Accessibility links
Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson International correspondent Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson is based in Berlin and covers Central Europe for NPR. Her reports can be heard on NPR's award-winning programs including Morning Edition and All Things Considered.
Soraya Nelson
Stories By

Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson

Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson is a NPR foreign correspondent based in Cairo.
Violence Drains Hope From Afghans In Kandahar

Paramedics and Afghan civilians carry a coffin containing the body of one of five people killed by a roadside bomb in Kandahar in mid-April. Fear has gripped the southern city of Kandahar ahead of NATO's upcoming offensive. Allauddin Khan/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Allauddin Khan/AP

World

Violence Drains Hope From Afghans In Kandahar

Militants have assassinated dozens of influential people in the province in recent weeks as a warning to Afghans not to work with their government or coalition forces. The escalating violence has paralyzed the provincial capital.

Violence Drains Hope From Afghans In Kandahar

Listen · 4:58
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/126837216/126877933" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Afghan Taliban Commander: 'We Are Not Scared'

Afghans walk by a house destroyed in a suicide bombing the previous night in Kandahar last month. Fear has gripped the southern city ahead of an upcoming U.S. offensive, as Taliban militants flood into the area in preparation. Rahmat Gul/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Rahmat Gul/AP

World

Afghan Taliban Commander: 'We Are Not Scared'

In southern Afghanistan, Taliban militants have paralyzed Kandahar with an escalating campaign of threats, attacks and assassinations. In an interview with NPR, a Taliban commander describes how fighters have flooded into the area, and says the well-organized militants will defeat the U.S.

Afghan Taliban Commander: 'We Are Not Scared'

Listen · 4:30
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/126673409/126675733" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

World

Afghans Want Karzai's U.S. Trip To Be Fruitful

In Afghanistan, there is growing hope that President Karzai's trip to Washington will mend relations between the two governments. But few in the war-torn country think the visit will net any concrete results that will change the tide of destabilization there.

Afghans Want Karzai's U.S. Trip To Be Fruitful

Listen · 4:48
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/126661662/126661645" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Local Support Key In Upcoming Kandahar Fight

Afghan motorists pass a U.S. soldier on patrol last month in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province. U.S. and Canadian forces have announced a major upcoming offensive against the Taliban in Kandahar, the group's stronghold and spiritual birthplace. John Moore/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
John Moore/Getty Images

World

Local Support Key In Upcoming Kandahar Fight

In Afghanistan, officials are seeking the support of local leaders in Kandahar ahead of a U.S.-led offensive to clear the Taliban out of the southern province. But many locals lack confidence in Afghan officials and Western forces, whom they blame for the recent rise in violence.

Local Support Key In Upcoming Kandahar Fight

Listen · 7:34
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/125583166/125594158" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Afghan Militant Leader's Motives Under Scrutiny

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar (shown here in Iran in 2001), leader of the militant Hizb-i-Islami group, has recently made peace overtures to Afghan President Hamid Karzai. But observers are unsure about his motives. Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images

World

Afghan Militant Leader's Motives Under Scrutiny

Insurgent leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar recently sent advisers to talk with Afghan President Hamid Karzai about a possible peace deal. But many people in Afghanistan don't trust Hekmatyar. They see him as a ruthless war criminal, and even his allies question his motives.

Afghan Militant Leader's Motives Under Scrutiny

Listen · 8:57
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/125325000/125337559" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

World

Afghanistan's President: Partner Or Obstacle?

Relations between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the international coalition seeking to secure and rebuild his country are rocky these days. But some Karzai critics say it's not just the president who is to blame for why things have turned sour.

Afghanistan's President: Partner Or Obstacle?

Listen · 4:36
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/125086192/125086858" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

World

Afghan Detainees Make An Uneasy Journey Home

A U.S.-led task force recently closed the notorious Bagram prison north of Kabul, Afghanistan, and has begun releasing detainees it no longer deems a threat. The U.S. hopes the efforts build trust with local Afghan communities, but the reality is more complicated.

Afghan Detainees Make An Uneasy Journey Home

Listen · 4:34
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/125060541/125071339" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

World

Karzai Holds Talks With Rebel Group

High-level meetings are going on between Afghanistan's government and a senior delegation of insurgents. It marks the first time that President Hamid Karzai has met with such high-level representatives.

Karzai Holds Talks With Rebel Group

Listen · 2:05
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/125005455/125006004" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Commandos Crack Down On Afghan Drug Trade

An illegal crop of poppies stands out from a newly harvested crop of wheat in Afghanistan. The opium trade is a key source of income for the Taliban. Julie Jacobson/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Julie Jacobson/AP

World

Commandos Crack Down On Afghan Drug Trade

The opium trade in Afghanistan is a key source of income for the Taliban. The group uses the money to carry out suicide bombings and other attacks. But a team of Afghan police commandos is working around the clock to cut off this dangerous funding source.

Commandos Crack Down On Afghan Drug Trade

Listen · 3:55
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/124731730/124758626" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

World

Ahmadeinejad Denounces U.S. In Afghanistan

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad paid a visit to Kabul Wednesday and denounced the U.S. for "playing a double game" in Afghanistan. He was responding to remarks by Defense Secretary Robert Gates who left the city earlier in the day.

Ahmadeinejad Denounces U.S. In Afghanistan

Listen · 2:28
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/124537424/124537411" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Afghan Officials Balk At Live TV Coverage Of Attacks

An Afghan security officer tries to stop photographers from taking pictures outside The Park Residence guesthouse at the site of a gun battle in the Shar-e Naw district in Kabul on Feb. 26. Behrouz Mehri/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Behrouz Mehri/AFP/Getty Images

World

Afghan Officials Balk At Live TV Coverage Of Attacks

Hours of live domestic coverage of Taliban attacks and their aftermath is a new trend in Afghan journalism. But last week, officials announced they were banning any future live coverage of attacks in Kabul. While an agreement has been reached to modify that policy, it's unclear what will happen to journalists who refuse to follow the new guidelines.

Afghan Officials Balk At Live TV Coverage Of Attacks

Listen · 4:21
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/124457176/124463990" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

World

Experiencing Life, Death With Marines In Marjah

Marines from India Company of the 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment have been clearing improvised explosive devices around the Taliban stronghold of Marjah in southern Afghanistan. NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson has finished her traveling assignment with the group. During her time with the Marines, she witnessed Lance Cpl. Alejandro Yazzie, 23, be killed in a firefight with the Taliban.

Experiencing Life, Death With Marines In Marjah

Listen · 7:47
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/124303324/124303404" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Taliban Flees Marjah, Threat Remains For Marines

Sally, a bomb-sniffing dog, assists Marines in the search for IEDs during their offensive in Marjah, a Taliban-infested area of southern Afghanistan. Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson/NPR

World

Taliban Flees Marjah, Threat Remains For Marines

U.S. Marines and their Afghan counterparts are tightening their hold on the Taliban stronghold of Marjah, in southern Afghanistan. But hundreds of deadly homemade bombs, or IEDs, remain behind.

Taliban Flees Marjah, Threat Remains For Marines

Listen · 4:40
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/124175173/124188738" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

World

Taliban Attack Kills At Least 17 In Kabul

Taliban militants stage another brazen attack, including a suicide bombing in the heart of Kabul on Friday, leaving at least 17 dead and many more wounded. The attackers targeted a hotel complex where many Indian doctors and aid workers stay. After the bombing, the militants battled government forces for several hours before order was restored.

Taliban Attack Kills At Least 17 In Kabul

Listen · 2:58
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/124124981/124124940" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

World

Suicide Attacks Strike Afghan Capital

In Afghanistan, suicide bombers have carried out a series of attacks in the heart of the capital, Kabul. The blasts killed at least 17 people in an area of the city where a number of foreigners live. The Taliban has claimed responsibility. The attacks come as a major operation is under way in southern Afghanistan to dislodge the Taliban from its strongholds.

Suicide Attacks Strike Afghan Capital

Listen · 5:02
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/124105195/124105153" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript