Khost

During the Second Anglo-Afghan War, British forces led by Lord Roberts invaded Khost from what is now Pakistan. Approximately 8,000 raiders from the Mangal tribe, which had a long tradition of resisting outside control, launched several attacks on weakly protected British supply convoys in Khost. In reprisal, Lord Roberts ordered his forces to attack eleven Mangal villages which had launched raids that murdered several of his camp followers, resulting in them being sacked and burnt. Once news of the reprisals became known in Britain, his political opponents in the British Parliament criticized Lord Roberts' actions. At the end of the conflict, British forces withdrew from Khost. Between 1856 and 1925, Khost was the site of three rebellions, lasting from 1856 to 1857, 1912, and 1924–1925 respectively. …

Khost is located about 150 km (93 mi) south of Kabul. It lies on a plateau not below 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in elevation that extends to the east for about 40 km (25 mi) until the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Thirty kilometres to the north the peaks rise up to 2,500 to 3,000 m (8,200 to 9,800 ft) while farther south 20 km (12 mi) away from the border, the average is around 1,800 m (5,900 ft). Khost is the provincial administrative seat in eastern Afghanistan. Being close to the border with Pakistan, Khost straddles an important transport corridor. The eastern districts (1–3) are dotted with forests and residential settlements while the western districts (4–5) are more barren and lightly populated. Water courses account for 5% of total land surface. Khost has a semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk though very close to qualifying as BSh). …

Khost serves as one of Afghanistan's trading centers with neighboring Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan. The Ghulam Khan border crossing between the two countries is located about 20 mi (32 km) to the south. Pine nuts are among the noteworthy export products of the province.

The Khost municipality has an estimated population of around 170,615 people, while the whole province has an estimated population of 694,197 people. They are mostly Pashtuns from various tribes such as Banusi, Gurbaz, Ismailkhel, Mangal, Muqbal, Sabari, Tani, Wazir, Zadran, Zazai, etc., residing in 11,787 dwellings. Pashto is the dominant language in Khost although many of its residents are also fluent in Dari and other languages.