For Afghan Scouts, 'Be prepared' takes on a new meaning

KABUL, Afghanistan –- Mohammad Aziz Ayob adjusts his Boy Scout scarf, leans over and settles a sapling into the dry Kabul soil as...

Afghanistan Sikhs, already marginalized, are pushed to the brink

KABUL, Afghanistan — Outsiders may have trouble distinguishing between the turbans worn by Afghan Sikhs, with their tighter folds,...

Afghanistan bombings kill 19, including 11 children

KABUL, Afghanistan — Two bomb blasts killed at least 19 people in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, including 11 children and two...

General speaks from broken heart at memorial's dedication

CAMP PENDLETON — After writing scores of condolence letters, Marine Gen. John Kelly thought he knew something about the pain of having...

One man's defiance inspires a region to stand up to the Taliban

ZANGABAD, Afghanistan — The uprising began in early February with a Taliban commander's knock on the door of Hajji Abdul Wudood.

Red Cross temporarily halts operations in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan — The International Committee of the Red Cross said Friday that it has temporarily suspended operations in...

For one U.S. Army unit, Afghan Highway 1 is job No. 1

SULTAN KHEYL, Afghanistan — Highway 1 runs like a broken spine through Wardak province. Even with its potholes and cracked asphalt, it...

Drone strike reportedly kills a long-sought target in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — For three long years, the CIA hunted the Pakistani militant who had helped send a suicide bomber deep into a U....

Staying alive for one last patrol in Afghanistan

Pakistan school van fire kills 16 children, teacher

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Sixteen children and a teacher were killed Saturday when their school van burst into flames in eastern Pakistan,...

Khaled Hosseini sets 'And the Mountains Echoed' against Afghan history

Although Khaled Hosseini has lived in the United States since he was 15, he remains engaged in the struggles of his native Afghanistan,...

Nawaz Sharif may give Pakistan-India relations a boost

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Indian-Pakistani relations, for years fraught with tension, appear on the surface to have received a boost...

Fourth American fatality by U.S. drones disclosed

WASHINGTON — As President Obama prepared to deliver a major speech on national security Thursday, his administration acknowledged...

Afghan women's rights in peril, group says

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The number of women and girls jailed by Afghan authorities for "moral crimes" has risen by 50% in the last...

Defense official says U.S. has authority to target terrorists anywhere

WASHINGTON — A senior Pentagon official told a Senate committee Thursday that the U.S. would be at war with Al Qaeda for 15 to 20 more...

Afghan militants threaten more attacks after deadly bombing

KABUL, Afghanistan — A militant group said its attack Thursday on a NATO convoy in the Afghan capital marked a stepped-up campaign...

Pakistan's incoming prime minister turns pragmatic

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — After a resounding victory in Pakistan's national elections, presumptive new Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif could...

Afghans on U.S. bases losing jobs after years of devoted service

CHARIKAR, Afghanistan — Abdul Shakour was working the night shift at Bagram air base repairing American vehicles when he was called to...

Pakistan ex-premier's party sweeps elections

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's overwhelming victory in weekend parliamentary elections returns to power...

U.S., Afghan diplomats work toward long-term agreement

KABUL, Afghanistan — Diplomats from the United States and Afghanistan met formally Saturday for just the second time since the two...

Pakistanis vote in landmark election

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Millions of Pakistanis braved threats from militants and voted Saturday in national elections that marked the...

U.S. seeks use of nine Afghanistan military bases after 2014

KABUL, Afghanistan — The United States has requested the use of nine large military bases in Afghanistan after international forces...

In Pakistan, clamor for change propels 2 parties

CHINIOT, Pakistan — Even from his hospital bed, with a gash in his head and three broken vertebrae from a 15-foot fall, Imran Khan...

Pakistan bombing again targets Islamist party

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — For the second day in a row, a bomb blast killed and maimed participants at a campaign rally being held by one...

Smashed U.S. cars get second chance in Afghanistan

HERAT, Afghanistan — They sit in the sun harboring their lost histories, their forgotten dreams, their traces of funerals, graduations...

U.S. turns over troubled dam project to Afghanistan

KAJAKI, Afghanistan — After struggling for more than a decade to upgrade a huge hydroelectric plant in a volatile region that saw...

Pakistan secular candidates campaign at their own risk

SHABQADAR, Pakistan — When Masoom Shah hits the campaign trail these days, he brings a 9-millimeter Glock pistol and a team of up to...

12 killed in Pakistan campaign violence

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — At least 12 people were killed and 43 injured Sunday in bomb blasts targeting a candidate's convoy and the...

Taliban announces spring offensive

KABUL, Afghanistan — At a pivotal moment when U.S. forces are winding down combat operations in Afghanistan and handing over the...

Fawad Mohammadi ('Buzkashi Boys') takes a long trip to the Oscars

KABUL, Afghanistan — On a recent afternoon here in the Afghan capital, 14-year-old Fawad Mohammadi stood shivering on a muddy corner,...

Obama to halve U.S. force in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON -- In his State of the Union speech Tuesday, President...

America's go-to man in Afghanistan's Oruzgan province

TARIN KOWT, Afghanistan — A shy boy with filthy hands and a shabby tunic approached the great man, bowed and tried to kiss his hand.

Fereshta Kazemi takes a risky stand for acting in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan — Coarse mud was clinging to Fereshta Kazemi's high-heeled boots as she tottered on a slippery footpath. No one...

On Location: 'Zero Dark Thirty's' compound challenges

First-time feature production designer Jeremy Hindle admits to some dicey feelings while taking director Kathryn Bigelow on an initial walk-...

Afghanistan Taliban appears to be softening stance

KABUL, Afghanistan — Recent pronouncements by the Taliban have raised the possibility that the insurgents may be softening their...

Pakistanis fear becoming isolated

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — As U.S. frustration with Pakistan's six-month blockade of Afghanistan-bound supplies became painfully apparent...

U.S. troops posed with body parts of Afghan bombers

The paratroopers had their assignment: Check out reports that Afghan police had recovered the mangled remains of an insurgent suicide...

Osama bin Laden, born to privilege, dies a pariah

Osama bin Laden, a scion of one of Saudi Arabia's wealthiest families, became the grim apostle of a strain of Islamic radicalism that...