Afghans protest Quran burning at U.S. base

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – Muslim holy books that were burned in a pile of garbage at a U.S. military base in Afghanistan had been removed from a library at a nearby detention center because they contained extremist messages or inscriptions, a Western military official said Tuesday.

Afghanistan: Kabul shrine attacks kill 54

A suicide bomber struck a crowd of Shiite worshippers at a mosque in Kabul on Tuesday, killing at least 54 people in the deadliest of two attacks on a Shiite holy day – the first major sectarian assaults since the fall of the Taliban a decade ago.

Afghan woman's choice: 12 years in jail or marry her rapist and risk death

Kabul (CNN) -- The ordeal of Gulnaz did not simply begin and end with the physical attack of her rape. The rape began a years-long nightmare of further pain, culminating in an awful choice she must now make.

Suicide bomber kills former Afghan president, with a bomb in his turban

Photo: AP

Photo by AP

Photo by AP

Burhanuddin Rabbani – Photo by AP

Photo by AP

Photo by AP

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September 20, 2011 — KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A suicide attacker with a bomb in his turban posed as a Taliban peace envoy and assassinated a former Afghan president who for the past year headed a government council seeking a political settlement with the insurgents.

Kabul siege ends after 20 hours

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By Mirwais Harooni and Sanjeev Miglani

KABUL (Reuters) - A marathon siege in Kabul's diplomatic enclave ended on Tuesday with the death of the last two of a group of gunmen who had held off Western and Afghan security forces for nearly 20 hours, showering rockets on Western embassies in a dramatic show of insurgent strength.

It was the longest and most audacious militant attack on the Afghan capital in the decade since the Taliban were ousted from power and a stark reminder of insurgents' resources and reach as Western forces start to return home.

US embassy in Kabul under attack - live updates

Rockets are being fired at the US embassy in Kabul, say police in Afghanistan. The Taliban has claimed responsibliity and says the attackers are armed with rocket-propelled grenades, AK-47s and suicide vests

Nato headquarters and US embassy under attack in Kabul

Nato's headquarters and the US embassy have come under attack in the centre of Kabul in what appears to be a coordinated attack across the Afghan capital.

Islamist Leader Now Libyan Commander

by Anna Mahjar-Barducci
September 9, 2011 at 4:00 am

Abdel Hakim Belhaj, the new commander of the Libyan rebel Tripoli Military Council, is now linked to one of the most symbolic events of the Libyan revolution: the capture of the Bab al-Aziziya compound, residence of the Libyan dictator, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. Before the revolution, Belhaj was known for being one of the father-founders of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), an Islamist organization created with the dual goal of toppling Gaddafi, regarded as an infidel, and of establishing an Islamic state through armed struggle.

£70m of British aid 'paid to the Taliban': Cash wasted on bribes and protection money, say campaigners

By KIRSTY WALKER

Last updated at 2:28 AM on 13th August 2011

Millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money could be ending up in the pockets of Taliban insurgents and corrupt Afghan officials, a damning report has revealed.