Taliban

Afghan women and children sit in front of a bakery waiting for bread donations in Kabul's Old City, Afghanistan, on Sept. 16, 2021.

'It is a catastrophe': Afghans are in desperate need of food, humanitarian aid, refugee worker says

Astrid Sletten, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council’s office in Kabul, spoke to The World’s Carol Hills about the level of need in Afghanistan and what aid organizations are able to deliver in the current environment.

'It is a catastrophe': Afghans are in desperate need of food, humanitarian aid, refugee worker says
Newly trained female officers from the Afghan National Army sit in front seats as a new batch of officers attend their graduation ceremony at National Army's training center in Kabul on Sept. 23, 2010. 

Two decades of war and daily life in Afghanistan

Two decades of war and daily life in Afghanistan
US Black Hawk military helicopters fly over the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, April 19, 2021.

Afghans who fled to Turkey are worried — and hopeful — about the prospect of peace at home

Afghans who fled to Turkey are worried — and hopeful — about the prospect of peace at home
A still image from a video posted by the Taliban on social media on Dec. 19, 2016, shows American Caitlan Coleman, left, speaking next to her Canadian husband Joshua Boyle and their sons.

Pakistan describes freeing US Canadian family from the Taliban, but officials doubt the story

Pakistan describes freeing US Canadian family from the Taliban, but officials doubt the story
Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar speaks during a welcoming ceremony at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan May 4th, 2017

Notorious Afghan warlord returns to Kabul on May the Fourth

Notorious Afghan warlord returns to Kabul on May the Fourth
A police cadet injured during the attack on the Police Training Center lies in bed in a hospital in Quetta, Pakistan.

Attackers kill dozens of sleeping cadets at Pakistani police academy in Quetta

Who's to blame? Two militant groups have taken credit. Pakistan's army blames a third group. And some point fingers at the army itself, accusing security forces of fostering the very extremist groups now attacking the country.

Attackers kill dozens of sleeping cadets at Pakistani police academy in Quetta
'Solar mamas' bring light to Zanzibar

Saving Christians, fighting a scourge, bringing light: The year in hope

They wouldn't yield to terrorists, dictators or diseases. They brought light to the world. A look at seven stories in 2015 that inspired us.

Saving Christians, fighting a scourge, bringing light: The year in hope
An Afghan National Army (ANA) soldier speaks on a radio at an outpost in Helmand province, December 20, 2015.

Afghanistan can't control the Taliban since the Taliban controls the drug trade

The war against the Taliban continues. And some rural residents hope the group wins as they allow them to produce opium.

Afghanistan can't control the Taliban since the Taliban controls the drug trade
Women turned out for an election campaign event in Kunduz province, northern Afghanistan last year.

The Taliban had a hit list of working women when they took over Kunduz

When Taliban insurgents seized control of Kunduz last month, they went door-to-door targeting women who work outside the home. Female workers of one aid group knew the risk and escaped — and now plan to return to continue supporting other survivors.

The Taliban had a hit list of working women when they took over Kunduz
Afghanistan

Uncertainty abounds for Afghan city after Taliban takeover

What the fall of Kunduz tells us about Afghanistan’s current reality.

Uncertainty abounds for Afghan city after Taliban takeover
Afghan National Army soldiers fire artillery during a battle with Taliban insurgents in Kunduz on April 29, 2015.

Afghan officials say ISIS and the Taliban have joined forces in at least one province

The Afghan government is having trouble containing an attack on the important northern city of Kunduz, which appears to be under fire from a new alliance of Taliban and ISIS fighters that the provincial governor calls a new Taliban — and a new war.

Afghan officials say ISIS and the Taliban have joined forces in at least one province
Shabana Basij-Rasikh created the School of Leadership Afghanistan to help other young Afghan women improve their lives.

An Afghan woman's journey from 'secret school' to mentoring a generation of girls

Shabana Basij-Rasikh always wanted to go to school, even if she and her friends had to dodge the Taliban to hold classes. Now, after studying in the US, she's back in Afghanistan helping other young women get the educations they need to improve their country.

An Afghan woman's journey from 'secret school' to mentoring a generation of girls
Mohammad Jibran Nasir is a 28-year-old Pakistani lawyer turned civil rights activist.

Meet the Pakistani activist fighting the Taliban, igniting Pakistani students abroad

Mohammad Jibran Nasir is a 28-year-old lawyer and civil rights activist from Pakistan. He’s touring the United States to promote his message of anti-extremism, and to raise awareness around his two social campaigns, #NeverForgetPk and #ReclaimYourMosques.

Meet the Pakistani activist fighting the Taliban, igniting Pakistani students abroad
Supporters of Pakistani political party Pakistan Awami Tehreek hold signs to condemn the attack by Taliban gunmen on the Army Public School in Peshawar during a rally in Lahore on December 21, 2014.

Pakistan's patience with terrorism may finally have run out

Attitudes towards terrorism in Pakistan can be complicated, but the attack on a Peshawar school on Monday may have tipped the balance against the Taliban and other militant groups. The brutal assault seems to have shifted the mood among Pakistani politicians, even those who usually take softer lines on terror.

Pakistan's patience with terrorism may finally have run out
An army soldier stands by blood on the floor at the Army Public School, which was attacked by Taliban gunmen, in Peshawar on December 17, 2014.

A survivor of Pakistan's school massacre tells how his teacher saved his life

As Pakistan mourns the the victims of Tuesday school massacre, one survivor says he's alive because of the incredible sacrifice of his teacher. It's just one of many stories of heroism emerging from the shootings, but Pakistan is still working through "unprecedented" grieft and anger.

A survivor of Pakistan's school massacre tells how his teacher saved his life