Afghanistan

From Abbey Gate to today: How five years reshaped the Middle East and world policy - analysis

Other trends emerged from 2021 to 2024, including the expansion of economic blocs (BRICS, SCO), growing Russian and Chinese influence, and US allies hedging by working more closely with Beijing.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (C) poses for a photograph with Marine GySgt. Jonathan Eby (R) during an event to honor Marines who were serving during the 2021 Abbey Gate bombing, at the Pentagon on August 26, 2026 in Arlington, Virginia.
Taliban members are seen from a window as they inspect inside a prison cell at Pul-e-Charkhi prison, located on the outskirts of Kabul on October 17, 2021.

UN says two staff members detained in Afghanistan have been freed

 TOLOnews television anchor Tahmina Usmani, 23, poses for a portrait in Kabul, August 1, 2022.

Afghan journalist explains her escape from Taliban after restrictions on women in broadcasting

 Women wearing burqas pause at the side of a road in Kabul, Afghanistan October 26, 2021.

Five years after Taliban takeover, Afghan women remain trapped in deepening rights crisis


Pakistani airstrikes kill at least 13 in Afghanistan, including 11 children, Taliban says

At least 14 others were injured in strikes that violated Afghanistan's airspace and bombed civilian homes in the provinces of Kunar, Khost, and Paktika, a spokesperson added

AN AFGHAN man walks next to the site where a drug rehabilitation center was destroyed in what the Taliban said was a Pakistani airstrike, in Kabul, Afghanistan, March 18, 2026.

Taliban opens fire on Afghan protesters demonstrating against arrest of women over dress code

Sources also told Afghanistan International that the Taliban has detained a number of protesters and has begun visiting hospitals in search of injured demonstrators.

 Afghan burqa-clad women queue to receive food aid from a local charity during the Islamic holy fasting month of Ramadan in Ghazni on February 24, 2026.

Taliban official kills Iranian-Kurdish mother and daughter after failed forced marriage attempt

Sara Yousefi and her mother, Chiman Hosseinzadeh, were said to have been killed by Mofti Mohammadollah, head of the Taliban’s Hajj and Endowments Department in Kohistanat district.

Afghan internally displaced children stand near temporary tents along a river due to the ongoing conflict between Pakistani forces and Taliban security personnel in the Marawara district of Kunar province on April 12, 2026.

Twenty-two dead, dozens injured in crash involving Afghan returnees from Pakistan

Abdul Malik Niazi, a Taliban official, told The Media Line that “the accident occurred on the main highway linking Kabul with Nangarhar province. 

 Trucks transporting Afghan nationals, who were expelled from Pakistan, are parked as refugees wait for registration at the Omari refugee camp in Mohmand Dara, Torkham border, Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, April 15, 2025.

Russia warns ISIS-K recruiting Central Asian migrants for regional terror networks

Director of Russia’s Federal Security Service Alexander Bortnikov said the group’s “Khorasan Branch” had stepped up efforts to recruit members from other extremist groups.

 Illustration of ISIS terrorists.

Powerful bomb explodes near train in Pakistan's Quetta, killing at least 24

The attack, which killed at least 24 people and injured more than 70, was the latest in a series of major strikes on infrastructure in the Pakistani province that borders Iran and Afghanistan.

People gather as they search for survivors after a blast near a railway track in Quetta, Pakistan, May 24, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone

Russia says it's establishing 'full-fledged partnership' with Afghan Taliban

Russia sees a need to work with Kabul as it faces a major security threat from Islamist militant groups based in a string of countries from Afghanistan to the Middle East.

Taliban security personnel climb barefoot up a steep and sandy mountainside on a weekend at the Sayad area of Reg-e-Rawan in Kapisa province on April 24, 2026.

Iranian regime relying on foreign militias to bolster security efforts, suppress protests - report

Iran’s government has not officially acknowledged the role of these foreign militias.

A member of Iranian militia forces (Basij) gestures during an anti-Israeli march in Tehran, Iran, January 10, 2025; illustrative.

Fourteen Pakistani police officers killed in car bombing, ambush in Bannu

Three personnel have been found alive and transferred to the hospital, the officer added.

Residents gather as heavy machinery clears the rubble of a damaged police post after a car bombing in Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan May 10, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone.

Arrest of Pakistani journalist spurs dispute over Al-Qaida allegations

Supporters of Muhammad Saad bin Riaz say the accusations do not match his work as a researcher and journalist focused on regional conflicts and information warfare.

Muhammad Saad bin Riaz