Army arrests supects in kidnapping of Liban Lait owner

Suspects in the abduction of Ahmed Zeidan, the owner of Liban Lait, were arrested earlier today according to a statement by the Lebanese army. (more…)

Taliban spokesman denies that leader Mullah Omar is dead

A Taliban spokesman sayhttp://www.yalibnan.com/wp-admin/media-upload.php?post_id=27757&type=image&TB_iframe=trues the group’s phones and website were hacked, and text messages sent out saying their reclusive Afghan leader Mullah Mohammed Omar is dead — a claim the group has denied. (more…)

Obama sets course for exit from Afghanistan

President Barack Obama announced a plan on Wednesday to start withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan in a first step toward ending the long, costly war and returning America’s focus toward it’s own troubled economy. (more…)

Taliban denies report that Mullah Omar is dead

Afghanistan’s main intelligence agency said it is investigating reports that Taliban leader Mohammad Omar and some of his top commanders have left their hideout near the Afghan-Pakistan border and cannot not be located. (more…)

Pakistan suicide bomber was a woman

A woman covered in a head-to-foot burqa carried out a suicide bombing that killed more than 40 people in Pakistan, government officials said on Sunday, adding to security challenges confronting the U.S. ally. (more…)

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