Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A powerful suicide bombing targeted an under-construction medical facility on Wednesday near Bagram Air Base, the main American base north of the Afghan capital, the U.S. military said.

The attacker struck the facility that is being built to help the Afghan people who live in the area, the U.S. military said. There were no coalition casualties and the base remains secure, the statement said.

KABUL, Dec 6 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Over 600 Daesh militants, including Pakistanis, Central Asians and Iranians, surrendered over the past two weeks in Afghanistan, said the country’s Defense Ministry. 

Days after Afghan officials announced clearing the long-held bastions of Daesh in the country’s east, along the disputed Durand Line border with Pakistan, the Defense Ministry said 18 more militants, accompanied by 24 women and 31 children, surrendered on Friday.

With this, the total number of those associated with the group surrendering surpassed 600, it said.

JALALABAD, Afghanistan, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- Five employees of an aid agency were shot dead and one international staff member of the agency was wounded when terrorists attacked a vehicle in Jalalabad city, capital of Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province on Wednesday, a provincial government spokesman said.

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Notorious for leaks and chastened by previous security lapses, the White House went to unusual lengths to keep President Donald Trump’s Thanksgiving trip to Afghanistan under wraps, devising a cover story for his movements that included posting scripted tweets while he was in the air, administration officials said.

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump’s first visit to Afghanistan (all times local):

12:20 a.m.

President Donald Trump is returning to the U.S. after an unannounced trip to Afghanistan, his first visit to the site of America’s longest war.

Trump took off after midnight from Bagram Air Field after several hours with the troops and a brief meeting with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

Trump says the U.S. and Taliban have been engaged in ongoing peace talks and he thinks the Taliban want to make a deal.

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (AP) — President Donald Trump paid a surprise Thanksgiving visit to Afghanistan, where he announced the U.S. and Taliban have been engaged in ongoing peace talks and said he believes the Taliban want a cease-fire.

Trump arrived at Bagram Air Field shortly after 8:30 p.m. local time Thursday and spent 3½ hours on the ground during his first trip to the site of America’s longest war. He served turkey and thanked the troops, delivered a speech and sat down with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani before leaving just after midnight.

KABUL, Nov 27 (NNN-AGENCIES) – More than 375,000 Afghans were internally displaced so far in 2019, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Afghanistan reported.

“In 2019, displacement due to ongoing conflict and natural disasters is continuing to drive humanitarian needs in Afghanistan. More than 375,800 people have left their homes this year, due to fighting. Many of these people remain displaced across the country, as conflict and poverty prevent them from returning to their areas of origin,” the agency said today.

KABUL, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- The UN mission in Afghanistan has condemned a bomb attack which claimed the live of a UN international staff member in Afghanistan's Kabul, a statement of the mission reaching Xinhua on Monday said.

The incident occurred on Sunday evening when a man hurled a hand grenade on an UN-marked vehicle in Microryan-e-Chahrum locality in Police District 9 of the city.

"Our deepest condolences are with our colleague's family, who have been informed," United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said in the statement.

KABUL, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Afghanistan has become a member of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Executive Board, Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported on its website on Saturday.

"At the UNESCO's General Conference-40th Session that started on Nov. 12, 2019 at its Headquarters in Paris; Member States elected new members of the Executive Board for a four year term," the report said.

Kabul, Nov 20 (AP/PTI) The US forces in Afghanistan in a statement says that two US service members have been killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan.

The statement says Wednesday that the cause of the crash is under investigation, however preliminary reports do not indicate it was caused by enemy fire.

It added further that in accordance with US Department of Defense policy, the names of the service members killed in action are being withheld until 24 hours after notification of next of kin is complete.