Taliban

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) is in an "initial exploratory phase" in Afghanistan, the Pentagon said in a report to Congress, noting the Taliban retained its resilience in the war-torn country.
 
ISIL extremists have never formally acknowledged having a presence in Afghanistan, but fears are growing that the group is making inroads there.
 

The Taliban on June 5 admitted taking part in informal talks in Norway with an Afghan delegation, reportedly made up of women, signalling a nascent dialogue despite an escalating militant offensive.

Now towering over this violent port city in Pakistan, where Islamic militant attacks and gangland shootings remain common, is an uncommon sight in this Muslim-majority country: a 42-meter (140-foot) Christian cross.
     

Taliban insurgents attacked police checkpoints May 24 in volatile southern Afghanistan, killing at least 10 officers in the ongoing assault, authorities said.

Russia has suspended transit to NATO equipment for Afghanistan via its territory, a statement by the country's Prime Minister reads.

In the words of Dmitry Medvedev, the Foreign Ministry in Russia has been tasked with informing the relevant countries and international organizations.

Three people including a foreigner working with a European Union police unit were killed when a Taliban car bomber struck a foreign convoy May 17, the latest attack of Afghanistan's fighting season.

Pakistani troops on May 15 began a "massive" offensive to try to push the Taliban from their last major stronghold in the mountainous northwestern region of North Waziristan, moving in from north and south, officials and residents said. 

Thirty one people were abducted from a bus hijacking last February, in Afghanistan. 19 of those were released by their captors.

These people belong to a Persian minority in Afghanistan and were abducted by the Taliban over religious differences.

Seven people were killed after an army helicopter crashed in a mountainous region in the Gilgit-Baltistan territory in northern Pakistan on Friday.

The causes of the crash remain unknown, as some sources say that the helicopter crashed during an emergency landing, while others claim it was taken down by Talibans.

Foreign fighters allied with the Islamic State of Iraq (ISIL) and the Levant are training Taliban insurgents in a restive Afghan province, an official said May 8, the first such claim as the government raises the alarm over an emerging ISIL threat.