Mark Frerichs, a Navy veteran turned civilian contractor, was abducted in January 2020. His release centered on a prisoner exchange involving Bashir Noorzai, a notorious drug lord and Taliban member.
The Taliban banned secondary education for girls. In one secret book club, teens gather to discuss a book from another era that they find deeply relevant: Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl
The child incurred severe injuries in her right leg in the 2020 attack, which killed 24, including her mother. Complications mean a need for more surgeries. But it seemed impossible in Afghanistan.
When the Taliban returned to power, cultural heritage advocates worried history might repeat itself and the group would destroy objects it found offensive. The museum is open now but has few visitors.
One year ago, the Taliban raised their white flag over Afghanistan's capital for the second time. NPR toured the country and spoke to the Taliban and residents about what has happened since.
About two dozen women marched in Kabul chanting "bread, work, freedom," "we want political participation" and "no to enslavement," just days before the one-year anniversary of the Taliban takeover.
Recently retired General Frank McKenzie reflects on the withdrawal from Afghanistan, who bears responsibility for the way it unfolded, and how the U.S. "lost track" of why it was in the country.
When the Taliban reclaimed Kabul last August, the U.S.-backed government collapsed and hundreds of thousands of Afghans fled the country. Former president Hamid Karzai was not one of them.
As the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan last year, Marine Corps veteran Elliot Ackerman was frantically rebuilding a network of old allies to help desperate Afghans escape.
On the day a U.S. drone strike killed the leader of al-Qaida in Afghanistan, NPR sat down for an interview with the man in charge of the country's defense.
Filmmaker Ramita Navai has seen girls and women forced to marry Taliban members or arrested for violating the morality code. Her new PBS Frontline documentary is Afghanistan Undercover.
The U.S. targeted the top al-Qaida leader, showing it could track down and strike against a hard-to-find extremist figure even in a country where the U.S. has no military or diplomatic presence.
Zawahiri's death places al-Qaida in a precarious position, argues Colin P. Clarke of the Soufan Center. The question of succession will help shape al-Qaida now — and it may prove divisive.
Since the Taliban came to power, food insecurity has risen. Women in blue burqas sit in front of the city's upscale bakeries, silently waiting for charitable passersby to purchase bread for them.
