Taliban

The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan warns Congress that the war there is deadlocked and he needs more troops and billions more dollars to help allies against insurgents and foreign meddling.

"To defend themselves and Afghan forces, U.S. forces returned fire in self-defense at Taliban who were using civilian houses as firing positions," according to a U.S. military report.

The explosions near the parliament building in Kabul killed at least 30 people and injured at least 70. Bombings in two other provinces Tuesday also caused multiple casualties.

U.S. military personnel came under fire while assisting Afghan partners battling the Taliban in Kunduz district, NATO says. Local officials are reportedly investigating claims of civilian casualties.

The Taliban are taking back territory in both northern and southern Afghanistan. Amidst the fighting, a Kunduz hospital attacked by the U.S. one year ago is planning to reopen.

The attacks came at a time when Afghanistan was under harsh Taliban rule, isolated from the world and on the verge of famine. Reporter Hannah Bloch, who was in Kabul on Sept. 11, recalls the day.

The blast struck near the Defense Ministry in the Afghan capital. Reporter Jennifer Glasse says that, according to witnesses, the second explosion targeted those aiding victims of the first.

The service member was on a training mission when a roadside bomb went off Tuesday near the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah. It is the second U.S. combat death in Afghanistan since January.

At one point, President Obama had plans to essentially end the longest war in U.S. history. Over the past two years, Obama has changed those plans.

Two suicide bombers struck a convoy of buses carrying recently-graduated Afghan police cadets, according to wire service reports. The Taliban has claimed responsibility.