Afghanistan

President Donald Trump says the United States will continue to maintain a military presence in Afghanistan even after a peace deal with the Taliban is reached. … Trump’s comments come as U.S. and Taliban negotiators are engaged in a ninth round of talks in the Qatari capital, Doha, to seal a historic deal to end the 18-year Afghan conflict.

American casualties in the long war, still a fraction of the Afghan losses, are rising steadily as the United States take a more aggressive role amid peace talks.

Afghanistan's president has vowed to eliminate all safe havens of the Islamic State. Ashraf Ghani's comments Monday, on Afghanistan's centennial Independence Day, come as the South Asian country is still recovering from the shock of a bombing at a wedding late Saturday that killed at least 63 people, including children, and wounded 183. … The attack was one of the worst against Afghan civilians in recent years.

Afghanistan faces a presidential election next month but few believe the vote will take place as the United States and the Taliban inch closer to a deal that could end the nearly 18-year war but bring uncertainty about almost everything else.

A huge bomb outside a police station in the Afghan capital Kabul has killed at least 14 people and injured nearly 150. The explosion sent a large plume of black smoke into the sky and left nearby buildings in ruins. Most of those wounded were civilians. The Taliban say they carried out the attack.

The UN Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has expressed outrage at a Taliban attack in Kabul, that led to scores” of civilians casualties on Wednesday. In a Tweet, the Mission said that such “indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks in heavily populated civilian areas must stop”.

The Taliban says it is hopeful an agreement will be reached with the United States to end the 18-year-old war in Afghanistan when the two adversaries meet later this week in Qatar for a crucial round of peace negotiations.

U.S. President Donald Trump wants combat forces reduced in Afghanistan by the next U.S. presidential election, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday, in comments that underlined the growing pressure from Washington to cut troop numbers there.

[…] While the number of injured civilians in the second quarteris comparable to the first quarter of 2019, UNAMA documented a 27per cent increase in civilian deaths from the first to second quarter in 2019.

The campaign to elect Afghanistan’s new president started Sunday amid fear of foul play, insecurity and doubts whether the vote — set for September 28 — will actually take place.