bombings in Kabul killed 21 people, including two local TV reporters.

Another 89 people were wounded in Wednesday's bombings, in a Shiite neighborhood of the capital. The attack bore the hallmarks of the Islamic State group, which has carried out a wave of bombings against minority Shiites in recent years. The Taliban denied responsibility.

Later Wednesday, suspected Taliban insurgents overran a security outpost in the northern Badghis province and then ambushed reinforcements, killing a total of 10 soldiers, according to Jamshid Shahabi, a spokesman for the governor.

In what is being described as an insider attack, a local police official in the northern Takhar province turned his weapon on his colleagues early Thursday, killing all eight. Abdul Khali Aseir, the provincial police spokesman, says the gunman escaped.

Two journalists from Afghanistan's TOLO TV were among those killed in the Kabul bombings. Samim Faramarz and Ramiz Ahmadi were "fearless" reporters who represented what is best in the country, the station said in a posting on Twitter.

"They challenged and pushed boundaries to deliver news to millions daily. . .We are devastated," it said.

The UN envoy to Afghanistan, Tadamichi Yamamoto, condemned the "callous attack" in Kabul and expressed "deep concern over the heavy price paid by Afghan media, with the killing of journalists in Afghanistan being among the highest in the world."

In April, nine journalists who rushed to the scene of an explosion in Kabul were killed by a second suicide bomber. A 10th journalist was killed the same day, shot in eastern Khost province.

Both the Taliban and IS carry out near-daily attacks in Afghanistan targeting security forces and government officials, but IS also regularly targets Shiites, who it views as apostates.

In the same neighborhood where the twin bombings took place, an Islamic State suicide bomber killed 35 high school graduates last month as they sat for their university entrance exams. The dead were all teenagers. (AP)
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Hello Jammu News at 12:07:00 PM 0


Kabul, Sept 4 (AFP):  The founder of the Haqqani network, one of Afghanistan's most effective and feared militant groups, has died after a long illness, their allies the Afghan Taliban announced Tuesday.
Jalaluddin Haqqani, whose son Sirajuddin Haqqani now heads the brutal group and is also the Taliban's deputy leader, died "after a long battle with illness", the Taliban said in a statement.

Jalaluddin "was from among the great distinguished Jihadi personalities of this era," the Taliban said in the English version of its statement posted on Twitter.

He was an Afghan mujahideen commander fighting the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s with the help of the US and Pakistan.

Jalaluddin gained notoriety for his organisation and bravery, garnering attention from the CIA and a personal visit from US congressman Charlie Wilson.

A fluent Arabic speaker, Jalaluddin also fostered close ties with Arab jihadists including Osama Bin Laden who flocked to the region during the war. Later, Jalaluddin became a minister in the Taliban regime. AFP
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Hello Jammu News at 2:05:00 PM 0

Kabul, Aug 21: At least nine rockets hit near the diplomatic area in the Afghan capital Kabul today, as officials said fighting had broken out between security forces and militants in the city's old quarter.

An AFP reporter could see helicopters and smoke above the Eidgah Mosque in Reka Khana district, and a heavy security presence near the Kabul Stadium.

"This morning a group of terrorists took over a building in Reka Khana and fired several rockets towards Kabul," interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish told AFP. "Two people have been wounded. Security are fighting the terrorists." (AFP)
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Hello Jammu News at 2:13:00 PM 0

Kabul, Aug 11: Both Taliban and government forces claimed they were in control of the eastern Afghan city of Ghazni today, after insurgents stormed the provincial capital, triggering fierce fighting.

Afghan officials said they were in control of Ghazni late yesterday with authorities in Kabul saying security forces were conducting a clearance operation targeting Taliban fighters who had taken up positions in residential homes.

But information about who controlled the city was difficult to confirm with power and mobile services cut to the area after the Taliban destroyed a telecommunications tower, according to Ghazni MP Shah Gul Rezaye.

"The central government in Kabul said the situation in Ghazni was under their control, but we managed to contact officials in Ghazni who said that fighting was underway in areas surrounding Ghazni," said the parliamentarian.

Rezaye said additional reinforcements had been rushed to Ghazni late yesterday, after US forces deployed attack helicopters and launched at least one drone strike to push back the Taliban fighters.

The Taliban, however, claimed victory saying their fighters were now in control of Ghazni after routing Afghan forces.

"Last night, our mujahideen have completely conquered a battalion in Ghazni, seizing weapons and ammunition and four pickup trucks," said Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid in a message to journalists today.

"Our mujahideen are protecting the city of Ghazni." The insurgents frequently exaggerate their battlefield gains and downplay losses incurred during clashes.

Ghazni -- less than two hours by road from Kabul -- has been under increasing danger from massing Taliban fighters for months with reports suggesting insurgents had already infiltrated the city.

The attack, which began late Thursday, was the latest attempt by the Taliban to seize an urban centre and comes as pressure mounts on the insurgents to enter peace talks with the government to end the nearly 17-year-old war. (AFP)
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Hello Jammu News at 1:30:00 PM 0

Herat, Jul 31: A roadside bomb hit a Kabul-bound passenger bus in western Afghanistan today, killing at least eight people and wounding around 40, mostly women and children, officials said.

"It was a bomb planted by the Taliban to hit security forces but unfortunately it got a passenger bus," Farah provincial police spokesman Muhibullah Muhib told AFP.

There was no immediate confirmation that the Taliban was responsible for the blast, but Afghanistan's largest militant group is very active in the province.

The explosion happened as the bus travelled through Bala Baluk district of Farah at 4:30 am (0000 GMT), provincial governor spokesman Naser Mehri told AFP.

Photos posted on social media purportedly of the bus showed the vehicle's blackened shell and dozens of Afghan men standing at the scene.

Civilians have borne the brunt of the 17-year conflict and improvised explosive devices, such as remotely detonated or pressure-plate bombs, are one of the main causes of casualties.

Such IEDs caused 877 civilian casualties in the first half of 2018 -- 232 deaths and 645 wounded -- accounting for 17 percent of overall casualties.

The Taliban has a heavy presence in Farah. It launched a major attempt to take over the provincial capital in May, triggering intense fighting with US and Afghan forces.

After a day-long battle, they forced the Taliban fighters to the outskirts of the city. (AFP)
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Hello Jammu News at 5:08:00 PM 0

Kabul, Jul 28: Militants attacked a midwife training centre in eastern Afghanistan today, officials said, in the latest violence in the war-torn country.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province. It was not clear if there were any casualties.

A witness near the scene told AFP he could hear sporadic gunfire, suggesting the attack may be ongoing.

Several midwives have been rescued, provincial governor spokesman Attaullah Khogyani said.

Provincial health department spokesman Inamullah Miakhil confirmed its midwife centre had been attacked.

A witness in a nearby department told AFP he heard several explosions and then saw three gunmen enter the lane where the midwife centre is located.

Jalalabad has been the scene of several attacks in recent months that have killed dozens.

Most of the attacks were claimed by the Islamic State group. (AFP)
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Hello Jammu News at 5:06:00 PM 0

Kabul, Jul 12: At least 10 people were killed and hundreds of homes destroyed in a remote area of northeastern Afghanistan after melting snow triggered a landslide, officials said today.

A mountain lake in Panjshir, a province known for its snowcapped peaks north of Kabul, overflowed and sent water and mud cascading over Peshghor village, Omar Mohammadi, spokesman for the disaster management ministry, told AFP.

Villagers using shovels and other tools were desperately searching for survivors in the mud and debris as rescue teams were deployed to the area, Mohammadi said.

"We have deployed everything at hand to help the people," he said. "Some people are missing." Disasters such as avalanches and flash floods often hit in mountainous areas of Afghanistan as snow melts in the spring and summer.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, who is in Brussels for the NATO summit, said he was "deeply saddened" by the latest natural disaster.

"A number of people have lost their lives" in the landslide, Ghani said in a statement.

He ordered "relevant authorities to provide urgent assistance to the affected people".

The landslide comes as the country is in the grip of a nearly 17-year war between Afghan security forces and the Taliban.  (AFP)
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Hello Jammu News at 1:54:00 PM 0

Kabul, Jun 30: Afghan security forces resumed offensive operations today after President Ashraf Ghani declared an end to the government's unilateral ceasefire with the Taliban.

Ghani said the ceasefire, which lasted 18 days after it was extended once and overlapped with the Taliban's unilateral three-day truce for Eid, had been "98 percent successful".

"The ceasefire is over. The Afghan security and defence forces are allowed to restart their military operations," Ghani told reporters.

The three days of no fighting were unprecedented in the nearly 17-year conflict and triggered jubilant scenes across the war-weary country.

Taliban fighters and security forces spontaneously celebrated the holiday that caps the holy month of Ramadan, hugging each other and taking selfies.

The militants were also mobbed by relieved civilians, who have borne the brunt of the war, raising hopes of a renewed push for peace talks.

Ghani said the ceasefire had shown that the majority of the insurgents wanted peace and it was the "Taliban's turn to give a positive response".

"I am ready to extend the ceasefire anytime when the Taliban are ready," he said at a press conference.

But the sight of its fighters openly mingling with security forces and civilians over Eid appeared to alarm the Taliban's leaders, who on Sunday ordered their men back to their posts.

The Taliban vowed Tuesday to continue their bloody fight against the government and their foreign backers, brushing aside rising civilian casualties.

The insurgents returned to the battlefield last week after refusing a government request to extend their ceasefire, launching attacks across the country that have seen scores killed or injured.

The renewed violence has poured cold water on hopes the truce would provide a clear path to peace talks, with the Taliban refusing to bow to pressure to lay down their arms until foreign forces withdraw from Afghanistan.

The truces did not extend to the Islamic State group, which has a relatively small but potent presence in Afghanistan, and launched two deadly attacks on ceasefire revellers during Eid. (AFP)
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Hello Jammu News at 5:56:00 PM 0

Kabul, Jun 7: Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani announced today a temporary ceasefire for Eid al-Fitr, the holiday that caps off the holy month of Ramadan, though it was not immediately clear if the Taliban had agreed.
The ceasefire will last "from the 27th of Ramadan until the fifth day of Eid-ul-Fitr," the president tweeted from an official account. 
The 27th day of Ramadan is set for Monday, June 11 while the fifth day of Eid should fall on June 15. (AFP)
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Hello Jammu News at 1:32:00 PM 0

Kabul, Jun 1: The Taliban say they "categorically reject" a statement made this week by the US commander of coalition forces in Afghanistan about "off stage" contacts and dialogue taking place between the Kabul government and the insurgents.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid says in a statement distributed to the media today that Gen. John Nicholson's remarks, made to reporters at the Pentagon from his Kabul office, were a "baseless claim." 
Nicholson said Wednesday that "mid-level, senior-level Taliban leaders" are "engaging with Afghans," adding that unspecified international organizations, foreign governments and other interested parties also are involved.
Mujahid says that "American General Nicholson is making such fabricated statements to divert attention from his failures and keep the Washington media busy with false claims instead of exposing the failed Trump (administration's) strategy" in Afghanistan. (AP)
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Hello Jammu News at 4:56:00 PM 0

Kabul, May 29: Afghan forces mistakenly killed nine people, most of them civilians, during raid on a house in eastern Nangarhar province which has been a base for the Islamic State group and other militants, officials said today.
The raid, which took place late last night in Chaparhar district, also wounded eight other civilians, said provincial governor Hayatullah Hayat. 
A local police commander was among the dead, he added.
According to the governor, gunfire had been coming from the house that was raided but the casualties were identified as mostly civilians once the operation ended. 
An investigation was underway to determine how the operation resulted in civilian casualties.
Inamullah Miakhail, a spokesman for the hospital in Nangarhar, also confirmed that nine dead bodies were brought to the hospital from the raid.
Both Taliban and the Islamic States group are active in eastern Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, in the central province of Kabul, two people - a policeman and a civilian - were killed after a bomb attached to a bicycle detonated on Monday in the Qarabagh district, said Mohammad Azem, the district governor.
Azem added that four others, three policemen and a civilian, were wounded in that attack.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack so far. The Taliban have stepped up their attacks against Afghan security forces as well as government officials since the announcement of their spring offensive in April across the country.  (AP) 
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Hello Jammu News at 12:25:00 PM 0


Kabul, Apr 18: After fighting broke out in the rural district of Chark-Logar, Salim and his family were forced to flee their home.
During the firefight, his brother was killed and Salim was shot in the stomach. It took Salim two hours until he reached a first aid post. In the process, he became separated from his wife and children. Two days later he was transferred to a hospital run by Emergency, an Italian NGO specialised in trauma care.
Salim's story is not unusual in today's Afghanistan, which is in the midst of one of the longest protracted complex emergencies in the world. It faces prolonged conflict, frequent natural disasters and mass population movements, a WHO report on Wednesday said.
The situation is made even more complicated with masses of internally displaced people, returnees, and refugees congregating in both urban centres and their outskirts. The already overwhelmed health facilities are often unable to absorb the additional burden of the new arrivals.
The Ministry of Health, with support from the Health Cluster, led by WHO, is struggling to rebuild a health system badly frayed after years of conflict. The challenges are many: damaged infrastructure, a lack of trained healthcare providers, and under-resourced healthcare facilities. The situation is further complicated by a lack of security and pervasive poverty.
More than three fourths of the population now has access to primary healthcare services but important gaps remain. Trauma care and trauma-related disability is one of the most critical issues facing Afghanistan, and the already overstretched public health system cannot tackle the problem alone.
Much of the trauma care in the country’s capital city, Kabul, is provided by the Italian NGO Emergency, which provides specialised trauma care that is unavailable in standard government facilities.
Emergency has worked in the country for nearly two decades and has treated over five million patients, and its work has been recognised by the Ministry of Health. Emergency’s Surgical Centre for War Victims in Kabul treats both the local population and welcomes incoming patients from remote areas. Its services are free of charge.
In 2017, at the request of WHO and in collaboration with the district and provincial Health Directorates, Emergency trained 497 doctors and nurses from the provinces in pre-hospital trauma and mass casualty management.
Emergency, which is a member of the Health Cluster, funds its international staff and operations through private donations, with additional funding from WHO, the Common Humanitarian Fund, and the European Commission.
In the long-term, quality healthcare for all Afghan citizens will only be met by a combination of specific goal-oriented projects, foreign aid, domestic responsibility, and time, said Dr David Lai, Afghanistan Health Cluster Coordinator. The work being done by Emergency is an example of how the country needs to utilize diverse
resources to rebuild its health sector, he said.
"The Health Cluster's mission is to support the Ministry of Public Health to provide leadership to humanitarian health response in order to prevent and reduce crisis-related illness and death. Providing healthcare for those displaced by war means healthier lives for millions, turning despair into hope," said Dr Lai. UNI
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Hello Jammu News at 12:33:00 PM 0


Islamabad, Feb 3: First meeting of Pakistan and Afghanistan Joint Working Groups is being held in Kabul on Saturday.
Addressing a press conference here on Friday, Foreign office Spokesperson Muhammad Faisal said Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua will lead the Pakistani delegation.
The meeting comes in the backdrop of a series of deadly attacks rattled Kabul, after which a high-level delegation from Afghanistan comprising the interior minister and spy chief had visited Islamabad this week with a 'personal message' from President Ashraf Ghani. 
'Pakistan had proposed five joint working groups, which focus on ensuring comprehensive engagement for countering terrorism, intelligence sharing, military, economy, trade and transit interaction, refugee repatriation and connectivity,' Dr Faisal was quoted as saying by Radio Pakistan.
Pakistan has always maintained that there is no military path to peace and stability in Afghanistan and only an Afghan led and Afghan owned peace process will ensure peace there, he added.
Dr Faisal said, 'It is time for international community to remember the plight of millions of Afghan refugees in Pakistan, who have been displaced from their homes due to decades of violence. They must return to their homes honorably. More violence in Afghanistan will only delay their dream of uniting with their loved ones.' UNI
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Hello Jammu News at 12:43:00 PM 0


Kabul, Jan 22: An eyewitness has told the BBC of the terrifying moment gunmen burst into Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel restaurant on Saturday.
The man, who is not being named for security reasons, said he was spared after saying he was an Afghan. "Where are the foreigners?" they shouted.
Fourteen foreigners are confirmed to have died, along with four Afghans.
The interior minister said the recent decision to transfer security to a private company had been a mistake.
Some 160 people were rescued after Afghan troops fought throughout the night to regain control of the building.
Three attackers were also killed in the siege, officials said. Ten people, including four civilians, were injured.
Kabul police told the BBC that nine Ukrainians, one German, one Greek and one Kazakh citizen had been confirmed dead. Two have yet to be identified.
Afghan airline Kam Air says a number of its employees were killed and some are still missing.
The Taliban, which targeted the hotel in 2011, says it was behind the latest attack. A spokesman said in a statement quoted by AFP that the group had "killed tens of foreign invaders and their puppets".
The gunmen burst into the six-floor hotel at around 21:00 local time (16:30 GMT) on Saturday evening, as guests were enjoying dinner.
The eyewitness told the BBC he was having dinner with his son when the gunmen began firing into the air with small arms.
They killed a woman - believed to be a foreigner - and turned the gun on the eyewitness himself.
He shouted "I'm Afghan". One of the gunmen shouted that they didn't kill Afghans and demanded to know "Where are the foreigners?" The men then ran out of the room to look for them.
Haseeb, another eyewitness told Tolo News that two of the gunmen had asked him to serve them food first.
"They were wearing very stylish clothes," he said. "They came to me and asked for food. I served them the food and they thanked me and took their seats. Then they took out their weapons and started shooting the people."
"There were dozens of dead bodies lying around me."
Several guests were pictured using bed sheets to try to climb down from a top-floor balcony.
Dramatic images on Afghan TV showed thick black smoke and flames rising from the imposing hilltop hotel.
Afghan special forces were lowered by helicopters on to the roof of the hotel during the night, an interior ministry spokesman said.
They were working with Western special forces to bring the siege to an end.
The ministry has promised an investigation into how the attackers breached security, which was handed to a private company two weeks ago.
Hotel manager Ahmad Haris Nayab said the gunmen had entered the hotel through a kitchen.
The Intercontinental is a state-owned hotel - not linked to the global hotel chain of the same name - which often hosts weddings, conferences and political gatherings.
Security has been tightened in Kabul since last May, when a huge truck bomb killed at least 150 people.
However, there have been several attacks in recent months. They include a bomb at a Shia cultural centre last month that killed more than 40 people. UNI
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Hello Jammu News at 2:25:00 PM 0


Kabul, Dec 28: At least 40 people have been killed and dozens wounded in a blast in Kabul near the offices of a news agency and a cultural centre, the interior ministry has said.
The explosion early on Thursday struck an area close to both the Afghan Voice news agency and Tabyan cultural centre, local media reported, the Al Jazeera News reported.
1TV News, quoting an interior ministry spokesman, said a suicide bomber was likely to have been behind the attack.
According to one survivor, activists had gathered at the Tabyan social and cultural activity centre for a meeting when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives, TOLO News reported.
Images posted to social media showed the aftermath of the blast, with the Afghan Voice office pictured ripped apart by the force of the explosion. 
Other photos showed pictures of dead bodies strewn across the ground in an outside area.
Afghan Journalists Safety Committee (AJSC) condemned the attack "in the strongest terms possible", writing on Twitter. 
The group said it was heading to the scene to assist the aid efforts.
AJSC recently reported a surge in attacks against journalists, with at least 73 cases recorded in 2017, an increase of 35 percent compared with 2016.
In May, ISIL claimed an attack targetting an Afghan state television building in Jalalabad that killed six people.
In November, at least one security guard was killed as ISIL fighters stormed Shamshad TV, a private television station.
Earlier, in January 2016, after threats from the Taliban, a minibus carrying TOLOnews employees was bombed, killing seven people during the evening rush hour.
More broadly, the Afghan capital has come under attack several times in 2017. 
On March 8, more than 30 people were killed when gunmen dressed in white lab coats stormed a hospital in the centre of the city. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) claimed responsibility for that attack, but officials considered other groups could have been responsible. 
On May 31, a truck bomb exploded near the diplomatic district, killing more than 150 people. It remains unclear who was behind the assault.
On October 21, ISIL claimed responsibility for killing at least 39 people at a Shia mosque in Kabul. UNI 
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Hello Jammu News at 1:48:00 PM 0


Kabul, Dec 25: Six people were killed on Monday in a suicide bomb attack near the compound of Afghanistan's intelligence agency in Kabul, officials say.
Another three people were injured when the attacker, who was on foot, blew himself up as agency employees were on their way to work, the BBC News reported on Monday.
The victims are reported to include women who were in a passing vehicle.
Reuters news agency reports that the Islamic State group has said it was responsible via its Amaq news agency.
The number of such bombings in Afghanistan has grown in recent months.
In October, at least 39 people were killed in an attack on a Shia mosque.
In May, a huge bomb in the diplomatic quarter - known as the Green Zone - killed more than 150 people.
It was the deadliest suicide attack by insurgents in Afghanistan since the Taliban were driven from power by US-led forces in 2001. UNI
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Hello Jammu News at 4:09:00 PM 0


Kabul, Dec 22: Soon after the UNGA rejected trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as the Israel capital, the US Vice President Mike Pence landed in Afghanistan for an unannounced visit to meet with Afghan leadership and rally US troops for his first trip to the country as vice president.
In an apparent warning to Pakistan during his visit to Afghanistan, Pence said; "Pakistan has much to gain from partnering with our efforts in Afghanistan. The days to shelter terrorists have gone. It has much to lose by continuing to harbour terrorists. Geo News reported on Thursday.
According to US media, the trip has made Pence the highest-ranking Trump administration official to visit an active US combat zone and came four months after President Donald Trump committed several thousand more US troops to the 16-year war effort.
"I believe victory is closer than ever before," US media quoted Pence as saying during his meeting with troops.
According to reports, Pence and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani discussed the changes to the US strategy in Afghanistan, progress against Taliban militants and terrorist groups and the country's delicate political state of affairs.
About an hour and a half later, Pence was back on the military base in Bagram to rally several hundred US troops, thanking them for their service during the holiday season and taking the chance to tout the direction of the new US strategy, US Media reported. UNI
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Hello Jammu News at 2:44:00 PM 0

KABUL, Aug 29: An explosion hit a bank in the Afghan capital on Tuesday, close to the heavily protected US embassy compound, killing at least one person, officials said. Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish said the blast hit the entrance to a Kabul Bank branch. The public health ministry said one person had been killed and eight wounded. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, which came as banks are busy with people withdrawing money ahead of the Muslim Eid holiday at the end of the week. REUTERS
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Hello Jammu News at 3:13:00 PM 0


KABUL, Aug 2 :  A suicide bomber attacked a convoy of international troops near the airport in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar today, a local security official said. A spokesman for the NATO-led military coalition could not immediately confirm the report. The airport in Kandahar is home to a major military base for international troops helping Afghan security forces. REUTERS 

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