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One of the five senior Taliban leaders transferred to Qatar in exchange for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl played a key role in al Qaeda's plans leading up to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Mohammad Fazl, who served as the Taliban's army chief of staff and deputy defense minister prior to his detention at Guantánamo, did not have a hand in planning the actual 9/11 hijackings. Along with a notorious al Qaeda leader, however, Fazl did help coordinate a military offensive against the enemies of the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan the day before. And Osama bin Laden viewed that...

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said the U.S. did not negotiate with terrorists in the process of exchanging the transfer of five terrorism suspects for the release of the only American prisoner of war in Afghanistan. “We didn’t negotiate with terrorists,” Mr. Hagel said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “And I said and explained before, Sergeant Bergdahl is a prisoner of war. That’s a normal process in getting your prisoners back.” Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was handed over to U.S. special forces by the Taliban Saturday, with the government of Qatar serving as a go-between. Qatar is taking custody of five...

WASHINGTON, May 24, 2010 – Afghan and international forces captured a Taliban commander in Kandahar, Afghanistan, last night, the second Taliban leader seized in the region in recent days, military officials reported. An Afghan-international security force captured the man and several insurgents in the village of Kukaran after intelligence indicated insurgent activity there. The commander is believed to be responsible for leading Taliban fighters in southern Arghandab, coordinating attacks on coalition forces and distributing rockets, improvised explosive devices, small arms and ammunition to fighters throughout the area. A combined Afghan-international force captured another Taliban commander northwest of Kandahar City on...

My son is headed back to Iraq for Tour Number Two, and as I was getting stuff ready, I came across a cell phone that I got him for his first tour. It worked like a charm from Iraq, and still does. This one is going back with him. The only downside is that the calls come in at 2 AM!So, if you're interested in getting a cell phone for your Soldier or Marine, I recommend "Telestial" (www.telestial.com). A variety of phones to choose from, they all work in Iraq, I don't know about Afghanistan. Rates are about $1 per...

Kandahar - A roadside bomb in the Afghan province of Kandahar has killed five civilians. One of the victims is a child. Police say the bomb had been planted by the Taliban to kill Afghan and foreign soldiers. Taliban roadside bombs and suicide attacks last year killed nearly 1,000 Afghan civilians.

Excerpt - Dead or alive, on his 50th birthday ghost of the Hindu Kush haunts US CIA think they know where Osama bin Laden is. So do local tribesmen - hiding in the White House Osama bin Laden marks his 50th birthday today, most likely at a hideout in the tribal lands straddling Pakistan and Afghanistan. It's tempting to imagine the grey-bearded jihadi hunched over a cake with burning candles inside a cave, smiling henchmen gathered behind him. In reality it's not likely to be much of a bash. Birthday parties are frowned upon by Wahhabi puritans such as the...

Nato says as many as 150 Taleban militants have been killed in a battle in eastern Afghanistan. An Afghan military commander said the battle was sparked when fighters crossed from Pakistan into Afghanistan's Paktika province. The army responded with artillery and Nato forces with air strikes, he said.

The Taliban and al-Qaeda provided an embarrassing scene for Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf as President George Bush visited the country last week. Eager to demonstrate Pakistan’s commitment to fighting the Taliban and al-Qaeda in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas on the border with Afghanistan, the Pakistani military launched an offensive against a terrorist camp in Danda Saidgai, North Waziristan. The Islamists responded by murdering a U.S. diplomat in a suicide strike outside the U.S. Consulate in Karachi, as well as launching a counteroffensive against the seat of government in Miranshah, North Waziristan. The attack on the camp in Danda Saidgai...

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces arrested a suspected Turkish Al-Qaeda militant in a northwestern tribal region near the Afghan border, a security official said on Sunday. The man, seized on Saturday, identified himself as Mohammad Yusuf and said he was a Turkish national, a security official said. The 25-year-old was apprehended when security forces stopped a vehicle at a check point at Shah Alam, five kms from Wana, the main town in the South Waziristan region, he said.Pakistan has deployed thousands of troops into the tribal areas to hunt down Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants who crossed the border after Afghanistan's hardline...

A Pakistani military commander says the army has eliminated al-Qaida from a restive tribal region near the Afghan border. Major General Niaz Khattak says the military has crushed the al-Qaida network in the South Waziristan tribal region after months of heavy fighting. The general told reporters touring the region Saturday that the army has killed or arrested over a thousand militants in the past year. "The network has been badly mauled and militarily, sociologically, politically and logistically (is in) disarray. Local support has totally evaporated," he said. General Khattak said military intelligence shows none of the terrorist group's fighters are...

Graves become shrines to Taliban, al-Qaida fighters in Afghanistan By James Rupert Newsday MATA CHINA, Afghanistan — Standing before the rows of graves, Afghan men open their hands to the sky. Their lips move in silent prayer to honor the dead. These dead are fighters of the Taliban and al-Qaida, killed in 2001 when an American bomb crushed the mosque nearby where they had mustered outside the eastern Afghan city of Khost. Since then, U.S. officials have paid for the mosque to be rebuilt. It stands freshly painted, but empty, a few hundred yards down the road. There has been...

Americans accused of running private jail appear before Afghan judge, say they have Defense Department links Three Americans accused of detaining and abusing Afghans on an independent hunt for terrorists appeared in court Sunday, insisting they had contacts with the U.S. Defense Department, while acknowledging that they ran an illegal jail, a judge said. The trio, led by a former soldier named Jonathan K. Idema, and four Afghans face charges of hostage-taking and assault over the detention of 11 men in a house in the capital. They could be jailed for up to 20 years if convicted. U.S. and...

KABUL, Afghanistan — I saw the face of terror today. You know what? It wasn't that terrible. Don't get me wrong. What the young man was trying to do was about as terrible as you can imagine: He was trying to hurl several hand grenades at a passing military convoy and kill as many American soldiers as possible. Luckily, the soldiers of Bravo Battery, 1st Battalion 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment (search), thought fast. Pfc. Jamie Burns of Williamstown, New Jersey, leaned out of his Humvee jeep, shot and killed the young man, potentially saving the lives of many. More on...

LONDON, 20 October — The BBC correspondent who "liberated Kabul", John Simpson, has attacked "gonzo" journalists who are cheerleading the world to war. Simpson, the veteran world affairs editor of the BBC, who was smuggled into Afghanistan in an extra large burka and admitted he "got a bit carried away" when he strode into Kabul ahead of Northern Alliance fighters, was withering in his criticism of US news networks. He reserved most of his derision for Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News channel, which has now overtaken CNN in the United States, and its star reporter, Geraldo Rivera, the man it bills...