Topic: Lashkar Gah

When dictators fall, so do their banknotes

The following now defunct or possibly soon-to-be defunct banknotes are imbued with the symbols and iconography of their leaders, past and present.

First Taliban, now turncoats: Another Afghan soldier opens fire

The killing of two British soldiers at a NATO base in Helmand by an Afghan soldier comes just two weeks after US Staff Sgt. Robert Bales allegedly killed 16 Afghan civilians.

Six UK soldiers believed killed in Afghanistan blast

Six UK soldiers were believed missing and presumed dead after an explosion hit their armored vehicle in southwestern Afghanistan on Tuesday evening.

Afghanistan's test case: NATO handover in Laghman Province

US policymakers will watch Afghanistan's ability to maintain stability in Laghman Province as a litmus test for its forces' capabilities in the rest of the country.

Afghanistan drawdown: Germany and France follow Obama's lead

US allies in Europe are mostly supportive of Obama's withdrawal plan, saying the time is right.

As troop drawdown nears, is NATO surge working in Afghanistan?

As Obama's promise of a troop drawdown nears, the US military says the surge of tens of thousands of NATO reinforcements that began last year has won some and lost some against the Taliban but needs more time to succeed.

Report: US aid could be destabilizing Afghanistan in the long term

A comprehensive congressional report finds that billions of dollars of US aid could be feeding corruption and establishing programs that will collapse when the US leaves.

Karzai announces Afghan forces ready to take over some provinces

President Hamid Karzai said Tuesday that the people of Afghanistan no longer desire to see international forces defend their country for them.

A Rope and a Prayer: A Kidnapping From Two Sides

How journalist David Rohde and his wife coped when he was taken captive in Afghanistan

US deal with Afghan tribe promises to reduce Taliban strikes

The deal, in which a prominent tribe has agreed to help stop Taliban attacks in volatile Helmand Province, is being compared with successful efforts in Iraq to use tribal influence against the insurgency there.

Afghan convoy security undermines Afghan security

Millions are paid to Afghan private security companies to deliver food and ammunition to NATO troops. But the companies are accused of human rights abuses and paying the Taliban.

Afghanistan war: Gen. McCrystal impatient with Marjah campaign

In this critical phase of the Afghanistan war, Gen. Stanley McCrystal says NATO and Afghan efforts to secure Marjah are moving too slowly. 'By day there is government. By night it's the Taliban,' says one Afghan tribal leader.

Qayyum Zakir: the Afghanistan Taliban's rising mastermind

Mullah Abdul Qayyum Zakir, a former Guantánamo detainee, is considered to be the day-to-day leader of the Afghanistan Taliban insurgency. A look at his rise to power based on interviews with more than a dozen current and former associates.

In Afghanistan war zone, a movie theater comes back to life

An old movie theater in Lashkar Gah, shuttered by years of Afghanistan wars and hard-line Islamic rule, will soon reopen to host poetry readings and movies again. A sign of the post-Taliban times?

Afghanistan: Taliban bomb attack targets anti-opium drive

A bomb attack in southern Afghanistan killed at least 8 people today, according to reports. It appeared aimed at a Western antidrug program targeting the world's largest opium production by encouraging farmers to plant alternative crops.

Marjah, Afghanistan: Guns quiet, the battle for power now begins

One month after a US-led offensive to clear the Taliban from Marjah, Afghanistan, locals are worried less about the insurgents returning to power than about a notorious former official seeking to join the new government.

After the Taliban, what do Marjah residents want?

Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal and President Hamid Karzai's deputy walked the streets of Marjah Monday. With US-led forces now in control of the former Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan, US and Afghan officials told Marjah residents that the Taliban were gone - and life would improve.

Afghanistan war: Taliban hiding behind civilians in Marjah

Taliban insurgents are holding civilians as hostages in the southern Afghan town of Marjah, say Afghan and NATO intelligence reports.

Marjah offensive: Afghanistan civilians aren't taking the hint

US forces are poised to move into the southern Afghanistan town of Marjah, and have warned civilians to leave the area. But only a few hundred Afghan families have responded.

Afghanistan war: Marjah offensive targets opium capital

The US offensive against the town of Marjah illustrates the link between the Taliban insurgency and the narcotics trade. The Taliban promote and tax the opium business and are allies with the drug lords who organize the distribution and export.

Rebuilding Afghanistan: Will government take hold in this post-Taliban town?

District governor Massoud Balouch visited to Khan Neshin in southern Helmand Province of Afghanistan, which is building a new government with help from US Marines and with foreign aid. Getting good leaders in the area has proved difficult.  

Afghanistan war: Marines move in to stop Taliban from Pakistan

As part of Obama's Afghanistan war surge, some 9,000 marines are moving into small Afghan towns near the border to stop Taliban soldiers and supplies coming from Pakistan. The view from this new front.

In Afghanistan war, marines' struggle to recruit locals could delay US exit

In Khan Neshin, near the Pakistan border, recruitment of locals for the Afghanistan war effort is an often frustrating process. Obstacles include candidates' drug use, illiteracy, and fear of the Taliban.

In Afghanistan operation, Marines return to 'little America'

US forces are pushing deeper into Helmand Province, where Americans promoted development throughout much of the cold-war era.

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