national security forces

The Afghan foreign minister on June 20 welcomed Turkey's willingness to secure Kabul airport after the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan, saying it is necessary for the presence of the diplomatic community in the country.

With a solemn ceremony on May 2, Bulgaria will send the 38th contingent of the armed forces to participate in NATO's mission in Afghanistan "Resolute Support". The ritual will take place at 14:00 in Svoboda Square in Haskovo and will include Deputy Minister of Defense Atanas Zapryanov and Deputy Chief of Defense Lieutenant General Dimitar Iliev.

Afghans mourned the loss of family members, friends and colleagues yesterday, a day after a massive truck bomb exploded in the capital, leaving at least 90 people dead and more than 450 others wounded in one of the worst extremist attacks since the drawdown of foreign forces from Afghanistan in 2014.

All political attempts to end the three-decade-long conflict between Turkey's security forces and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) are now things of the past, President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an has said, vowing that ongoing joint military-police operations are the only way to "root the terrorist organization out of Turkey and the region."

Backed by allied Shiite and Sunni fighters, Iraqi security forces on Monday began a large-scale military operation to recapture Saddam Hussein's hometown from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), state TV said, a major step in a campaign to reclaim a large swath of territory in northern Iraq controlled by the militants.