Afghan Taliban strikes near U.S. consulate.

Afghan Taliban strikes near U.S. consulate.

Official says a car bomb has gone off near the U.S. consulate in western Afghanistan.

Afghan security personnel investigate the site of a suicide car bombing and a gunfight near the U.S. consulate in Herat Province, west of Kabul, Afghanistan on Sept. 13, 2013.(Photo: Hoshang Hashimi, AP)

USA TODAY | 13 Sep 2013 :: Taliban militants staged a suicide car bombing outside the United States consulate in the western Afghan city of Herat early Friday, killing two Afghan police and a security guard.

U.S. and Afghan security forces then fought off an attack by insurgents. No Americans were injured in the attack and the U.S. consulate said its staff "performed superbly."

The Taliban subsequently claimed responsibility for the attack in a phone call to the Associated Press.

A statement posted on the ISAF: Nato forces in Afghanistan Facebook page from U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan James Cunningham said: "We are grateful for the quick response of the Afghan and ISAF security forces who secured the facility and kept our personnel safe."

State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf told said in a statement that the assault began around 5:30 a.m., when "a truck carrying attackers drove to the front gate, and attackers — possibly firing rocket propelled grenades and assault rifles — started firing at Afghan forces and security guards on the exterior of the gates. Shortly after, the entire truck exploded, extensively damaging the front gate."

"Afghan civilians and Afghans on contract to the consulate were also killed or injured," Ambassador Cunningham said, without giving any figures.

Robert Hilton, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, said that "all consulate personnel are safe and accounted for."

Herat lies near Afghanistan's border with Iran and is considered one of the better developed and safer cities in the country, with a strong Iranian influence. Most of the violence in Afghanistan has been concentrated in the east and the south.(Courtesy:USA TODAY)

Army, Pakistani Taliban exchange prisoners ahead of likely talks.

Army, Pakistani Taliban exchange prisoners ahead of likely talks.

Pakistani policemen escort a suspected
 militant of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan
. – File Photo by AFP

DERA ISMAIL KHAN | AP | 11 Sep 2013  ::  The armed forces of Pakistan and Taliban militants exchanged prisoners Wednesday as a confidence building measure ahead of possible peace talks, intelligence officials and a militant commander said.

The exchange included six militants of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and two paramilitary Frontier Corps soldiers, officials and the commander said.

It occurred in the Shawal area of the South Waziristan tribal region. The militants were subsequently taken to neighboring North Waziristan, the country's main Taliban sanctuary.

Militants fired in the air with joy when their colleagues were freed, the intelligence officials said. The officials and the Taliban commander spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to journalists.

The release occurred only days after Pakistan's main political parties endorsed peace negotiations with the Taliban and their allies Monday as the best way to end a decade-long insurgency that has killed thousands of people.

The exchange was meant to build confidence between the government and the militants before formal peace talks, the Pakistani Taliban commander said.

Senior Taliban leaders are currently discussing whether to take the government up on its offer to hold negotiations, said the commander and one of his colleagues.

The Taliban said they were open to talks at the end of last year but withdrew that offer in May after the group's deputy leader, Waliur Rehman was killed in a US drone strike.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif campaigned on a platform of holding peace talks and has maintained that line since he took office in June. He scored a victory when his stance was endorsed by other parties on Monday – a decision that was generally welcomed by the Taliban.(Courtesy:Dawn)

Taliban claim attack on American base in eastern Afghanistan.

Taliban claim attack on American base 

in eastern Afghanistan.

Al Arabiya | 02  Sep 2013 :: Afghan Taliban militants on Monday claimed responsibility for an attack on a U.S. base in eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistani border, according to AFP news agency.

Officials confirmed the attack.

“A group of suicide bombers have attacked a U.S. base in Torkham near the border with Pakistan,” Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, spokesman for the Nangarhar provincial governor, told AFP.

In a statement sent to the media, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack.

Abdulzai said fighting was ongoing between U.S. and Afghan forces against the militants.(copy from: Al Arabia)

Nine killed in suicide attack on Indian consulate in Afghanistan.

Nine killed in suicide attack on Indian consulate in Afghanistan.

Security officials conduct investigation at the
 scene of suicide bomb attacks in Jalalabad,
 August 3, 2013. — Photo by AP

JALALABAD | 03 Aug 2013 :: Suicide bombers targeted the Indian consulate in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad on Saturday, detonating an explosives-packed car and killing nine civilians, including seven children in a nearby mosque.

A spokesman for the Taliban militant group immediately denied responsibility for the blast that erupted outside the Indian mission and left the mosque, private houses, tailors and other shops in ruins.

“A car containing explosives hit a barrier near the consulate and detonated,” Ahmadzia Abdulzai, spokesman for Nangarhar province, of which Jalalabad is the capital, told AFP. “There were three suicide bombers in the car.”

Nangarhar police chief Sharif Amin said that the consulate was the intended target of the attack, which created a large crater in the road as survivors wearing blood-stained clothing ran for cover.

“Among the civilians killed were seven children inside the mosque,” Amin said.

The interior ministry condemned the bombing as “heinous” and said nine people had died in total, with 21 other civilians wounded.

Syed Akbaruddin, a spokesman for the Indian foreign ministry in New Delhi, said that no officials were injured in the attack – the first major strike in Afghanistan during the holy month of Ramazan that started on July 10.India strongly condemned a deadly suicide bomb assault, vowing the raid would not stop it from helping rebuild the war-torn nation.

The suicide attacks “must be condemned in the strongest possible terms”, India’s foreign ministry said in a statement, adding they were a reminder of the threat posed to Afghanistan by “terrorism”.(Courtesy:Dawn)Read More>>>