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Afghan and Pakistani troops briefly exchanged fire along their shared border on Thursday, both nations said, on the same day talks to find a lasting peace restarted in Istanbul. Each nation blamed the other for starting the exchange of gunfire near Spin Boldak, an Afghan border town towards the south of their 2,600-km (1,600-mile) frontier. There were no reports of casualties, and spokespeople for both sides said they remained committed to a ceasefire and continued dialogue in Istanbul. Militaries from the South Asian neighbors previously clashed last month, with dozens killed in the worst such violence since the Taliban returned...

KABUL, Afghanistan - British troops pulled out of a troubled district in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, while a U.S.-led coalition airstrike killed a suspected midlevel Taliban commander and up to 15 other militants, NATO said. NATO also said it was launching a new countrywide military operation with Afghan forces to maintain pressure on the Taliban over the fall and winter, and pave the way for long-promised development after the bitterest fighting in five years. Mark Laity, a NATO spokesman in Kabul, said the decision to withdraw the British troops from Helmand province's Musa Qala district follows an agreement with tribal...

Two French soldiers killed in Afghanistan Agence France-Presse Paris The French Ministry of Defense has announced that two French soldiers belonging to French special forces were killed last friday during a firefight against Talibans in the Eastern part of Afghanistan. Two other French soldiers have been wounded during the operation, according to the Ministry. French Defense Minister, Michele Alliot-Marie, expressed her emotion and sent her condolences to the families and friends of the soldiers, and expressed hopes the two wounded soldiers would recover quickly. Soldiers belonging to the French special forces fight terrorism in Afghanistan alongside the US forces. The...

Spin Boldak, Afghanistan - A Taliban commander was killed when guerrillas attacked Afghan government security forces near the Pakistani border on Saturday, and militants also burnt down a United States-built school, officials said. A spate of guerrilla attacks hit the south of Afghanistan even as authorities announced an October 9 date for a landmark presidential election which the Taliban have vowed to derail. Up to 40 guerrillas attacked two government checkpoints in a village northeast of the border town of Spin Boldak early on Saturday, said Abdul Razzaq, commander of border security forces. He said a Taliban commander, Mullah Abdul...