War In Afghanistan, Afghanistan | featured news

Germany says its leader is in Afghanistan to on a surprise visit to the nation's troops serving with NATO's force in a war against Taliban insurgents.

At least 53 people were killed and 90 others wounded Wednesday in an insurgent attack on an Afghanistan governor's compound where Taliban fighters were facing trial, local officials said. Nine insurgents with explosives strapped to their bodies stormed the compound in Farah province, bordering Iran, Reuters reported.

It was a harrowing international debut for Chuck Hagel, whose first trip to Afghanistan as U.S. defense secretary went dramatically off-script and challenged the American narrative about the 11-year-old war.

China, long a bystander to the conflict in Afghanistan, is stepping up its involvement as U.S.-led forces prepare to withdraw, attracted by the country's vast mineral resources but concerned that any post-2014 chaos could embolden Islamist insurgents in its own territory....

Britain's Prince Harry says he killed Afghan insurgents during sorties against the Taliban while on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan where he was a gunner in Apache attack helicopters.

But for all the enthusiasm and bravery of individual soldiers, the army still struggles to wean itself from the support of U.S. and other foreign troops... Rahmatullah, an illiterate young man with a wispy beard and remnants of teenage acne, may represent the last, best hope for Afghanistan's national army.

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta arrived in Kabul Wednesday afternoon to take stock of the war as the Obama administration weighs how quickly to draw down troops over the next two years. The trip, likely his last official visit to the war zone, will give Panetta a chance to consult with U.S. commanders and Afghan President Hamid Karzai about the future U.S. role here as the decade-long war comes to an end.

The men sought to join Al Qaeda and the Taliban and travel to Afghanistan to kill American troops, federal authorities said.

Security officials frequently talk of Mali as being “the new Afghanistan.” They fear that deep inside the country’s northern desert, al-Qaida has carved out a new home -- not only a safe haven for terrorists, but a training ground for a new generation of Islamist militants.

Hundreds of Pakistanis, joined by dozens of American activists, took off Saturday on a motorcade "march" against US drone strikes, hoping to reach a militant-riddled Afghan border region that has been the focus of many such attacks.