President Donald Trump's plan to end the stalemate in Afghanistan and eliminate the rising extremist threat involves sending up to 3,900 additional US forces, senior officials said.

A suicide car bomber has attacked Germany's consulate in northern Afghanistan, killing four people and wounding more than 100.

Survivors trapped in the rubble of a collapsed Pakistani factory pleaded for help on their mobiles even as rescuers said they feared the death toll of 18 could rise in the latest tragedy to spotlight poor safety standards in south Asia.

Good afternoon. Here’s all the news you need to know this lunchtime.

Afghanistan’s main intelligence agency said that the reclusive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar has been dead for more than two years.

Four people including a district chief have been killed in a roadside bombing in an area of northern Afghanistan that has been largely peaceful until now.

At least 15 civilians were killed when a suicide bomber riding a rickshaw blew himself up outside a checkpoint near a market in northern Afghanistan, officials said today.

A suicide bomber has attacked people leaving a memorial service at a mosque in northern Afghanistan, killing his apparent target, a district chief, while leaving several others dead or wounded, police said.

A suicide bomber has blown himself up outside a mosque in northern Afghanistan, killing at least 20 people and wounding 50.

Fifteen people on their way to a wedding in northern Afghanistan have been killed when a roadside bomb wrecked their minibus.

A magnetic bomb placed on a truck has exploded and destroyed 22 Nato supply vehicles in northern Afghanistan, according to officials.

A suicide bomber has blown himself up in a wedding hall in northern Afghanistan, killing at least 23 people including a prominent warlord-turned-politician and three Afghan security force officials, in an attack that deals a setback to efforts to unify the nation’s ethnic factions, Afghan officials said.

A suicide attacker blew himself up in a wedding hall in northern Afghanistan, killing more than 20 people, including Ahmad Khan Samangani, a well-known commander in northern Afghanistan who was also a member of parliament.

A strong earthquake has rattled a remote area of northern Afghanistan, officials say. There are no initial reports of injuries or damage.

As many as 100 people are feared dead in an earthquake and landslide that buried more than 20 houses in northern Afghanistan today, officials said.

More than a dozen prisoners, including criminals and members of the Taliban, have escaped from a jail in northern Afghanistan, officials said today.

Rockets have crashed into a US base and a house in northern Afghanistan along the Pakistan border, killing two Nato soldiers and three civilians, officials say.

A member of an al Qaida-linked group who helped finance attacks against Afghan and foreign forces has been captured in northern Afghanistan, Nato said.

Gunmen have attacked an outpost of a government-sponsored militia force in western Afghanistan, killing 10 people, officials said.

A suicide bomber on a motorcycle killed at least 10 people and wounded 26 in northern Afghanistan today.

A suicide car bomber struck early today at the gates of Jalalabad airport in eastern Afghanistan, officials said, killing nine people in an attack insurgents said was revenge for US troops burning Korans.

Protesters angry over the burning of the Quran by American troops threw grenades at a US base in northern Afghanistan and clashed with police and troops in a day of violence that left seven international soldiers injured and two Afghans dead.

Protesters angry over the burning of the Koran by American troops lobbed grenades at a US base in northern Afghanistan and clashed with police and troops in a day of violence that left seven international soldiers injured and two Afghans dead.

A large explosion has hit just outside the police headquarters in a southern Afghanistan city, killing five police officers.

THE White House is denying a plan to release high-ranking Taliban officials held in Guantanamo Bay in exchange for an agreement by the Afghan insurgency to open a political office to begin peace negotiations in Qatar.

Ten people were killed today when a suicide bomber blew himself up during a funeral ceremony in northern Afghanistan.

Pakistan blocked vital supply routes for US-led troops in Afghanistan and demanded Washington leave a base used by American drones after coalition aircraft allegedly killed 24 troops at two posts along a mountainous frontier that serves as a safe haven for militants.

A suicide car bomber blew up his vehicle outside an Afghan hotel frequented by foreigners today, killing at least four guards.

A SUICIDE car bomber attacked a health clinic in eastern Afghanistan yesterday as women and children lined up for maternity care and vaccinations, killing at least 35 people in one of the deadliest attacks against civilians this year.

At least 25 people were killed when a car bomb exploded outside a medical clinic in eastern Afghanistan today, an official said.

At least 10 people, including a police officer, were killed when a bicycle rigged with explosives blew up in a bazaar in northern Afghanistan, authorities said today.

A person wearing an Afghan police uniform has shot dead two Nato service members inside a compound in northern Afghanistan, a Nato spokesman said today.

Four New York Times journalists, including a Briton, have been reported missing while covering the fighting in Libya.

A SUICIDE attack on an army recruitment centre in northern Afghanistan killed at least 37 people in the third major assault in the area in less than a month, the deputy governor said.

At least 28 people, including civilians, have been killed in a suicide bomb attack on a government office in northern Afghanistan’s Kunduz province, police said today.

Afghan government officials have approved a multimillion-dollar contract to mine the wealth of gold under the mountains of northern Afghanistan.

A Taliban roadside bomb killed 15 civilians in a dangerous and remote region of southern Afghanistan.

A collapsing roof killed 65 people during a wedding celebration in northern Afghanistan, police said today.

A bomb killed a Nato soldier in northern Afghanistan, the alliance said today.

Gunmen seized a Dutch aid worker and his Afghan driver in northern Afghanistan today.

An explosion at a mosque in northern Afghanistan today killed 15 people, including a provincial governor.

An air strike and a raid by ground troops in Afghanistan has killed eight insurgents, including a senior Taliban leader who spearheaded attacks against Afghan security forces in northern Afghanistan, Nato said today.

A suicide bomber targeting a Nato convoy in northern Afghanistan hit a passing bus full of wedding party guests today, killing a child and injuring 28 others, police said.

Six children have been killed in an insurgent rocket attack in northern Afghanistan, authorities said today.

A Briton, six Americans and another foreigner on a medical mission were shot and killed by the Taliban who ambushed their vehicles in a remote part of northern Afghanistan, a charity said today.

The bodies of 10 people, including eight foreigners, were recovered today in a remote area of Badakhshan province in northern Afghanistan, police said.

Six private security guards were beheaded during a bank robbery in northern Afghanistan, police said today.

At least 11 police officers and a government official were killed by militant attacks in in once-calm northern Afghanistan, authorities said today.

Suicide bombers attacked a US international development compound today in northern Afghanistan, killing at least four people and wounding several others.