Sami Yousafzai

Sami Yousafzai is The Daily Beast's correspondent in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where he has covered militancy, al Qaeda, and the Taliban for Newsweek magazine and The Daily Beast since 9/11. He was born in Afghanistan but moved to Pakistan with his family after the Russian invasion in 1979. He began his career as a sports journalist but switched to war reporting in 1997.

A photo illustration that shows a composite of Afghans crossing the border in blue and black

REVOLVING DOOR

One Family’s Taliban Nightmare Is Another’s Dream Come True

While some families are still desperate to flee the Taliban’s “hell”—others have a different take on life in Afghanistan two years after the collapse of the U.S.-backed government.

Sami Yousafzai

WEEKEND AT BERNIE’S

Al Qaeda Is Planning to Fake the Death of Its Dead Leader

Six months after he was taken out by a U.S. airstrike, al Qaeda is working on a plan to announce that their former leader Ayman al Zawahiri has died of ill-health.

Sami Yousafzai