On January 21, 2018, The Taliban attacked the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul. During the siege, 22 died and dozens were injured. Four Americans were among the dead.
On January 24,, 2018, five Islamic State gunman stormed an office of the aid group Save the Children in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. The attack left five dead and dozens injured.
On January 28, 2018, the Taliban used an ambulance loaded with explosives to kill at least 95 and injure 158..
On January 29, 2018, eleven Afghan soldiers were killed by attackers from the Islamic State.
In eight days, the Islamic State and the Taliban launched four attacks in Afghanistan that left at least 133 dead and hundreds injured. Three of the attacks and 128 of the deaths took place In Kabul. Kabul is Afghanistan’s capital. The United States embassy to Afghanistan is located in Kabul.
On August 21, 2017, Donald Trump announced that the United States would be sending more troops to Afghanistan. In September, 3,000 more American troops were sent to Afghanistan. In November, the Pentagon said there were 15,000 American troops in Afghanistan. It is projected that early in 2018, 16,000 American troops will be in Afghanistan.
On January 30, 2018, it was revealed that the Pentagon has ordered an independent federal auditor to stop providing the public with key information about the war in Afghanistan. The auditing agency established by Congress known as the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction made the gag public in its most recent assessment of conditions in Afghanistan.
As of August 2017, the war in Afghanistan had cost American taxpayers one trillion dollars.