Another terror attack strikes Afghanistan, this time in a mine blast in Asadabad city which lies in the center of Kunar province. According to the sources the explosion took place on a Taliban range of vehicles.

Afghanistan: Several embassies in Kabul issue threat alert advisories

Another terror attack strikes Afghanistan, this time in a mine blast in Asadabad city which lies in the center of Kunar province. According to the sources the explosion took place on a Taliban range of vehicles. Two people have reportedly been killed and 13 others injured. Govt sources say a police chief of Shigel district has been killed.

Afghanistan: 2 killed and 13 others injured including in a bomb blast in Asadabad city

Afghanistan: Mine blast rocks Asadabad city in Kunar province

The death toll from multiple explosions outside a girls' school in Afghanistan's capital Kabul has risen to 168. A series of blasts shook the neighbourhood of Dasht-e-Barchi, home to a large community of Shi'ites from the Hazara ethnic minority on Saturday.

Death toll mounts to 68 from blasts near Afghanistan girls' school

At least 15 children have been killed&nbsp;in a motorbike bomb blast in east Afghanistan on Friday, officials confirmed.&nbsp;

The motorbike was loaded with explosives and was parked near a house in Agho Jan village in Gelan district where several people came to attend a Quran recitation ceremony, the Interior Affairs Ministry's spokesman Tariq Arian was quoted as saying by TOLO News.&nbsp;

Watch |&nbsp;

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The spokesperson also earlier said that at least 15 people were killed in the blast with 20 others being injured.&nbsp;

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Later, provincial governor's spokesman Waheedullah Jumazada said that at least 15&nbsp;people have lost their lives in the blast as reported by news agency AFP.&nbsp;

"Unfortunately, as a result of this incident 15 people, all children, were martyred," he said.

Afghan police also confirmed the death toll of children and said that 20 others have been wounded.

The government forces and Taliban have regularly clashed with each other in the Ghazni province.

Last month, 30 security personnel were killed after a suicide car bomber blew up at an army base near Ghazni city.&nbsp;

Despite a deal signed by the US and Taliban and amid the ongoing intra-Afghan negotiations, the country has been regularly hit by bomb blasts.

The government has blamed the Taliban for many of these attacks.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

At least 15 children have been killed in a motorbike bomb blast in east Afghanistan on Friday, officials confirmed. The motorbike was loaded with explosives and was parked near a house in Agho Jan village in Gelan district where several people came to attend a Quran recitation ceremony, the Interior Affairs Ministry's spokesman Tariq Arian was quoted as saying by TOLO News.

At least 15 children have been killed in a motorbike bomb blast in east Afghanistan on Friday, officials confirmed. The motorbike was loaded with explosives and was parked near a house in Agho Jan village in Gelan district where several people came to attend a Quran recitation ceremony, the Interior Affairs Ministry's spokesman Tariq Arian was quoted as saying by TOLO News. Watch | The spokesperson also earlier said that at least 15 people were killed in the blast with 20 others being injured. Also read | Afghanistan, counter-terror top focus by PM Modi at India-Uzbekistan virtual summit Later, provincial governor's spokesman Waheedullah Jumazada said that at least 15 people have lost their lives in the blast as reported by news agency AFP. "Unfortunately, as a result of this incident 15 people, all children, were martyred," he said. Afghan police also confirmed the death toll of children and said that 20 others have been wounded. The government forces and Taliban have regularly clashed with each other in the Ghazni province. Last month, 30 security personnel were killed after a suicide car bomber blew up at an army base near Ghazni city. Despite a deal signed by the US and Taliban and amid the ongoing intra-Afghan negotiations, the country has been regularly hit by bomb blasts. The government has blamed the Taliban for many of these attacks.

At least 15 children killed in motorbike bomb blast in Afghanistan

Former Afghan television presenter Yama Siawash was killed in bomb attack on Saturday in Kabul. He was killed as a bomb attached to his vehicle exploded near his home. Two other civilians were killed in the blast. Siawash used to be prominent political and current affairs presenter with Tolo News and was known for hard hitting style of interviewing. Tolo News is Afghanistan's biggest private TV channel.

Afghanistan's interior ministry has blamed Haqqani network, a group linked to the Taliban. It did not claim responsibility for the blast in the immediate aftermath.

"Such targeted attacks and explosions of sticky bombs is the continuation of crimes by Haqqani network and the Taliban," Tariq Arian, spokesman for the ministry, told reporters.

Haqqani network has been designated by the US as a terrorist group.

Siawash's death drew immediate condemnation from senior Afghan officials and foreign diplomats.

"I am shocked at the killing of former Tolo News anchor Yama Siawash," Ross Wilson, US charge d'affaires in Kabul, said on Twitter.

"This attack is an assault on freedom of the press, one of Afghanistan's core democratic principles." 
Abdullah Abdullah, who heads the country's overall peace and reconciliation process, also said Siawash's murder targeted freedom of expression in Afghanistan.

"This is an unforgivable and unforgettable crime," he said in a statement.

Targetted killings

The Afghan Journalists Safety Committee, a panel set up by media networks to oversee security for journalists in the country, called for "identifying and prosecuting the perpetrators" of the attack.

President Ashraf Ghani ordered an investigation into the murders, the presidential palace said.

Targeted killings of prominent figures, including journalists, clerics, politicians and rights activists, have become more common in recent months amid growing violence in the country.

On Thursday, the father of Zarifa Ghafari, one of Afghanistan's first female mayors, was gunned down in front of his house in Kabul.

His assassination was condemned by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who had awarded Ghafari with the International Women of Courage award earlier this year.

US watchdog Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) said in a report this week that violent attacks in the country had surged by 50 per cent during three months to September when compared to the previous quarter.

Dozens of people were killed in less than two weeks in Kabul in brutal attacks that also left scores wounded. 
On Monday, a deadly raid by militants on Kabul University left 22 people dead, many of them students.

The Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for the attack but the government blamed the Haqqani network.

The attack on the university came just days after a suicide bombing near an educational centre killed 24 people. That attack was also claimed by IS.

(With AFP inputs)

Former Afghan television presenter Yama Siawash was killed in bomb attack on Saturday in Kabul. He was killed as a bomb attached to his vehicle exploded near his home.

Former Afghan television presenter Yama Siawash was killed in bomb attack on Saturday in Kabul. He was killed as a bomb attached to his vehicle exploded near his home. Two other civilians were killed in the blast. Siawash used to be prominent political and current affairs presenter with Tolo News and was known for hard hitting style of interviewing. Tolo News is Afghanistan's biggest private TV channel. Afghanistan's interior ministry has blamed Haqqani network, a group linked to the Taliban. It did not claim responsibility for the blast in the immediate aftermath. "Such targeted attacks and explosions of sticky bombs is the continuation of crimes by Haqqani network and the Taliban," Tariq Arian, spokesman for the ministry, told reporters. Haqqani network has been designated by the US as a terrorist group. Siawash's death drew immediate condemnation from senior Afghan officials and foreign diplomats. "I am shocked at the killing of former Tolo News anchor Yama Siawash," Ross Wilson, US charge d'affaires in Kabul, said on Twitter. "This attack is an assault on freedom of the press, one of Afghanistan's core democratic principles." Abdullah Abdullah, who heads the country's overall peace and reconciliation process, also said Siawash's murder targeted freedom of expression in Afghanistan. "This is an unforgivable and unforgettable crime," he said in a statement. Targetted killings The Afghan Journalists Safety Committee, a panel set up by media networks to oversee security for journalists in the country, called for "identifying and prosecuting the perpetrators" of the attack. President Ashraf Ghani ordered an investigation into the murders, the presidential palace said. Targeted killings of prominent figures, including journalists, clerics, politicians and rights activists, have become more common in recent months amid growing violence in the country. On Thursday, the father of Zarifa Ghafari, one of Afghanistan's first female mayors, was gunned down in front of his house in Kabul. His assassination was condemned by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who had awarded Ghafari with the International Women of Courage award earlier this year. US watchdog Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) said in a report this week that violent attacks in the country had surged by 50 per cent during three months to September when compared to the previous quarter. Dozens of people were killed in less than two weeks in Kabul in brutal attacks that also left scores wounded. On Monday, a deadly raid by militants on Kabul University left 22 people dead, many of them students. The Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for the attack but the government blamed the Haqqani network. The attack on the university came just days after a suicide bombing near an educational centre killed 24 people. That attack was also claimed by IS. (With AFP inputs)

Afghanistan: Former TV presenter killed in bomb attack

At least 15 people have been killed and more than 40 wounded in a suicide car bomb attack that targeted a government building in the eastern Afghan.

15 killed, over 40 people wounded in Afghanistan car bombing

A foreign national was killed and at least five other people wounded in a grenade attack on a United Nations vehicle in Kabul on Sunday, an Afghan official said.

The attack happened on a road frequently used by UN traffic shuttling workers between central Kabul and a large UN compound on the outskirts of the capital.

"At around 6:20 pm (1350 GMT) a grenade was hurled at a UN vehicle," interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said.

Aside from the one fatality, Rahimi said five other people -- including two Afghan staff -- were wounded. The nationalities of the other victims were not released.

A UN official did not immediately return a message seeking comment, and no group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. The Taliban did not respond to a query.

The blast comes during what has been a period of relative and uneasy calm in Kabul, where the rate of large-scale attacks has dropped in recent weeks.

The comparative lull followed a blood-stained presidential campaign season that ended with a general election nearly two months ago.

But Afghans are still waiting for the results of that September 28 poll, with a recount bogged down by various technical difficulties and complaints from main candidates.

Additionally, Afghans are waiting to see what might happen next in negotiations between the Taliban and the US.

President Donald Trump in September ended those yearlong talks as Taliban violence continued, but on Friday he suggested to US broadcaster Fox News that negotiations could be getting underway again.

Aid agencies and non-governmental groups are sometimes targeted in Afghanistan's war.&nbsp;

For instance, the Taliban in May targeted Counterpart International, a US-funded non-profit group working with marginalised people. Nine people were killed in that attack.

But the UN's white vehicles, easily identifiable with the world body's initials painted on the side, are rarely involved in attacks and circulate routinely around Kabul and in the provinces.

In 2011, seven foreign UN workers -- including four Nepalis, a Swede, a Norwegian and a Romanian -- were killed in an attack on a UN compound in the northern city of Mazar-i-Shari 
&nbsp;

A foreign national was killed and at least five other people wounded in a grenade attack on a United Nations vehicle in Kabul on Sunday, an Afghan official said.

A foreign national was killed and at least five other people wounded in a grenade attack on a United Nations vehicle in Kabul on Sunday, an Afghan official said. The attack happened on a road frequently used by UN traffic shuttling workers between central Kabul and a large UN compound on the outskirts of the capital. "At around 6:20 pm (1350 GMT) a grenade was hurled at a UN vehicle," interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said. Aside from the one fatality, Rahimi said five other people -- including two Afghan staff -- were wounded. The nationalities of the other victims were not released. A UN official did not immediately return a message seeking comment, and no group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. The Taliban did not respond to a query. The blast comes during what has been a period of relative and uneasy calm in Kabul, where the rate of large-scale attacks has dropped in recent weeks. The comparative lull followed a blood-stained presidential campaign season that ended with a general election nearly two months ago. But Afghans are still waiting for the results of that September 28 poll, with a recount bogged down by various technical difficulties and complaints from main candidates. Additionally, Afghans are waiting to see what might happen next in negotiations between the Taliban and the US. President Donald Trump in September ended those yearlong talks as Taliban violence continued, but on Friday he suggested to US broadcaster Fox News that negotiations could be getting underway again. Aid agencies and non-governmental groups are sometimes targeted in Afghanistan's war. For instance, the Taliban in May targeted Counterpart International, a US-funded non-profit group working with marginalised people. Nine people were killed in that attack. But the UN's white vehicles, easily identifiable with the world body's initials painted on the side, are rarely involved in attacks and circulate routinely around Kabul and in the provinces. In 2011, seven foreign UN workers -- including four Nepalis, a Swede, a Norwegian and a Romanian -- were killed in an attack on a UN compound in the northern city of Mazar-i-Shari

Afghanistan: Foreign national killed as UN vehicle hit in Kabul blast

Afghanistan's poverty rate has worsened sharply over the past five years as the economy has stalled and the Taliban insurgency has spread, with more than half the population living on less than a dollar a day, a survey published on Monday showed.

The Afghanistan Living Conditions Survey (ALCS), a joint study by the European Union and Afghanistan's Central Statistics Organisation, showed the national poverty rate rising to 55 per cent in 2016-17 from 38 per cent in 2011-12.

"The high poverty rates represent the combined effect of stagnating economic growth, increasing demographic pressures, and a deteriorating security situation," Shubham Chaudhuri, World Bank director for Afghanistan, said in a commentary about the survey.

The report underlines the problems facing the Western-backed government in Kabul which needs economic growth to help replace foreign aid and to provide jobs for its fast-growing population.

As international forces have withdrawn and the billions of dollars in foreign aid that once poured in have dried up, Afghanistan's battered agricultural economy has struggled.

More than a decade and a half after a US-led campaign toppled the Taliban in 2001, the poverty line was defined as an income of 70 afghanis, or about one US dollar, per person a day.

The ALCS report comes at a time when 20 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces are suffering from serious drought and international aid agencies are seeking millions of dollars to help them.

Food insecurity has risen from 30.1 per cent to 44.6 per cent in five years, meaning many more people are forced to sell their land, take their children out of school to work or depend on food aid, the survey found.

Chaudhuri said the survey was the first estimate of the economic situation since Afghan forces took over security responsibilities in 2014 from international troops.

"In recent years, as population growth outstripped economic growth, an increase in poverty was inevitable," he said on the World Bank blog site.

The survey found that 50 per cent of the population is younger than 15.

This month, President Ashraf Ghani's government said it had listed job creation among its priorities and aimed at creating 2.1 million jobs within three years.

However, according to the IMF, the economy is set to grow at 2.5-3 per cent in 2017-18, too slowly to stop unemployment from rising.

The needs to produce some 400,000 new jobs a year to keep pace with population growth and tens of thousands of qualified people struggle to find work in cities, and farmers were unable to earn a sustainable livelihood due to the drought.

Officials at the European Union said the ALCS report was based on data collected from 21,000 households over 12 months.

Afghanistan's poverty rate has worsened sharply over the past five years as the economy has stalled and the Taliban insurgency has spread, with more than half the population living on less than a dollar a day, a survey published on Monday showed

Afghanistan's poverty rate has worsened sharply over the past five years as the economy has stalled and the Taliban insurgency has spread, with more than half the population living on less than a dollar a day, a survey published on Monday showed. The Afghanistan Living Conditions Survey (ALCS), a joint study by the European Union and Afghanistan's Central Statistics Organisation, showed the national poverty rate rising to 55 per cent in 2016-17 from 38 per cent in 2011-12. "The high poverty rates represent the combined effect of stagnating economic growth, increasing demographic pressures, and a deteriorating security situation," Shubham Chaudhuri, World Bank director for Afghanistan, said in a commentary about the survey. The report underlines the problems facing the Western-backed government in Kabul which needs economic growth to help replace foreign aid and to provide jobs for its fast-growing population. As international forces have withdrawn and the billions of dollars in foreign aid that once poured in have dried up, Afghanistan's battered agricultural economy has struggled. More than a decade and a half after a US-led campaign toppled the Taliban in 2001, the poverty line was defined as an income of 70 afghanis, or about one US dollar, per person a day. The ALCS report comes at a time when 20 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces are suffering from serious drought and international aid agencies are seeking millions of dollars to help them. Food insecurity has risen from 30.1 per cent to 44.6 per cent in five years, meaning many more people are forced to sell their land, take their children out of school to work or depend on food aid, the survey found. Chaudhuri said the survey was the first estimate of the economic situation since Afghan forces took over security responsibilities in 2014 from international troops. "In recent years, as population growth outstripped economic growth, an increase in poverty was inevitable," he said on the World Bank blog site. The survey found that 50 per cent of the population is younger than 15. This month, President Ashraf Ghani's government said it had listed job creation among its priorities and aimed at creating 2.1 million jobs within three years. However, according to the IMF, the economy is set to grow at 2.5-3 per cent in 2017-18, too slowly to stop unemployment from rising. The needs to produce some 400,000 new jobs a year to keep pace with population growth and tens of thousands of qualified people struggle to find work in cities, and farmers were unable to earn a sustainable livelihood due to the drought. Officials at the European Union said the ALCS report was based on data collected from 21,000 households over 12 months.

Afghanistan's poverty rate rises as economy suffers

At least seven civilians, including a woman and three children, were killed when their truck hit a roadside bomb in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, officials said.

The villagers were travelling from Pacheer Agam district to a nearby village in Nangarhar province, Hijratullah Rahmani district governor of Pacheer Agam told AFP.

&quot;Unfortunately, in the blast, seven civilians, including a woman and three children were killed and one wounded,&quot; he said.

No-one claimed responsibility, but the interior ministry in a statement blamed &quot;enemies of peace and stability,&quot; a term Afghan officials use to refer to Taliban.

Nangarhar is also home to Islamic State group fighters, who are trying to expand their presence in Afghanistan by winning over sympathizers, recruiting followers and challenging the Taliban on their own turf.

Afghan civilians are paying a heavy price for the escalating conflict across the country. A total of 2,562 civilians were killed and another 5,835 wounded in the first nine months of 2016, according to a UN report.

Last week, over 50 people, mostly civilians, were killed in multiple Taliban bombings across Afghanistan.&nbsp; 
 
(AFP) 
&nbsp;

No-one has claimed responsibility, but the interior ministry blames Taliban for the attack

At least seven civilians, including a woman and three children, were killed when their truck hit a roadside bomb in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, officials said. The villagers were travelling from Pacheer Agam district to a nearby village in Nangarhar province, Hijratullah Rahmani district governor of Pacheer Agam told AFP. "Unfortunately, in the blast, seven civilians, including a woman and three children were killed and one wounded," he said. No-one claimed responsibility, but the interior ministry in a statement blamed "enemies of peace and stability," a term Afghan officials use to refer to Taliban. Nangarhar is also home to Islamic State group fighters, who are trying to expand their presence in Afghanistan by winning over sympathizers, recruiting followers and challenging the Taliban on their own turf. Afghan civilians are paying a heavy price for the escalating conflict across the country. A total of 2,562 civilians were killed and another 5,835 wounded in the first nine months of 2016, according to a UN report. Last week, over 50 people, mostly civilians, were killed in multiple Taliban bombings across Afghanistan. (AFP)

Seven civilians dead in Afghanistan bomb blast