Suicide attacker kills 13 in Pakistan

Pakistani police say a suicide bomber has killed at least 13 people and wounded more than 50 others in the northwestern Swat Valley. This is the third deadly attack in Pakistan this week. (more…)

Taliban militants strike central Kabul, attack hotels

Taliban militants attacked a luxury hotel and two guest houses favored by foreigners in the center of Kabul early Friday, killing at least 17 people, including some foreigners, and injuring at least 32.

Pakistan captures two more senior Taleban leaders

Pakistan has captured two more leaders of the Afghan Taleban, Afghan officials revealed today, in the latest indication of a new level of cooperation between US and Pakistani intelligence agencies.
Mullah Abdul Salam and Mullah Mir Mohammad were the “shadow governors” of the northern Afghan provinces of Kunduz and Baghlan respectively, running the Taleban’s increasingly powerful parallel administrations there.
They were detained 10 days ago by Pakistani intelligence agents in Quetta, the capital of Pakistan’s south-western province of Baluchistan, according to Engineer Mohammad Omar, the official governor of Kunduz. Timesonline

White House hails capture of Taliban leader

The White House broke its silence on Wednesday on the capture of a key Taliban military commander, calling the development a “big success for our mutual efforts in the region.”
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, after declining to speak on Tuesday about the capture of Taliban military commander Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, confirmed the arrest of Baradar. Reuters

NY Times holds Taliban news at White House request

The New York Times nailed down the news about the capture of the Taliban’s No. 2 commander in Afghanistan last week but held off publishing the information at the request of a key player in the article — the Obama administration.

The cooperation with the White House added another layer of intrigue to the Times’ exclusive report about the arrest of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar by Pakistani and U.S. intelligence forces. The newspaper broke the news on its Web site on Monday night, at least three days after its reporters learned about the action. AP

Was Pakistani Taliban leader killed?

The Pakistani military on Sunday was looking into a local report that the region’s Taliban leader had died, officials said.
State broadcaster PTV reported that Hakimullah Mehsud, the Taliban commander in Pakistan, was wounded in a drone attack this month, and that he died and was buried last week. PTV cited local sources and its correspondent in North Waziristan.
But military spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas told CNN that “we cannot yet confirm” Mehsud’s death.
Pakistani officials said Sunday they were investigating the reports
Rumors of Mehsud’s death have been swirling for days, and officials had been largely dismissive of the reports.

Karzai urges Taliban talks before US, Nato leave

Taliban fighters should drop their demand that US and NATO forces withdraw from Afghanistan before peace talks can be held, President Hamid Karzai said on Sunday, saying talks would make it easier for troops to leave.

Al Qaeda,Taliban allies of convenience, says Bin Ladin’s son

Al Qaeda and the Taliban are only allies of convenience and “do not love one another,” according to a son of Osama bin Laden, who grew up partly in a group of al Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan.
The ties between the two groups are of intense interest because international forces are contemplating talks with the Afghan Taliban to forge a political settlement in Afghanistan and foment a rift between the group and al Qaeda. Reuters

Taliban attacks Afghan capital, 5 people killed

Afghan security forces have locked down the centre of Kabul after Taliban fighters launched a series of attacks on key government targets in the Afghan capital.

The first attack on Monday was reported close to the presidential palace as Hamid Karzai, the president, swore in several of his cabinet ministers inside.

The attacks triggered protracted gun battles and at least five people had died and some 38 more were wounded, according to the public health ministry. Al Jazeera

Blast that killed 7 CIA agents blamed on Jordanian double agent

The suicide bomber who killed seven CIA employees and a Jordanian intelligence officer was a double agent the CIA had recruited to provide intelligence on senior al Qaeda leadership, according to current and former U.S. officials and an Afghan security official.
The officials said the bomber was a Jordanian doctor likely affiliated and working with al Qaeda.
The Afghan security official identified the bomber as Hammam Khalil Abu Mallal al-Balawi, who is also known as Abu Dujana al-Khurasani.
The Pakistani Taliban also claimed that Mr. al-Balawi was the bomber, Arabic-language Web sites reported Monday. WSJ