Qala i Naw (Afghanistan), Dec 24 (IANS/EFE) Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said here during an unannounced trip to Afghanistan that Spain's economy will improve next year and start growing again in 2014.

Kunduz (Afghanistan), Oct 20 (IANS) Afghan and NATO-led troops captured a Taliban key commander named Mullah Abdul Rahman from Kunduz province during special operations early Saturday, police said.

Kabul, June 22 (IANS) At least 20 people, including five militants, were killed as Afghan security forces successfully ended a 12-hour siege at a hotel outside Kabul by the Taliban, BBC reported Friday.

Kabul, June 22 (IANS) Taliban militants have taken some people including women and children hostage by attacking a hotel near Kabul, triggering a gun battle with Afghan security forces, BBC reported Friday.

Baghdad, June 16 (IANS) At least 32 people were killed and 68 injured in two separate car bomb blasts which targeted Shiite pilgrims at the end of a major Shiite religious ritual Saturday, Xinhua reported.

Baghdad, June 16 (IANS) At least 20 people were killed and 44 injured in two separate bomb blasts which targetted Shiite pilgrims Saturday, Xinhua reported.

Kabul, June 14 (IANS) Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said that a closer cooperation among regional countries is required as his country is undergoing a critical period of transition, Xinhua reported.

Baghdad, June 13 (IANS) At least 55 people were killed and 126 others wounded in a series of bomb and gunfire attacks in several Iraqi cities Wednesday, police said.

Baghdad, June 13 (IANS) At least 47 people were killed and many others injured in Iraq after a series of car bombings rattled the capital city of Baghdad Wednesday morning, Xinhua reported.

Kabul, June 12 (IANS) Five bodies have been found from the rubble in an Afghan district that was hit by a landslide after an earthquake jolted parts of the country Monday.

Kabul, June 10 (IANS) At least 45 Taliban militants have been killed in operations carried out by Afghan and NATO-led troops, the interior ministry said Sunday.

Baghdad, June 7 (IANS) A secretary and close aide of Iraqi president Saddam Hussein has been executed after being convicted for genocide, the Iraqi justice ministry said Thursday.

Kabul, June 7 (IANS) Visiting US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta Thursday observed that Afghanistan has made progress in security and governance transition, and added that it was extremely important Pakistan that take steps to prevent terrorists from using its territory.

Kabul, June 7 (IANS) Visiting US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta Thursday observed that Afghanistan has made progress in security and governance transition, and added that it was extremely important Pakistan that take steps to prevent terrorists from using its territory.

Kabul, June 6 (IANS) An air strike by NATO-led forces at a Taliban hideout late Tuesday killed 17 people in Afghanistan, including a militant commander named Qari Sardar, officials said Wednesday.

Kabul, June 6 (IANS) Two soldiers with the NATO-led coalition forces were killed Wednesday when a military helicopter crashed in Afghanistan, Xinhua reported.

Kabul, June 6 (IANS) At least 21 people were killed and more than 20 others injured when a motorcycle-borne Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up Wednesday in Afghanistan's Kandahar city, officials said.

Baghdad, June 4 (IANS) At least 20 people were killed and 125 others wounded Monday in a suicide car bombing here in the Iraqi capital, Xinhua reported.

Baghdad, June 4 (IANS) At least 10 people were killed and over 45 wounded Monday when a suicide bomber blew up his car packed with explosives in Baghdad, authorities said.

Kabul, May 26 (IANS) Wolesi Jirga, the lower house of the Afghan parliament, Saturday ratified a strategic partnership agreement signed by President Hamid Karzai and his US counterpart Barack Obama.

Kabul, May 12 (IANS) Four NATO soldiers lost their lives during separate incidents in restive southern Afghanistan, the military alliance said.

Ramallah/Gaza, May 8 (IANS) Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and Islamic Hamas movement officials said Tuesday that they see no big hope in reviving the stalled peace talks with Israel after Israel's Likud and Kadima parties agreed to form an unity government.

Baghdad, May 8 (IANS) Interpol issued Tuesday a red corner notice against fugitive Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, a Sunni, over alleged terrorist acts.

Kabul, May 8 (IANS) The United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos arrived in Afghanistan on Tuesday for a four-day visit to the insurgency-hit country.

Kabul, May 13 (IANS) Arsallah Rahmani, a member of Afghanistan's High Peace Council, was gunned down here Sunday, a media report said.

Kabul, May 2 (IANS) Taliban militants carried out an audacious attack in Kabul only hours after US President Barack Obama visited the city, leaving 11 people including all five attackers dead.

Kabul, May 2 (IANS) Eight people were killed and 17 injured in an audacious Taliban attack in the Afghan capital Wednesday, hours after US President Barack Obama's Kabul visit that came exactly a year after Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was gunned down in Pakistan.

Kabul, May 2 (IANS) All Taliban attackers have been killed and the fighting inside a residential compound used by foreign staff of international organizations here is over, authorities said.

Kabul, May 2 (IANS) Eight people were killed and 17 injured in suicide bombings and a gunbattle in the Afghan capital Wednesday, hours after US President Barack Obama's Kabul visit that came exactly a year after Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was gunned down in Pakistan.

Kabul, May 2 (IANS) Two suicide bombers struck near an American military base here, hours after US President Barack Obama left following a visit to the Afghan capital, officials said.

Kabul, May 2 (IANS) The US President Barack Obama signed a cooperation agreement with Afghanistan as he paid an unannounced visit to the war-torn country Tuesday on the first anniversary of the killing of Al Qaeda's ex-chief Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.

Kabul, May 2 (IANS) US President Barack Obama arrived in Kabul late Tuesday on an unannounced visit to meet his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai, reported local media citing Afghan officials.

Kabul, May 1 (IANS) A total of 16 Taliban militants have surrendered before the Afghanistan government and joined its peace process, a government official said.

Baghdad, April 30 (IANS) At least three people were killed and nine injured Sunday in separate attacks in Iraq, police said.

Kabul, April 26 (IANS) At least three policemen were killed and 11 reported missing after a check post in Afghanistan's Badakhshan province was attacked by militants, said an official Thursday.

Baghdad, April 22 (IANS) The governor of eastern Iraq's Diyala province Saturday survived a roadside bomb explosion that targetted his convoy, Xinhua reported.

Baghdad, April 19 (IANS) At least nine people were killed and 24 injured in a series of bomb attacks, including a suicide bombing, in Iraq Thursday, said an interior ministry source.

Kabul, April 16 (IANS/RIA Novosti) The coordinated attacks on Afghan capital Kabul and three provinces Sunday were a failure on the part of NATO and domestic intelligence forces, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Monday.

Kabul, April 16 (IANS) At least 48 people, including 36 terrorists, were killed and 65 injured when an 18-hour dramatic siege of the Afghan capital Kabul by Taliban suicide attackers ended early Monday.

Kabul, April 16 (IANS) At least 48 people, including 36 terrorists, have been killed and 65 injured in what was a well-coordinated terror attack launched by heavily-armed Taliban militants in Kabul and three other cities that ended Monday following an 18-hour military operation, authorities said.

Kabul, April 16 (IANS) The synchronised terror attack launched by the Taliban in Kabul is over and all attackers have been killed following an overnight operation that saw a string of explosions Monday morning, authorities said.

Kabul, April 16 (IANS) A string of explosions rocked Kabul early Monday as security forces overnight battled Taliban militants who staged a wave of coordinated gun and rocket attacks, a media report said.

Baghdad, April 16 (IANS) At least six people were killed and 10 wounded in separate attacks carried out in different places of Iraq Sunday, said police.

Kabul, April 16 (IANS) Fighting was on Monday morning in Afghanistan's capital city of Kabul where Taliban militants have staged a wave of coordinated gun and rocket attacks, the BBC reported.

Kabul/Washington, April 15 (IANS) The Taliban Sunday launched a coordinated wave of assaults in Kabul and elsewhere in the country, targeting the embassies of the US, Germany and Russia, the NATO headquarters and an airbase used by the American troops.

Baghdad, April 13 (IANS) Iraq has agreed to help Libya in getting rid of its stockpiles of chemical weapons following a request from Tripoli, Xinhua reported.

Baghdad, April 13 (IANS) Iraq will start receiving 40 Boeing commercial airplanes, as the first step in re-establishing its scheduled commercial aviation operations, Xinhua reported.

Kabul, April 10 (IANS) At least 18 people were killed and 45 others injured in two separate Taliban attacks in Afghanistan Tuesday, media reports said.

Kabul, April 8 (IANS) The Afghan government and the US forces signed an agreement here Sunday to hand over all special operations, including the controversial night raids, from US and NATO forces to Afghan soldiers, the Afghan foreign ministry said.

Baghdad, March 20 (IANS) As many as 43 people were killed and over 190 wounded in a series of bomb attacks across Iraq Tuesday, the police said.