World: The Latest: Brother of former Afghan VP shot dead by Taliban

Fact check: Biden didn't 'gift' weapons to Taliban, hasn't proposed banning pistols

A widespread narrative on social media misleads on the value of military equipment left behind in Afghanistan."The current regime that just gifted the Taliban with $80+ billion worth of military grade weapons wants your 9mm pistols," reads an Aug. 17 text post on Facebook. "THINK ABOUT IT.

KABUL, Afghanistan — The Taliban shot dead the brother of Amrullah Saleh, the former vice president of Afghanistan, and his driver in northern Panjshir province, Saleh’s nephew said Saturday.

© Provided by Associated Press A child holds up a piece of artwork while drawing in a tent at Fort Bliss' Doña Ana Village, in New Mexico, where Afghan refugees are being housed, Friday, Sept. 10, 2021. The Biden administration provided the first public look inside the U.S. military base where Afghans airlifted out of Afghanistan are screened, amid questions about how the government is caring for the refugees and vetting them. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Shuresh Saleh said his uncle Rohullah Azizi was going somewhere in a car Thursday when Taliban fighters stopped him at a checkpoint. “As we hear at the moment Taliban shot him and his driver at the checkpoint.” he said.

Al Qaeda, ISIS-K, and a trio of has-beens: The players in Taliban-led Afghanistan

Just over a week ago, the U.S.-backed Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was overthrown as the Taliban swept through Afghanistan and seized the capital with the aim of establishing the so-called “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan."As thousands of Americans and Afghan allies remain behind Taliban lines in Afghanistan as the U.S. evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport continues, multiple players in the country, including Taliban allies such as the Haqqani Network and al Qaeda, have strengthened their hand while anti-Taliban warlords have fled the country and anti-Taliban resistance fighters engage in a desperate fight with the country's new rulers.

A message left with a Taliban spokesman Saturday was not immediately returned.

Shuresh Saleh said it was unclear where his uncle, an anti-Taliban fighter, was headed when the Taliban caught him. He said phones were not working in the area.

© Provided by Associated Press Taliban fighters sit in a pickup truck at the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Sept. 9, 2021. Some 200 foreigners, including Americans, flew out of Afghanistan on an international commercial flight from Kabul airport on Thursday, the first such large-scale departure since U.S and foreign forces concluded their frantic withdrawal at the end of last month. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Amrullah Saleh led forces resisting the Taliban in Panjshir, which was the last holdout province to be overrun by Afghanistan's new rulers.

What Afghanistan’s Women Stand to Lose

“All that I have worked for, all of my dreams, have become zero"When Taliban fighters encroached on the Afghan capital Sunday, Zainab, a reporter in her mid-20s, made a decision to leave the country. She had never been abroad, but it did not deter her. If anything, it propelled her forward.

Videos circulating on social media purportedly show Taliban opening fire on anti-Taliban fighters in Panjshir whom they have arrested.

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MORE ON AFGHANISTAN:

— US gives 1st public look inside base housing Afghans

© Provided by Associated Press FILE - In this Aug. 31, 2021 file photo, Taliban fighters stand guard inside the Hamid Karzai International Airport after the U.S. withdrawal in Kabul, Afghanistan. Taliban authorities will allow between 100 and 150 Americans to fly out from Kabul in the coming hours, Qatari officials said on Thursday, Sept. 9, 2021, marking the airport’s first such flight since U.S. forces withdrew from the country. The large group of foreigners, including Americans and other Westerners, would depart Thursday on a Qatar Airways flight that had earlier ferried humanitarian aid to the country, officials said. (AP Photo/Kathy Gannon, File)

— UN raises alarm on Taliban crackdown on dissent, journalists

News Analysis: What went wrong in Afghanistan?

With the Taliban in control in Afghanistan's capital and the Biden administration under fire for a chaotic withdrawal, a look at what went wrong.Achieving that goal also included overthrowing the Taliban, and steadily the mission morphed into a vast, complicated experiment to reshape a society that few Americans understood.

— Pentagon chief: al-Qaida may seek comeback in Afghanistan

— Analysis: Taliban hard-line path worsens Afghanistan dilemma

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— Find more AP coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/afghanistan

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KABUL, Afghanistan — More than 250 foreign nationals have left Afghanistan in the past three days, says Zalmay Khalilzad, Washington’s special envoy and the architect of an often criticized deal with the Taliban.

The deal signed last year provided for the safe withdrawal of U.S and NATO troops but say his critics was heavily weighted in favor of the hardline-Islamic movement.

© Provided by Associated Press Foreigners board a Qatar Airways aircraft at the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Sept. 9, 2021. Some 200 foreigners, including Americans, flew out of Afghanistan on an international commercial flight from Kabul airport on Thursday, the first such large-scale departure since U.S and foreign forces concluded their frantic withdrawal at the end of last month. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

In a series of tweets Khalilzad praised both the Middle Eastern State of Qatar, whose national airline carried out the flights and the “Taliban’s cooperation in this important effort,” for the recent departure of foreign nationals from Afghanistan.

White House says a 'fair amount' of US military equipment provided to Afghans is now in Taliban hands

"Obviously, we don't have a sense that they are going to readily hand it over to us at the airport," National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said.WASHINGTON — National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Tuesday a "fair amount" of military equipment the U.S. provided the Afghan National Security Forces was seized by the Taliban in the militant group's quick route of Afghanistan.

“We will continue to engage the government of Qatar, the Taliban, and others to ensure the safe passage of our citizens, other foreign nationals, and Afghans that want to leave,” Khalilzad tweeted.

© Provided by Associated Press Taliban soldiers gather with weapons and machinery in Panjshir province northeastern of Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2021. (AP Photo/Mohammad Asif Khan)

However, hundreds of Afghans, including U.S. citizens and green card holders, remain stranded in northern Afghanistan’s Mazar-e-Sharif waiting to be evacuated but stopped by Taliban rulers demanding travel documents.

© Provided by Associated Press Taliban soldiers stand guard in Panjshir province, northeastern of Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2021. (AP Photo/Mohammad Asif Khan) © Provided by Associated Press Taliban soldiers stand guard in Panjshir province northeastern of Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2021. (AP Photo/Mohammad Asif Khan)