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Afghanistan

Operation Enduring Freedom: A look back in photos

With the curtain coming down on combat operations, Stars and Stripes is looking back at the U.S. troops who have fought in the war, what they encountered, and how they coped. We present three photo galleries featuring the work of our photographers and reporters who have covered the war in Afghanistan.




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US forces pack up
Najeeb Aminyar spent three years working for the U.S. Army in Afghanistan as an interpreter. The 30-year-old law student was able to secure a special visa that allowed him to resettle in the United States in May 2014.<br>Najeeb Aminyar

Visa program for Afghan military translators needs to be overhauled, Brown University report says

When interpreter Najeeb Aminyar discovered he was eligible for a special visa that would allow him to resettle in the U.S., he applied. The visa process was complex and took 17 months, but he was more fortunate than many others.




Reports from SIGAR
A Special Forces soldier secures the perimeter at an undisclosed location in Afghanistan in February 2020. The U.S. has roughly 1,000 more troops in Afghanistan than it has publicly disclosed, The New York Times reported. The Pentagon maintains that 2,500 troops remain in the country. <br>Joel Pfiester/U.S. Air Force

House lawmakers split during debate on Afghanistan troop withdrawal as May 1 deadline approaches

Most lawmakers agreed Tuesday on a long-term goal of pulling all U.S. civilian and military personnel from Afghanistan, though some remained conflicted on whether to keep troops there.

Congress created the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) to provide independent and objective oversight of Afghanistan reconstruction projects and activities.




Election coverage
Supporters of Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah scramble to grab campaign posters and signs before a rally in Panjshir province. The candidate found a frenzied welcome in the fabled Panjshir Valley, where he has a strong base of support.<br> Josh Smith/Stars and Stripes

VIDEO

Politics in Panjshir: Life on the Afghan campaign trail

As Afghanistan's presidential election entered its final week, fears of violence and corruption concerns didn't stop Afghans from reveling in what would be the country's first peaceful, democratic transfer of power.




Recent videos





More recent reports

A burn pit at Balad Air Base, Iraq, in 2008. <br>Michael Gisick/Stars and Stripes
A burn pit at Balad Air Base, Iraq, in 2008. <br>Michael Gisick/Stars and Stripes

‘Sense of urgency’: Lawmakers introduce several bills to aid vets exposed to toxic fumes

On both sides of the political aisle, lawmakers in Washington are ramping up efforts to expand care for veterans who became sick after breathing the toxic fumes from burn pits.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, and Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi meet in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, April 7, 2021. <br>Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service /AP
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, and Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi meet in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, April 7, 2021. <br>Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service /AP

Russia to boost ties with Pakistan, supply military gear

Russia's foreign minister on Wednesday said Moscow and Islamabad will boost ties in the fight against terrorism, with Russia providing unspecified military equipment to Pakistan and the two holding joint exercises at sea and in the mountains.

A Special Forces soldier secures the perimeter at an undisclosed location in Afghanistan in February 2020. The U.S. has roughly 1,000 more troops in Afghanistan than it has publicly disclosed, The New York Times reported. The Pentagon maintains that 2,500 troops remain in the country. <br>Joel Pfiester/U.S. Air Force
A Special Forces soldier secures the perimeter at an undisclosed location in Afghanistan in February 2020. The U.S. has roughly 1,000 more troops in Afghanistan than it has publicly disclosed, The New York Times reported. The Pentagon maintains that 2,500 troops remain in the country. <br>Joel Pfiester/U.S. Air Force

ANALYSIS

Biden seems ready to extend US troop presence in Afghanistan

Biden has inched so close to the deadline that his indecision amounts almost to a decision to put off, at least for a number of months, a pullout of the remaining 2,500 troops and continue supporting the Afghan military at the risk of a Taliban backlash.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby, shown here during an April press conference, condemned a Taliban rocket attack on Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan on Wednesday. The attack did not injure any U.S. troops. <br>Brittany A. Chase/Defense Department
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby, shown here during an April press conference, condemned a Taliban rocket attack on Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan on Wednesday. The attack did not injure any U.S. troops. <br>Brittany A. Chase/Defense Department

Pentagon condemns Taliban attack on base housing hundreds of US troops

The Taliban fired an undisclosed number of rockets at Kandahar Airfield on Wednesday, all of which landed outside the perimeter and caused no damage or casualties, the U.S. military said.

A militiaman allied to Yemen's internationally recognized government walks through the Awwam Temple, also known as the Mahram Bilqis, in Marib, Yemen, on Feb. 3, 2018.<br>Jon Gambrell/AP
A militiaman allied to Yemen's internationally recognized government walks through the Awwam Temple, also known as the Mahram Bilqis, in Marib, Yemen, on Feb. 3, 2018.<br>Jon Gambrell/AP

Battle for Yemen desert city now a key to Iran, US tension

The battle for an ancient desert city in war-torn Yemen has become a key to understanding wider tensions now inflaming the Middle East and the challenges facing any efforts by President Joe Biden's administration to shift U.S. troops out of the region.

Visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, talks with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi, on his arrival to Islamabad, Pakistan, on Tuesday, April 6, 2021. <br>Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs /AP
Visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, talks with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi, on his arrival to Islamabad, Pakistan, on Tuesday, April 6, 2021. <br>Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs /AP

Russian foreign minister in Pakistan, Afghan talks to dominate agenda

Russia’s foreign minister arrived Tuesday in Pakistan for a two-day visit expected to focus on efforts to bring peace to neighboring Afghanistan.

Najeeb Aminyar spent three years working for the U.S. Army in Afghanistan as an interpreter. The 30-year-old law student was able to secure a special visa that allowed him to resettle in the United States in May 2014.<br>Najeeb Aminyar
Najeeb Aminyar spent three years working for the U.S. Army in Afghanistan as an interpreter. The 30-year-old law student was able to secure a special visa that allowed him to resettle in the United States in May 2014.<br>Najeeb Aminyar

Visa program for Afghan military translators needs to be overhauled, Brown University report says

When interpreter Najeeb Aminyar discovered he was eligible for a special visa that would allow him to resettle in the U.S., he applied. The visa process was complex and took 17 months, but he was more fortunate than many others.

Ashraf Ghani, Afganistan's president, speaks during a meeting in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Nov. 1, 2018. <br>Jim Huylebroek/Bloomberg
Ashraf Ghani, Afganistan's president, speaks during a meeting in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Nov. 1, 2018. <br>Jim Huylebroek/Bloomberg

Afghanistan's Ghani will not run in election he proposed, adviser says

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani will not run in the snap elections he proposed under a peace plan with Taliban militants in a bid to end 20 years of war, according to Hamdullah Mohib, his national security adviser.

Concrete blast walls have been built on both sides of this entrance to Massoud square in Kabul, Afghanistan. <br>Lorenzo Tugnoli for The Washington Post
Concrete blast walls have been built on both sides of this entrance to Massoud square in Kabul, Afghanistan. <br>Lorenzo Tugnoli for The Washington Post

Nearly 20 years of conflict reshaped Afghanistan's capital and life in it

At the center of Kabul, a city of traditional bazaars and tattered shopping malls, horse-drawn carts and crumbling streets thronged with automobile traffic, lies a heavily fortified district that is a mystery to most Afghans.

In a 2004 photo, smoke billows in from all sides as Sgt. Richard Ganske, 84th Combat Engineer Battalion, pushes a bulldozer deep into the flames of a burn pit at LSA Anaconda, Iraq<br>U.S. Army
In a 2004 photo, smoke billows in from all sides as Sgt. Richard Ganske, 84th Combat Engineer Battalion, pushes a bulldozer deep into the flames of a burn pit at LSA Anaconda, Iraq<br>U.S. Army

VA expected Iraq, Afghanistan wars would lead to toxic exposures, officials say

Soon after the 9/11 attacks, disease researchers at the Department of Veterans Affairs began internal discussions on how to prepare for the war-related illnesses they knew would follow, agency officials told McClatchy.

An Afghan pilot trains with American contractors on a UH-60 Black Hawk at Kandahar Airfield in November 2017. A recent Twitter post by Jack McCain, who served as a military adviser in Afghanistan, led to better medical care for one of his former student pilots following a combat injury. <br>Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes
An Afghan pilot trains with American contractors on a UH-60 Black Hawk at Kandahar Airfield in November 2017. A recent Twitter post by Jack McCain, who served as a military adviser in Afghanistan, led to better medical care for one of his former student pilots following a combat injury. <br>Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes

Former US military adviser’s tweets help injured Afghan pilot get surgery

A viral tweet by a former U.S. military adviser in Afghanistan helped a pilot who had been injured in combat get specialized medical treatment that wasn’t available in the country.

<br>Bev Schilling/Stars and Stripes
<br>Bev Schilling/Stars and Stripes

Afghan officials say gunmen kill policewoman on way to work

Attackers gunned down a policewoman on Thursday in eastern Afghanistan as she was headed to work, provincial officials said, the latest targeted killing in the war-torn country.

Health workers administer a polio vaccine to a child during a polio vaccination campaign in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, March 30, 2021. Three female polio vaccinators were gunned down in separate attacks Tuesday in eastern Afghanistan, provincial officials said.<br>Rahmat Gul/AP
Health workers administer a polio vaccine to a child during a polio vaccination campaign in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, March 30, 2021. Three female polio vaccinators were gunned down in separate attacks Tuesday in eastern Afghanistan, provincial officials said.<br>Rahmat Gul/AP

Afghan officials say three women working in polio drive gunned down

The women were killed in two separate attacks in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province. Fared Khan, spokesman for Nangarhar police, said two were shot and killed in police District 7 and the third in District 4.

<br>Google Maps
<br>Google Maps

Attacks in Afghanistan kill four, including religious scholar

A series of bombings and shootings in Afghanistan killed at least four people on Wednesday, including a religious leader and an army officer, officials said.

Two Khost Protection Force soldiers man a checkpoint adjacent to Camp Chapman on the outskirts of Khost City on Nov. 7, 2015.<br>Andrew Quilty/The Washington Post
Two Khost Protection Force soldiers man a checkpoint adjacent to Camp Chapman on the outskirts of Khost City on Nov. 7, 2015.<br>Andrew Quilty/The Washington Post

Afghan group probes reports of 20 civilians killed in Khost

The CIA-trained Afghan special forces have in the past been accused of repeated attacks on civilians and have been called out by Human Rights Watch and the United Nations for their often heavy-handed tactics that have left civilians dead.


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