Anti-sentiments on Pakistan will mean nothing when your under Taliban rule soon and your voices are silenced into submission for having the audacity to speak ill on Pakistan. We have the power to interfere in your country and their is simply nothing you can do to stop this course of action. Your fellow countrymen should demonstrate gratitude towards Pakistan because we have housed you for over 30 years. If the name Pakistan seems so despicable then please take back the millions of refugees who bring filth to our society, because we are tired of babysitting and feeding them.
Taliban captures district in northeast Afghanistan
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Anti-sentiments on Pakistan will mean nothing when your under Taliban rule soon and your voices are silenced into submission for having the audacity to speak ill on Pakistan. We have the power to interfere in your country and their is simply nothing you can do to stop this course of action. Your fellow countrymen should demonstrate gratitude towards Pakistan because we have housed you for over 30 years. If the name Pakistan seems so despicable then please take back the millions of refugees who bring filth to our society, because we are tired of babysitting and feeding them.
A-Team
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Ok this sounded more like an emotional rant
but on a serious note wishing Taliban rule Afghanistan wont do you any favor as well, they moment they take over Afghanistan, TTP and its affiliates will find a permanant home in Afghanistan to launch attacks across the border, so be careful what you wish for.But you are right that having negative sentiments against Pakistan serves Afghans no good, we need to find ways to make peace with each and co-exist, you cant wish away your neighbor, can you ??
Ok this sounded more like an emotional rant
But you are right that having negative sentiments against Pakistan serves Afghans no good, we need to find ways to make peace with each and co-exist, you cant wish away your neighbor, can you ??
My previous correspondence under no circumstances can be classified as an emotional rant, therefore please try to upgrade the quality of your hashish brother A-Team. When the Taliban finally return to power and follow the direct orders of the Pakistani Intelligence Service, then the TTP and its affiliates will be eliminated with brute force. The collateral damage and anarchy will be contained within the borders of Afghanistan and India will not be allowed to operate in this region. Already the issue of conducting operations in Afghanistan is being discussed within the military circles. While the Kabul regime loves to malign Pakistan and whine how ineffective we are to stop the Taliban, the same accusation can be replied vice versa. The TTP has been dismantled in the tribal regions of Pakistan and the only permanent bases they have now reside in Afghanistan. Evidence of this is made clear when terrorism attacks and causality figures have decreased by 70% in this year alone. Therefore we in Pakistan know clearly who exactly is supporting and funding the operations of TTP in our country.
Personally I want to see a prosperous Afghanistan because its good for the region, however not at the expense of having a Kabul regime which is anti-Pakistani in nature and who have the audacity to question the durand line. We will never accept a Kabul government which is pro-India and allows their intelligence agency to carry out clandestine operations against the State of Pakistan. A country can never pick and choose its neighbors, however we can pursue a policy which can convince them to see our line of thought.
A-Team
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I gotta admit I had a lol moment for this part "therefore please try to upgrade the quality of your hashish brother A-Team"
That being said undermining each other is not in the long term interest of either Pakistan or Afghanistan, as you may have noticed from today's incident in Peshawar, you cant really have a stable Pakistan unless Afghanistan is stablized in the wishes of the Afghan people.
I believe the NUG and H.E Ashraf Ghani has been very vocal in trying to normalize relations with Pakistan and dispel any anti pakistani elements in the Afghan side.
I gotta admit I had a lol moment for this part "therefore please try to upgrade the quality of your hashish brother A-Team"
That being said undermining each other is not in the long term interest of either Pakistan or Afghanistan, as you may have noticed from today's incident in Peshawar, you cant really have a stable Pakistan unless Afghanistan is stablized in the wishes of the Afghan people.
I believe the NUG and H.E Ashraf Ghani has been very vocal in trying to normalize relations with Pakistan and dispel any anti pakistani elements in the Afghan side.
An individual should endeavor to engross his opponent with entertaining analogies, when attempting to elucidate a serious topic at hand. Instead of upgrading the quality of your hashish, maybe you should focus your attention in consuming special brownies, since the wild stock available is apparently superb according to some of my western friends
I would wholeheartedly agree on the notion that undermining each other will destabilize the region and the long term interests of Pakistan and Afghanistan will be severely affected. Yesterday's events in Peshawar have clearly illustrated the conjecture, that the Kabul Government is allowing the miscreants to launch attacks from Afghanistan. On contrary we in Pakistan have a mature mindset, where the public does not demand the blood of Afghans and the burning of your countries flag, where your diplomats live in fear in the capital city of Islamabad. Therefore, the tune of the Kabul government must change because the wishes of the Afghan people will mean nothing when the Taliban supported by the ISI in the future will rule your country. If the Kabul regime which encompasses warlord's from the Northern Alliance Faction develops a sincere relationship with Islamabad, then together we can bring the Taliban to the table and resolve the issue. President Ashraf Ghani has been very vocal in trying to normalize relations with Pakistan, however his pawns have made provocative gestures towards Pakistan. Let me ask you a question: Why does the Kabul government force us to include India in our trade deals?
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A-Team
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An individual should endeavor to engross his opponent with entertaining analogies, when attempting to elucidate a serious topic at hand. Instead of upgrading the quality of your hashish, maybe you should focus your attention in consuming special brownies, since the wild stock available is apparently superb according to some of my western friends
I would wholeheartedly agree on the notion that undermining each other will destabilize the region and the long term interests of Pakistan and Afghanistan will be severely affected. Yesterday's events in Peshawar have clearly illustrated the conjecture, that the Kabul Government is allowing the miscreants to launch attacks from Afghanistan. On contrary we in Pakistan have a mature mindset, where the public does not demand the blood of Afghans and the burning of your countries flag, where your diplomats live in fear in the capital city of Islamabad. Therefore, the tune of the Kabul government must change because the wishes of the Afghan people will mean nothing when the Taliban supported by the ISI in the future will rule your country. If the Kabul regime which encompasses warlord's from the Northern Alliance Faction develops a sincere relationship with Islamabad, then together we can bring the Taliban to the table and resolve the issue. President Ashraf Ghani has been very vocal in trying to normalize relations with Pakistan, however his pawns have made provocative gestures towards Pakistan. Let me ask you a question: Why does the Kabul government force us to include India in our trade deals?
Those dutch brownies
once asked for a discount on the pretext that we are the major exporter of the product to the world, the dutch had a major laugh 
TMA
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The real question is does Afghanistan truly accept Pakistan? Bharat (not all but especially the ruling ideology of the Modi's party) does not accept Pakistan. She cannot bear that a people whose ancestors were Hindus/Buddhist became Muslim and sought to make a destiny of their own. She cannot bear that a land which contains the origin of Indian civilization became Muslim.
Can Afghanistan truly accept that many Pashtuns tribes chose to become part of Pakistan along with their Muslim brothers of Punjab, Kashmir, Sindh Balochistan etc instead of going back to Afghanistan post British India?
Can Afghanistan truly accept that many Pashtuns tribes chose to become part of Pakistan along with their Muslim brothers of Punjab, Kashmir, Sindh Balochistan etc instead of going back to Afghanistan post British India?
TMA
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Bharat also has diplomatic relations with Pakistan however the current ruling ideologues do not accept Pakistan for the aforementioned reason.
Hindustani78
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10 Afghan soldiers killed in ‘insider attack’ - The Hindu
Updated: September 22, 2015 15:10 IST
An Afghan official said at least 10 Afghan Army troops have been killed in what he described as an “insider attack” in the country’s north after a fellow soldier allowed insurgents inside a check point.
Deputy provincial police chief in northern Zawzjan province, Abdul Hafiz Khashi, said the attack happened before dawn on Tuesday in Qush Tepa district.
Mr. Khashi said Alim and an unspecified number of attackers were all killed in an ensuing shootout with Afghan troops.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
Updated: September 22, 2015 15:10 IST
An Afghan official said at least 10 Afghan Army troops have been killed in what he described as an “insider attack” in the country’s north after a fellow soldier allowed insurgents inside a check point.
Deputy provincial police chief in northern Zawzjan province, Abdul Hafiz Khashi, said the attack happened before dawn on Tuesday in Qush Tepa district.
Mr. Khashi said Alim and an unspecified number of attackers were all killed in an ensuing shootout with Afghan troops.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
TMA
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Afghanistan is not India
Is Bharat operating within Afghanistan's territory in order to spread destabilization in Pakistan?
If so, is Afghanistan turning a blind eye to this?
fatman17
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Taliban captures district in northeast Afghanistan - Al Jazeera English
Hundreds of Taliban fighters have wrested control of Badakhshan province's Yamgan district in northeastern Afghanistan after attacking the district headquarters from four directions, officials have said.
An Afghan local police commander told Al Jazeera that 10 police officers were killed in the attack which started at about 4am on Saturday.
The toll differed slightly from that given by the parliamentary representative for the province, Abdul Wali Niazi, who told local media that seven police had been killed and three had been taken hostage.
Abdullah Naji Nazari, the head of the provincial council, did not confirm the casualty figures, but said the centre of Yamgan had been captured by the Taliban.
Local fighters hold frontline against Afghan Taliban
"The situation is tense and worrying if reinforcements are not sent in time," he said.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said fighters had taken control of several checkpoints and the district centre, killing several members of Afghan forces and seizing weapons.
Al Jazeera's Nicole Johnston, reporting from Bamiyan, in central Afghanistan, said security forces were regrouping and planning an offensive to retake the district.
Johnston said the country's north has become a new fighting front for the Taliban over the past two months, during its annual Spring offensive.
"That area in the north is more exposed. There are not as many security forces up there," she said.
...................
this is the 9th or 10th district captured/annexed by the afghan Taliban in Afghanistan. more districts will fall as the corrupt and inefficient afghan army disintegrates.
Hindustani78
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Taliban seize half of major Afghan city | Zee News
Kunduz: The Taliban Monday seized half of an Afghan provincial capital, sending panicked residents fleeing as the hardline Islamists for the first time breached a major city since being ousted from power in 2001.
Marauding insurgents hoisted their flag over the main square of the northern city of Kunduz, freed prisoners from the local jail and set fire to the local intelligence agency headquarters, witnesses and officials said.
The Taliban`s incursion into Kunduz barely nine months after the NATO combat mission ended marks a major psychological blow to the country`s Western-trained security forces.
"Half the city has fallen into the hands of Taliban insurgents," Kunduz police spokesman Sayed Sarwar Hussaini told a news conference, adding local forces had not yet received promised reinforcements from Kabul.
Scores of bodies littered the streets after hours of heavy fighting, Afghan media reported citing local residents, many of whom were making a hasty exit from Kunduz.
The city was swarming with Taliban fighters who were racing police vehicles and had raised the flag of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the group`s official name) over the homes of government officials, according to an AFP reporter.
"Around 3:30pm the Taliban installed their flag in the main square of Kunduz city," a government official, who requested anonymity, told AFP.
He added that the local headquarters of the National Directorate of Security, the country`s main intelligence agency, had been set on fire, and prisoners had been released from the city jail.
"Only the police headquarters is now resisting," he said.
Saad Mukhtar, head of a 200-bed government hospital, said the Taliban had control of the building and were hunting for wounded Afghan troops.This was the group`s third attempt this year to breach the city, which coincides with the first anniversary of President Ashraf Ghani`s national unity government in power.
The Taliban`s ability to penetrate the city is a major setback for Afghan forces who have been battling the militants without the front-line help of NATO forces who ended their combat mission in December 2014.
The Islamist group has been largely absent from cities since being driven from power by the US and its allies, but has maintained often-brutal rule over swathes of the countryside.
A senior tribal elder in Kunduz, 150 miles (250 kilometres) north of Kabul, said the militia had control of one of the city`s districts, while a second elder added his house was now around 100 metres (yards) from their forward line.
Federal government officials had earlier issued strong denials that the Taliban had breached the city, insisting they were repelling the insurgents on the city`s outskirts.The Taliban have been waging a bloody insurgency since a US-led invasion booted them from power in late 2001, and have stepped up attacks during a summer offensive launched in late April against the Western-backed government in Kabul.
On Sunday 13 people were killed and 33 wounded at a volleyball match in the eastern province of Paktika.
The Taliban denied being behind the attack in Paktika, a volatile frontier region considered a stronghold of their allies the Haqqani network.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan`s thinly spread security forces are increasingly having to deal with the threat from the self-styled Islamic State group, which is looking to make inroads in the troubled country.
At the weekend, it launched coordinated attacks on police checkpoints in the eastern province of Nangarhar, killing at least three officers.
The two groups -- both with their blood-curdling brand of Islamic fundamentalism -- are seen as engaged in a contest for influence in Afghanistan.
But after years of costly involvement, Washington and its allies have tired of the blood and treasure they were expending in the country, and have pulled back from frontline combat.
Most NATO troops had left by the end of 2014, although a residual force of around 13,000 remains for training and counter-terrorism operations.
Peace overtures by the government of President Ghani over the summer ended in failure, as civilian casualties soared to a record high in the first half of 2015 according to a UN report.
It said 1,592 civilians were killed, a six percent fall over last year, while the number of injured jumped four percent to 3,329.
AFP
Afghan soldiers keep watch during a battle with the Taliban in Kunduz Province, Afghanistan September 28, 2015.
Kunduz: The Taliban Monday seized half of an Afghan provincial capital, sending panicked residents fleeing as the hardline Islamists for the first time breached a major city since being ousted from power in 2001.
Marauding insurgents hoisted their flag over the main square of the northern city of Kunduz, freed prisoners from the local jail and set fire to the local intelligence agency headquarters, witnesses and officials said.
The Taliban`s incursion into Kunduz barely nine months after the NATO combat mission ended marks a major psychological blow to the country`s Western-trained security forces.
"Half the city has fallen into the hands of Taliban insurgents," Kunduz police spokesman Sayed Sarwar Hussaini told a news conference, adding local forces had not yet received promised reinforcements from Kabul.
Scores of bodies littered the streets after hours of heavy fighting, Afghan media reported citing local residents, many of whom were making a hasty exit from Kunduz.
The city was swarming with Taliban fighters who were racing police vehicles and had raised the flag of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the group`s official name) over the homes of government officials, according to an AFP reporter.
"Around 3:30pm the Taliban installed their flag in the main square of Kunduz city," a government official, who requested anonymity, told AFP.
He added that the local headquarters of the National Directorate of Security, the country`s main intelligence agency, had been set on fire, and prisoners had been released from the city jail.
"Only the police headquarters is now resisting," he said.
Saad Mukhtar, head of a 200-bed government hospital, said the Taliban had control of the building and were hunting for wounded Afghan troops.This was the group`s third attempt this year to breach the city, which coincides with the first anniversary of President Ashraf Ghani`s national unity government in power.
The Taliban`s ability to penetrate the city is a major setback for Afghan forces who have been battling the militants without the front-line help of NATO forces who ended their combat mission in December 2014.
The Islamist group has been largely absent from cities since being driven from power by the US and its allies, but has maintained often-brutal rule over swathes of the countryside.
A senior tribal elder in Kunduz, 150 miles (250 kilometres) north of Kabul, said the militia had control of one of the city`s districts, while a second elder added his house was now around 100 metres (yards) from their forward line.
Federal government officials had earlier issued strong denials that the Taliban had breached the city, insisting they were repelling the insurgents on the city`s outskirts.The Taliban have been waging a bloody insurgency since a US-led invasion booted them from power in late 2001, and have stepped up attacks during a summer offensive launched in late April against the Western-backed government in Kabul.
On Sunday 13 people were killed and 33 wounded at a volleyball match in the eastern province of Paktika.
The Taliban denied being behind the attack in Paktika, a volatile frontier region considered a stronghold of their allies the Haqqani network.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan`s thinly spread security forces are increasingly having to deal with the threat from the self-styled Islamic State group, which is looking to make inroads in the troubled country.
At the weekend, it launched coordinated attacks on police checkpoints in the eastern province of Nangarhar, killing at least three officers.
The two groups -- both with their blood-curdling brand of Islamic fundamentalism -- are seen as engaged in a contest for influence in Afghanistan.
But after years of costly involvement, Washington and its allies have tired of the blood and treasure they were expending in the country, and have pulled back from frontline combat.
Most NATO troops had left by the end of 2014, although a residual force of around 13,000 remains for training and counter-terrorism operations.
Peace overtures by the government of President Ghani over the summer ended in failure, as civilian casualties soared to a record high in the first half of 2015 according to a UN report.
It said 1,592 civilians were killed, a six percent fall over last year, while the number of injured jumped four percent to 3,329.
AFP
Afghan soldiers keep watch during a battle with the Taliban in Kunduz Province, Afghanistan September 28, 2015.
Hindustani78
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Afghanistan mounts offensive to retake Kunduz city from Taliban | Zee News
Kunduz: Afghan troops backed by US air support launched a counter-offensive Tuesday to retake Kunduz, a day after Taliban insurgents overran the strategic northern city in their biggest victory since being ousted from power in 2001.
Gun battles erupted and Humvees rolled through the city as Afghan security forces, who had retreated to the outlying airport after the fall, began a counter-strike backed by reinforcements.
The Taliban had captured government buildings and freed hundreds of prisoners on Monday, raising their trademark white flag throughout the city.
The stunning fall of the provincial capital, which has sent panicked residents fleeing, dealt a major blow to Afghanistan`s NATO-trained security forces and highlighted the insurgency`s potential to expand beyond its rural strongholds.
US forces also conducted an air strike in Kunduz province on Tuesday, a NATO statement said, without specifying the target.
The strike was carried out to "eliminate a threat to Afghan and coalition forces", the statement added.
Despite the launch of the counter-offensive, Kunduz swarmed with Taliban fighters racing stolen police vehicles and Red Cross vans.
Deputy Interior Minister Ayoub Salangi said earlier that security forces were ready to retake the city and vowed to investigate how the Taliban managed to seize a major urban centre for the first time in 14 years.
The defence ministry on Tuesday claimed that the police headquarters and city prison had been retaken, after marauding insurgents freed hundreds of prisoners including some Taliban commanders.But several other government facilities, including a 200-bed local hospital, were still under Taliban control.
"We are scared of leaving our homes, scared of being beaten by the Taliban," said Sadiqa Sherza, head of Roshani Radio, a Kunduz media network focused on women`s issues.
"There`s no electricity, no water, and ration shops are all closed."
The United Nations and other aid agencies were forced to pull their staff from the city, which has seen a huge influx of civilians displaced by recent months of fighting.
The Taliban`s incursion into Kunduz, barely nine months after the NATO combat mission concluded, raises troubling questions over the capacity of Afghan forces as they battle militants largely on their own.
"The upshot is that Afghan forces, despite their many improvements in recent years, remain a work in progress," said Michael Kugelman, Afghanistan expert at the Washington-based Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
"And given the extent of the Taliban threat, work in progress isn`t good enough."
The fall of the city coincides with the first anniversary of President Ashraf Ghani`s national unity government coming to power, as it struggles to rein in the ascendant insurgency.
It will undoubtedly boost the image of new Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour within insurgent ranks as he seeks to draw attention away from internal rifts over his leadership.
Kunduz province, which borders Tajikistan and is a major transport hub for the north of the country, could offer the Taliban a critical new base of operations beyond their traditional southern strongholds.
In a statement late Monday, Mansour congratulated his cadres over the "major victory"."In the long run, we may not be able to retain control but this victory will dispel the Afghan government`s belief that we are only strong in areas bordering Pakistan," a prominent Taliban commander told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Kunduz was the last Taliban stronghold in northern Afghanistan in November 2001.
The Islamist group has been largely absent from cities since being driven from power by the US and its allies, but has maintained often brutal rule over swathes of the countryside.
The Taliban stepped up attacks during a summer offensive launched in late April against the Western-backed government in Kabul.
On Sunday, 13 people were killed and 33 wounded at a volleyball match in the eastern province of Paktika.
The Taliban denied being behind the attack there, a volatile frontier region considered a stronghold of their allies the Haqqani network.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan`s thinly spread security forces are also having to deal with the threat from the self-styled Islamic State group, which is looking to make inroads in the troubled country.
It launched coordinated weekend attacks on police checkpoints in the eastern province of Nangarhar, killing at least three officers.
The two groups -- both with blood-curdling brands of Islamic fundamentalism -- are seen as engaged in a contest for influence in Afghanistan.
After years of costly involvement, most NATO troops pulled back from the frontlines by the end of 2014, although a residual force of around 13,000 remains for training and counter-terrorism operations.
AFP
Reuters
Afghan special forces arrive for a battle with the Taliban in Kunduz city, northern Afghanistan September 29, 2015. U.S. military planes hit Taliban positions on the outskirts of the fallen northern Afghan city of Kunduz on Tuesday, a NATO spokesman said, as Afghan national forces launched a counterattack to try to retake the city.
U.S. military launches strike on Afghan city taken by Taliban - The Hindu
The U.S. military says it has carried out an air strike on the northern Afghan city of Kunduz that was captured by the Taliban the previous day.
U.S. Army Col Brian Tribus, spokesman for the U.S. and NATO missions in Afghanistan, says the air strike early on Tuesday was conducted “in order to eliminate a threat to the force.”
The city fell on Monday with the Taliban overrunning government buildings and hoisting their flag in the city square.
Sarwar Hussaini, a provincial police spokesman, says Afghan forces have launched an operation on several fronts around Kunduz to try and retake the city.
Kunduz is the first city seized by the Taliban since their regime was overthrown in a U.S.-led invasion in 2001.
The city’s fall comes as President Ashraf Ghani marks one year office.
Kunduz: Afghan troops backed by US air support launched a counter-offensive Tuesday to retake Kunduz, a day after Taliban insurgents overran the strategic northern city in their biggest victory since being ousted from power in 2001.
Gun battles erupted and Humvees rolled through the city as Afghan security forces, who had retreated to the outlying airport after the fall, began a counter-strike backed by reinforcements.
The Taliban had captured government buildings and freed hundreds of prisoners on Monday, raising their trademark white flag throughout the city.
The stunning fall of the provincial capital, which has sent panicked residents fleeing, dealt a major blow to Afghanistan`s NATO-trained security forces and highlighted the insurgency`s potential to expand beyond its rural strongholds.
US forces also conducted an air strike in Kunduz province on Tuesday, a NATO statement said, without specifying the target.
The strike was carried out to "eliminate a threat to Afghan and coalition forces", the statement added.
Despite the launch of the counter-offensive, Kunduz swarmed with Taliban fighters racing stolen police vehicles and Red Cross vans.
Deputy Interior Minister Ayoub Salangi said earlier that security forces were ready to retake the city and vowed to investigate how the Taliban managed to seize a major urban centre for the first time in 14 years.
The defence ministry on Tuesday claimed that the police headquarters and city prison had been retaken, after marauding insurgents freed hundreds of prisoners including some Taliban commanders.But several other government facilities, including a 200-bed local hospital, were still under Taliban control.
"We are scared of leaving our homes, scared of being beaten by the Taliban," said Sadiqa Sherza, head of Roshani Radio, a Kunduz media network focused on women`s issues.
"There`s no electricity, no water, and ration shops are all closed."
The United Nations and other aid agencies were forced to pull their staff from the city, which has seen a huge influx of civilians displaced by recent months of fighting.
The Taliban`s incursion into Kunduz, barely nine months after the NATO combat mission concluded, raises troubling questions over the capacity of Afghan forces as they battle militants largely on their own.
"The upshot is that Afghan forces, despite their many improvements in recent years, remain a work in progress," said Michael Kugelman, Afghanistan expert at the Washington-based Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
"And given the extent of the Taliban threat, work in progress isn`t good enough."
The fall of the city coincides with the first anniversary of President Ashraf Ghani`s national unity government coming to power, as it struggles to rein in the ascendant insurgency.
It will undoubtedly boost the image of new Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour within insurgent ranks as he seeks to draw attention away from internal rifts over his leadership.
Kunduz province, which borders Tajikistan and is a major transport hub for the north of the country, could offer the Taliban a critical new base of operations beyond their traditional southern strongholds.
In a statement late Monday, Mansour congratulated his cadres over the "major victory"."In the long run, we may not be able to retain control but this victory will dispel the Afghan government`s belief that we are only strong in areas bordering Pakistan," a prominent Taliban commander told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Kunduz was the last Taliban stronghold in northern Afghanistan in November 2001.
The Islamist group has been largely absent from cities since being driven from power by the US and its allies, but has maintained often brutal rule over swathes of the countryside.
The Taliban stepped up attacks during a summer offensive launched in late April against the Western-backed government in Kabul.
On Sunday, 13 people were killed and 33 wounded at a volleyball match in the eastern province of Paktika.
The Taliban denied being behind the attack there, a volatile frontier region considered a stronghold of their allies the Haqqani network.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan`s thinly spread security forces are also having to deal with the threat from the self-styled Islamic State group, which is looking to make inroads in the troubled country.
It launched coordinated weekend attacks on police checkpoints in the eastern province of Nangarhar, killing at least three officers.
The two groups -- both with blood-curdling brands of Islamic fundamentalism -- are seen as engaged in a contest for influence in Afghanistan.
After years of costly involvement, most NATO troops pulled back from the frontlines by the end of 2014, although a residual force of around 13,000 remains for training and counter-terrorism operations.
AFP
Reuters
Afghan special forces arrive for a battle with the Taliban in Kunduz city, northern Afghanistan September 29, 2015. U.S. military planes hit Taliban positions on the outskirts of the fallen northern Afghan city of Kunduz on Tuesday, a NATO spokesman said, as Afghan national forces launched a counterattack to try to retake the city.
U.S. military launches strike on Afghan city taken by Taliban - The Hindu
The U.S. military says it has carried out an air strike on the northern Afghan city of Kunduz that was captured by the Taliban the previous day.
U.S. Army Col Brian Tribus, spokesman for the U.S. and NATO missions in Afghanistan, says the air strike early on Tuesday was conducted “in order to eliminate a threat to the force.”
The city fell on Monday with the Taliban overrunning government buildings and hoisting their flag in the city square.
Sarwar Hussaini, a provincial police spokesman, says Afghan forces have launched an operation on several fronts around Kunduz to try and retake the city.
Kunduz is the first city seized by the Taliban since their regime was overthrown in a U.S.-led invasion in 2001.
The city’s fall comes as President Ashraf Ghani marks one year office.
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