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The leader of the Pakistani Taliban, Hakimullah Mehsud, has been killed in a drone strike, a high-ranking Taliban official has told the BBC. Mehsud became leader of the Pakistani Taliban in 2009, aged 30, after his predecessor died in a US drone strike.

The head of the Pakistani Taliban was killed by a U.S. drone strike in Pakistan on Friday, several security sources told Reuters, -excerpt- Hakimullah Mehsud, who was believed to be in his mid-30s and was one of Pakistan's most wanted men, has been reported dead several times before. But late on Friday, several intelligence, army and militant sources across Pakistan confirmed he had been killed in the drone strike in the lawless North Waziristan region.

When the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan is completed next year what will happen to Afghan women? Will a resurgent Taliban return them to wearing burqas, withdraw them from schools and force them to live behind painted glass in their homes, permitting them to leave the house only when accompanied by a blood relative? The Afghan constitution contains language that supposedly protects women's rights and Afghanistan has signed several international human rights treaties that guarantee protection for women. Article 22 of the Afghan constitution reads, "Any kind of discrimination and privilege between the citizens of Afghanistan are prohibited....

... There are allegations that the Marines' top officer, Gen. James Amos, illegally interfered with the judicial proceedings in an effort to ensure harsher penalties. Amos spoke about the video and other incidents last year during a worldwide tour of Marine bases. And in a written statement after the video came to light, he said the Marine Corps would not rest until the allegations were resolved. He appointed a senior officer, Lt. Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, to investigate. Waldhauser said Amos told him he wanted those involved "crushed" and kicked out of the Marine Corps. ... A Marine lawyer, Maj. James...

... "FOB Shank is taking a real beating," she told us. Forward Operating Base Shank, in Logar province, is known among soldiers as "Rocket City" for the number of rockets, mortars and artillery shells that rain down, day and night. For reasons no one can fully explain, despite a blimp providing 24-hour overhead surveillance, routine perimeter patrols and the near-constant buzz of attack helicopters overhead, militants continue to successfully launch rockets at the base. ... The frequent Taliban rocket and mortar attacks are such a lethal menace at Shank that the Army took the unusual step of adapting a Navy...

Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif came to Washington this week with a mission — but also with some very bad timing. Under fire at home over the US drone war against al-Qaeda and the Taliban in the border country with Afghanistan, Sharif told Obama that the US had to stop its remote-control war: Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said he’d told President Barack Obama on Wednesday that U.S. drone strikes in his country needed to end.The remarks came as the two leaders met in person for more than two hours in high-level talks aimed at beginning to mend a historically troubled...

An Afghan army special forces commander has defected to an insurgent group allied with the Taliban in a Humvee truck packed with his team's guns and high-tech equipment, officials in the eastern Kunar province said on Sunday.

An Afghan army special forces commander has defected to an insurgent group allied with the Taliban in a Humvee truck packed with his team's guns and high-tech equipment, officials in the eastern Kunar province said on Sunday. Monsif Khan, who raided the supplies of his 20-man team in Kunar's capital Asadabad over the Eid al-Adha religious holiday, is the first special forces commander to switch sides, joining the Hezb-e-Islami organization. "He sent some of his comrades on leave and paid others to go out sightseeing, and then escaped with up to 30 guns, night-vision goggles, binoculars and a Humvee," said...

For the past two Sundays, hundreds of Pakistanis of all faiths have formed human chains in front of churches during mass – first in Karachi, then in Lahore. This solidarity movement was launched in reaction to the terrorist attack that killed 81 worshippers at a church in Peshawar, making it the deadliest ever perpetrated against the country’s Christian minority. Militant groups linked to the Pakistani Taliban said they carried out the September 22 bomb attack in response to US-led drone strikes. Christians have been targeted for their faith before, but previous attacks have usually taken the form of mob violence...

Everyone needs warm clothing, right? Well, two New York City men are now facing criminal charges after police say they tried to send winter gear overseas. But this wasn’t your typical Salvation Army clothing drive. NYPD detectives say Humayoun Nabi and Ismail Alsarabbi tried to send coats and other winter clothes to Taliban and Al-Qaeda forces in Afghanistan. It’s an offense a district attorney says is just as serious as supplying bullets and bombs. The men were arrested as a part of a two-year investigation started by a confidential informant who knew them. According to a statement, Nabi admitted that...

U.S. forces in Afghanistan have captured senior Pakistani Taliban commander Latif Mehsud in a military operation and detained him under a law authorizing use of force against al Qaeda following the 2001 attacks, the Pentagon said on Friday.

U.S. forces have captured a senior Pakistan Taliban commander, Latif Mehsud, in a military operation, the state department confirmed on Friday. Marie Harf, a spokeswoman for the State Department, described Mehsud as a “terrorist leader” and a “senior commander” in the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, reported the BBC. She gave no details of the operation, but said he was a close confidante of the group’s leader, Hakimullah Mehsud. …

The Afghan Taliban are financially supporting Pakistani militants at war with Islamabad and providing sanctuary for them in neighboring Afghanistan, the Pakistani Taliban’s spokesman said, highlighting the risk both groups pose to the Pakistani government. … Pakistan has waged war against the Pakistani Taliban, which seeks to replace the country’s democratic system with one based on Islamic law. But it has held off on targeting the Afghan Taliban, which has focused its attacks on U.S.-led troops in Afghanistan. Pakistan has historical ties with the Afghan Taliban, and many analysts believe Islamabad views the group as a useful ally in Afghanistan...

The United States and Afghanistan have reached an impasse in their talks over the role that US forces will play here beyond next year, officials from both countries say, raising the distinct possibility of a total withdrawal — an outcome that the Pentagon’s top military commanders dismissed just months ago. (snip) This week, the administration also considered sending Secretary of State John Kerry, who has a good relationship with Karzai, to personally intervene in the talks, US and Afghan officials said. But officials decided Kerry’s time was better spent on an Asian trip that President Obama canceled because of the...

The families of two slain Marines from Camp Bastion finally got some answers this week. But their battle for full accountability in the 9/14/12 Taliban attack is far from over. Two top U.S. military leaders will get early retirement and full pensions for their fatal negligence. But one American mom wants to know: What about the British? And what about the rest of our troops on vulnerable coalition-run bases around the world? On Monday, U.S. commandant of the Marine Corps James Amos announced the "firing" of two generals for failing to plan and protect our troops adequately against the Taliban...

The Marine Corps officer who filed a complaint against the commandant for intervening in the Taliban urination cases against eight Marines is now the target of reprisals from superiors, his attorney says. Retired Marine Col. Jane Siegel, who is representing Maj. James Weirick, said superiors have subjected the major to retaliations since it became known that he filed a whistleblower complaint against Gen. James Amos, the commandant and Joint Chiefs of Staff member. “Headquarters Marine Corps is undercutting a hero,” Col. Siegel said. “He did the right thing, and they are trying to bury it and him.” Maj. Weirick, a...

A suicide bomb attack on a historic church in northwestern Pakistan killed at least 52 people and wounded over 100 Sunday, officials said, in one of the worst assaults on the country's Christian minority in years. The bombing underlines the threat posed by Islamic extremists as the government seeks a peace deal with domestic Taliban militants. It occurred as worshipers were coming out of the church in Peshawar city after services ...

An Afghan police officer, security guard, and translator were killed when the Taliban blew up a truck bomb at the gate of the US consulate in Harat, Afghanistan and then began firing on the consulate. Fortunately there were no US casualties:

(Reuters) - A roadside bomb killed a Pakistani general and another officer on Sunday near the border with Afghanistan, the Pakistani army said, rare high-ranking casualties in Pakistan's war against militants. Major General Sanaullah Khan, along with a lieutenant colonel and another soldier, were killed in the Upper Dir district after visiting an outpost near the border, the army said. Taliban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid claimed responsibility for the bombing, which Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said would not affect the fight against militants. ... The attack comes after weeks of discussions within Sharif's government about whether to pursue peace talks...

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- A huge explosion rocked the area near the U.S. consulate in Afghanistan's Herat province early Friday during a heavy gunfight between militants and security forces, officials said. The attack occurred just before 6 a.m. local time when attackers sped towards the front gate of the consulate, said Marie Harf, a deputy State Department spokeswoman. The attackers fired assault rifles starting a gun battle with Afghan security forces. During the battle, a truck exploded, Harf said, causing major damage to the front gate of the consulate. Taliban claim U.S. consulate attack American consulate personnel took shelter in...