Taliban

The number of civilians killed and wounded in Afghanistan jumped 22 percent in 2014, the UN said Wednesday, as NATO troops withdrew from combat leaving government forces to battle a raging Taliban insurgency.
      

Heavily-armed militants stormed a Shiite mosque in Pakistan On Feb. 13, killing at least 16 people in an attack claimed by the Taliban as revenge for the execution of one of their cadres.
      

Muslims do not have any issues with bigotry, violence and gender inequality. Massacre machines such as al-Qaeda, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Taliban and Boko Haram do not belong to Muslims. They are all "provocations" of the West, the U.S., and Zionism?

Afghanistan's new cabinet was unveiled on Jan. 12 after three months of wrangling following the election of President Ashraf Ghani and the formation of a "national unity government" in the wake of last year's fraud-mired election.
      

Over 8000 Bulgarian soldiers served in the longest mission of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to date - that in Afghanistan.

The war in Afghanistan came to a formal end on Dec. 28, 2014, with a flag-lowering ceremony in Kabul. The symbolic act, which was held under heavy security measures due to threats of an attack, marked the conclusion of the U.S.-led Operation Enduring Freedom and the start of Operation Resolute Support.

NATO will hold a ceremony in Kabul later Sunday formally ending its war in Afghanistan, officials said, after 13 years of conflict that have left the country in the grip of worsening insurgent violence.
     

President Barack Obama in a Christmas Day speech to US troops stationed in Hawaii hailed their "extraordinary dedication and sacrifices," as NATO prepares to wrap up its combat mission in Afghanistan.
     

Pakistan plans to execute around 500 militants in coming weeks, officials said Dec. 22, after the government lifted a moratorium on the death penalty in terror cases following a Taliban school massacre.

Six militants have been hanged since Friday amid rising public anger over Tuesday's slaughter in the northwestern city of Peshawar, which left 149 people dead including 133 children.

Exposure to Western culture since 2001 has transformed Afghanistan's previously isolated society, and a love of tattoos has taken hold - despite inking parlours being illegal.

Under the Taliban's tough 1996-2001 regime, personal fashion statements were outlawed and police squads patrolled the streets looking for men who had beards that were too short or hair that was too long.