The shadow of Osama bin Laden, mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, hangs heavily over the US-led coalition’s campaign in Afghanistan. Again and again, the secret watchers of American military intelligence, Read the full story

Pakistan was actively collaborating with the Taliban in Afghanistan while accepting U.S. aid, new U.S. military reports showed, a disclosure likely to increase the pressure on Washington’s embattled ally. Read the full story

The Taliban in Afghanistan have told the BBC that there is no question of their entering into any kind of negotiations with Nato forces. It comes after US commanders and the British army chief of staff, Gen David Richards, suggested that it might be useful to talk to the Taliban. Read the full story

Afghan president Hamid Karzai has reportedly met with the Taliban’s most senior commander Serja-eddin Haggani in Kabul as UK calls for peace with the militants. Read the full story

President Hamid Karzai has threatened to step down and join the Taliban if outside pressure for reform continues, Afghan lawmakers say. Read the full story

Iran’s president says the US must explain what its troops are doing in Afghanistan, as catching terrorists only requires intelligence work not military deployments. Read the full story

The captured ringleader of the Jundallah terrorist group, Abdolmalek Rigi, was scheduled to meet US special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke at the Manas Air Base for talks on waging an insurgency against the Islamic Republic of Iran, a journalist says. Read the full story

The Taleban’s top military commander has been captured in Karachi in a secret raid by Pakistani and US intelligence forces. Read the full story

Taliban militants are digging in ahead of a major NATO operation in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan, in one of the biggest offensives in the eight-year-old war. Read the full story

Three US Marines are among at least 10 people killed in an attack on a convoy heading to a girls’ school in north-west Pakistan, police have said. Read the full story

New Zealand’s Government has no plans to follow Australia, Britain and Japan in contributing to an international fund aimed at paying Taleban fighters to give up their guns in Afghanistan. Read the full story

The top US commander in Afghanistan has said a negotiated peace with the Taliban is the way forward. Gen Stanley McChrystal told the UK’s Financial Times that there had been “enough fighting” and he wanted a political solution to the conflict. Read the full story

The foreign ministers of India and Pakistan will have their first chance to meet since September at a conference in London this week at which Britain wants to convince regional players to cooperate rather than compete over Afghanistan. Read the full story

President Barack Obama has said a political solution was needed to stabilize Afghanistan and has emphasized that success would not be possible without the support of Pakistan. Read the full story

Pakistan’s army has said it will launch no new offensives on militants in 2010, as the US defence secretary arrived for talks on combating Taliban fighters. Army spokesman Athar Abbas told the BBC the “overstretched” military had no plans for any fresh anti-militant operations over the next 12 months. Read the full story

Taliban militants struck in the heart of the Afghan capital Monday, launching suicide attacks at key government targets in a clear sign the insurgents plan to escalate their fight as the U.S. and its allies ramp up their own campaign to end the war. At least five people, including a child, were killed and nearly 40 wounded, officials said. Read the full story