FRONTLINE

>> A soldier from Fort Bragg was killed after an explosion in Afghanistan. >> In another deadly attack, a car bomb exploded in a crowded street. 95 people are dead. >> A bunch of people have been killed in eastern Afghanistan in an airstrike carried out by government and U.S. forces. >> Two Americans were killed during a military operation early today, casualties of the longest war in American history. >>

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November 2019, Afghanistan. Journalist Najibullah Quraishi is making a dangerous journey into Taliban territory. >> We just left Kabul. Our driver was warning, saying there are going to be Taliban, it's going to be a problem for you. Those big holes are all from the IED explosions. >> Najibullah has been covering the war here for almost 20 years. (gunfire) He was here in 2001 when the U.S. and its allies invaded and drove the Taliban from power. In the decade that followed, they filmed many times with the Taliban as they fought back and regained territory across the country. And in 2015, he met with ISIS fighters when the group was first emerging here. Now, Najibullah has returned to his home country at a critical moment. President Trump has committed to end America's longest war, and has even been negotiating a peace deal with the Taliban. But the situation on the ground remains violent and unpredictable. >> The driver is telling me, the day before yesterday, there was three explosions. They put an IED, and mainly for the government vehicles. >> Najibullah is heading into a Taliban stronghold near the city of Ghazni, less than 100 miles from the capitol, Kabul. >> This is Ghazni town. It's under control of the government, but they control just the government compound. Last night was fighting, from behind these shops. The Taliban, they were attacking on the government. It's mean they are everywhere. >> He's had to make a complicated plan to get into the Taliban-controlled territory. >> Must go with the drivers from the same area, because the car is known for the Taliban. This is the car they suggested to be there. (horn honks) This was the last checkpoint we just crossed. From here onward, the Taliban, they're in power. >> U.S. and Afghan forces had driven the Taliban from this strategic mountain valley, but now, this is Taliban country. >> We are in the town where we are supposed to be. There is a Talib with a walkie-talkie. Maybe he is going to direct us, I don't know. >> Najibullah and his team are met by a local commander. They are joined by more and more armed fighters. They head to the group's base, which flies the white flag of the Taliban. Najibullah is concerned that such a large group could be the target of an airstrike. >> We want to do the interviews very fast, because of the drone. >> The Taliban leaders here claim they now control more territory than at any point since the U.S. invaded in 2001. (speaking

local language)

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The Afghan government disputes this, and claims it controls 94% of the population. But to show the extent of their territory, the Taliban here let Najibullah and his team fly a drone over the valley. They perform military drills out in the open. AHMADI (speaking local language) >> The fighters gather around Najibullah's colleague, Karim Shah, who's been operating the drone camera. >> Another commander leads them to one of the villages under Taliban control. (engine humming) There are few people on the streets. But after the Taliban escort leaves, one resident approaches them.

MAN (speaking local language)

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The Taliban is seeking ultimate control of the country, and refuses to negotiate with the Afghan government, which it regards as a U.S. puppet. Najibullah asks the commanders here what it would take to end the fighting. >> For over a year, as part of the U.S. effort to withdraw from Afghanistan, the Trump administration has been conducting on-and-off negotiations with the Taliban leadership. But the fighters here were frustrated that President Trump had recently suspended the talks after an American soldier was killed.

AHMADI

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Najibullah and his team are escorted out of the valley. They take the battle-scarred road back to Kabul. He's surprised by what he's seen and heard from the Taliban. >> This specific group I met, they were completely different than previous groups I've met before. Normally, when I was embedding with a group of the Taliban, they were preparing for fighting, to block the road, but this group was completely different. They didn't have anything to make them worry, because the entire area was belong to them. >> But beyond the Taliban's gains, the fate of Afghanistan is also tied to the threat from ISIS. While the group has lost most of its territory in Iraq and Syria, its militants are still active here. They claim to have thousands of fighters, and have been responsible for major attacks in Kabul. >> My next plan is to meet a group of ISIS in Afghanistan. I already send the request to different regions of Afghanistan. Currently, I'm on standby, and I'm waiting for the phone calls. >> As he is waiting, the Afghan government makes a major announcement. They claim that more than 600 ISIS fighters and their families have surrendered. In an interview, the Afghan National Security advisor insists that ISIS, or Daesh, no longer poses a threat. >> Daesh has been a threat in Afghanistan. They committed some... a lot of brutal acts against our people. But we are glad to report that we have managed to eliminate their sanctuaries in Afghanistan. I can't say that their ideology is completely eliminated, but they don't have a territorial control in any part of the country anymore. >> But the next day, Najibullah gets word that an ISIS cell is willing to meet him. He is told to head north. He flies into the city of Mazar-i-Sharif. A go-between will take him to ISIS. >> When you go somewhere, you are in the hands of somebody else, they can do whatever they want to. >> Why do it, then? >> Well, it's very important to find out, because the government always denies. Sometimes they say, "Yeah, ISIS is a big threat." In another hand, they say, "No, ISIS is gone from Afghanistan. I really wanted to know either they're really gone from Afghanistan, or they're really here. This evening, basically, a guy came from inside them to take me tomorrow down there, so you're going to go with me. He's very positive, he says don't be scared, nothing will happen. But still, when I go there, I say, "Okay, oh God, this is... this is end of my life. Just forgive me if I did anything wrong." >> Najibullah leaves his team behind, and heads off before dawn with the go-between. He films the journey into the Baghlan province, in the foothills of the Hindu Kush mountains. He has to change cars three times, for security reasons. Eventually, he is joined by two armed ISIS fighters. They arrive at the rendezvous point. After an hour, figures begin to

NAJIB

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The ISIS commander is eager to show off the weapons his men are using, as well as

their close-combat drills. MAN

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He claims that many of the men here are former Taliban fighters, and that in the event of a peace deal with the Americans, many more Taliban will defect to ISIS. (men

MAN

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Back in Kabul, there's more news. President Trump has made a surprise visit to Afghanistan. He's announced that the peace talks with the Taliban will resume in the Gulf state of Qatar. >> We've been wanting to make a deal, and so have the Taliban, and we're going to stay until such time as we have a deal, or we have total victory. >> Seems that peace negotiations are going to be on again, according to what he said. I hope this time is going to be happen, some things, because all the people in Afghanistan wants peace. >> If they make it, fine. If they don't make it, that's fine. >> Newly released documents raise serious questions about whether the American people were lied to about the progress of the war in Afghanistan. >> The peace talks are about to resume amid revelations that U.S. officials for years have been privately conceding they've lost the war. >> For the last 18 years, according to the government reports, senior U.S. officials have been misleading the American public about the war in Afghanistan. >> It's a war Washington is struggling to finish, and Donald Trump says peace lies in the hands of the Taliban. >> We're here to talk with a Taliban representative about the peace negotiations, and we are trying to find out what will happen next. >> Shortly before broadcast, Najibullah secures an exclusive interview with the Taliban's lead negotiator, Mullah Baradar. Mullah Baradar is a very, very big person within the Taliban rank. He was the co-founder of the Taliban, the person who has very, very close to Mullah Omar, the main leader of the Taliban who died some years ago. He has been in prison for eight years in Pakistan and he has

been released in 2018. (speaking local language)

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Najibullah presses him on how the Taliban will exercise power if the U.S. leaves Afghanistan, and whether they've moderated their hardline practices. >> His answer is ambiguous. Women will have rights, but only according to the Taliban's interpretation of Islamic sharia law. >> Another looming question for the Taliban is how it will handle ISIS. >> He insists the Taliban, not the government, have been leading the fight against ISIS in Afghanistan. >> As the peace talks restart, the U.S. has asked the Taliban leadership to prove it can control its fighters on the ground by calling a ceasefire. ISIS, meanwhile, is watching, and waiting. Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org >> For more on this and other "Frontline" programs, visit our website at pbs.org/frontline. FRONTLINE's, "Taliban Country" and "The Luanda Leaks" are available on Amazon Prime Video.