Afghanistan Updates
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KashifAsrar
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This is exactly the point these invading forces wanted to portray i.e. Iraq and Afghanistan are 'Sell-Out'!
This nothing but cheap propaganda.
Kashif
This nothing but cheap propaganda.
Kashif
KashifAsrar
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Afghan Roadside Bomb in Kabul Kills Two, Wounds 10, NATO Says
By Ed Johnson
Sept. 26 (Bloomberg) -- A roadside bomb attack on a troop convoy near the Afghan capital Kabul killed a soldier and a child and wounded 10 other people, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization said in a statement.
In southern Afghanistan, a suicide bomber blew himself up at a security post near a mosque in the town of Lashkar Gah, killing 18 people, including three Afghan policemen, Agence France-Presse reported, citing provincial police chief General Mohammad Nabi Mullahkhail.
The roadside bomb struck a vehicle belonging to the NATO- led International Security Assistance Force 10 kilometers (six miles) south of Kabul at 8:00 a.m. Kabul time, NATO said in statement. One ISAF soldier was killed and five others were injured. A local child was also killed in the attack and five other Afghans were wounded, the statement said. The dead and wounded soldiers were Italian, AFP reported, citing Ettore Francesco Sequi, the Italian ambassador to Kabul.
Attacks have increased in Afghanistan this year as international and Afghan forces try to quell an insurgency by supporters of the Islamist Taliban regime, which was ousted from power by a U.S.-led coalition in 2001.
In Lashkar Gah, the capital of southern Helmand province, a suicide bomber detonated explosives strapped to his body as he approached a police checkpoint, AFP cited provincial government spokesman Mohayedin Khan as saying. Eighteen people were also wounded in the attack, he added.
Provincial Governor
The attack was also close to the house of the provincial governor and may have been targeting civilian contractors guarding the premises, ISAF spokesman Squadron Leader Jason Chalk was cited by the news agency as saying. None of the guards were injured, he added.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the suicide attack, AFP said. Similar bombings have been carried out by Taliban rebels, including a suicide attack in the town's bazaar on Aug. 28 that killed 17 people, the report said.
In the eastern town of Khost, a suicide bomber attempted to target a convoy of U.S.-led coalition troops, AFP cited coalition spokesman Lieutenant Marcelo Calero as saying.
The attacker detonated his device too early and failed to hit the convoy, he added.
Taliban fighters have increased attacks, including suicide bombings in recent months as Afghan and international forces try to bring security to southern and eastern provinces of the country. NATO has asked for an additional 2,500 soldiers to help the 19,000-strong ISAF contingent control the insurgency.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ed Johnson in Sydney at ejohnson28@bloomberg.net .
By Ed Johnson
Sept. 26 (Bloomberg) -- A roadside bomb attack on a troop convoy near the Afghan capital Kabul killed a soldier and a child and wounded 10 other people, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization said in a statement.
In southern Afghanistan, a suicide bomber blew himself up at a security post near a mosque in the town of Lashkar Gah, killing 18 people, including three Afghan policemen, Agence France-Presse reported, citing provincial police chief General Mohammad Nabi Mullahkhail.
The roadside bomb struck a vehicle belonging to the NATO- led International Security Assistance Force 10 kilometers (six miles) south of Kabul at 8:00 a.m. Kabul time, NATO said in statement. One ISAF soldier was killed and five others were injured. A local child was also killed in the attack and five other Afghans were wounded, the statement said. The dead and wounded soldiers were Italian, AFP reported, citing Ettore Francesco Sequi, the Italian ambassador to Kabul.
Attacks have increased in Afghanistan this year as international and Afghan forces try to quell an insurgency by supporters of the Islamist Taliban regime, which was ousted from power by a U.S.-led coalition in 2001.
In Lashkar Gah, the capital of southern Helmand province, a suicide bomber detonated explosives strapped to his body as he approached a police checkpoint, AFP cited provincial government spokesman Mohayedin Khan as saying. Eighteen people were also wounded in the attack, he added.
Provincial Governor
The attack was also close to the house of the provincial governor and may have been targeting civilian contractors guarding the premises, ISAF spokesman Squadron Leader Jason Chalk was cited by the news agency as saying. None of the guards were injured, he added.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the suicide attack, AFP said. Similar bombings have been carried out by Taliban rebels, including a suicide attack in the town's bazaar on Aug. 28 that killed 17 people, the report said.
In the eastern town of Khost, a suicide bomber attempted to target a convoy of U.S.-led coalition troops, AFP cited coalition spokesman Lieutenant Marcelo Calero as saying.
The attacker detonated his device too early and failed to hit the convoy, he added.
Taliban fighters have increased attacks, including suicide bombings in recent months as Afghan and international forces try to bring security to southern and eastern provinces of the country. NATO has asked for an additional 2,500 soldiers to help the 19,000-strong ISAF contingent control the insurgency.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ed Johnson in Sydney at ejohnson28@bloomberg.net .
KashifAsrar
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NATO is getting a routine beating in Afghanistan. It has become a daily event now a days.
Kashif
Kashif
KashifAsrar
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UK troops, Taliban in secret deal
Michael Smith
British troops battling the Taliban are to withdraw from one of the most dangerous areas of Afghanistan after agreeing a secret deal with the local people.
Over the past two months British soldiers have come under sustained attack defending a remote mud-walled government outpost in the town of Musa Qala in southern Afghanistan. Eight have been killed there. It has now been agreed the troops will quietly pull out of Musa Qala in return for the Taliban doing the same. The compound is one of four district government offices in the Helmand province that are being guarded by British troops.
Although soldiers may welcome the agreement, it is likely to raise questions about troop deployment. Last month Richard Dannatt, the new head of the British Army, warned that soldiers in Afghanistan were fighting at the limit of their capacity and could only “just” cope with the demands.
The move — opposed by Lieutenant-General David Richards, the Nato commander in Afghanistan — turned the four remote British bases into what Richards called “magnets” for the Taliban. SUNDAY TIMES, LONDON
Michael Smith
British troops battling the Taliban are to withdraw from one of the most dangerous areas of Afghanistan after agreeing a secret deal with the local people.
Over the past two months British soldiers have come under sustained attack defending a remote mud-walled government outpost in the town of Musa Qala in southern Afghanistan. Eight have been killed there. It has now been agreed the troops will quietly pull out of Musa Qala in return for the Taliban doing the same. The compound is one of four district government offices in the Helmand province that are being guarded by British troops.
Although soldiers may welcome the agreement, it is likely to raise questions about troop deployment. Last month Richard Dannatt, the new head of the British Army, warned that soldiers in Afghanistan were fighting at the limit of their capacity and could only “just” cope with the demands.
The move — opposed by Lieutenant-General David Richards, the Nato commander in Afghanistan — turned the four remote British bases into what Richards called “magnets” for the Taliban. SUNDAY TIMES, LONDON
KashifAsrar
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2 Canadians killed in attack in Afghan district thought cleared of Taliban
SPERWAN, Afghanistan (CP) - Emboldened insurgents killed two Canadian soldiers and wounded five others Tuesday in an attack on ground the Canadians took from the Taliban just weeks ago.
The small group of soldiers were providing security for road construction, holding an observation post in the former Taliban heartland about 20 kilometres west of Kandahar city when they came under attack around 4:50 p.m. from a handful of insurgents armed with rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles.
Canadian military officials identified the dead as Sgt. Craig Paul Gillam and Cpl. Robert Thomas James Mitchell, both members of the Royal Canadian Dragoons based in Petawawa, Ont. Their hometowns were not immediately available.
"They were members of the surveillance troop . . . a reconnaissance squadron," Col. Fred Lewis, deputy commander of the Canadian contingent, said in Kandahar. "They were conducting vehicle checkpoints and observation posts at the time."
With the latest toll, 39 Canadian soldiers and a diplomat have now been killed in Afghanistan since 2002.
Two of the wounded soldiers were reported in serious but stable condition. All the wounded were evacuated to Kandahar Airfield, the main coalition base, and described as having "non-life-threatening injuries."
Lewis indicated the scale of the attack was small, involving between two and five well-armed insurgents.
The casualties were probably caused by mortars or rocket-propelled grenades, he said. "The injuries right now: there don't seem to be any sort of bullets involved."
As the attack happened shortly before dark, further investigation into the attack will have to wait until Wednesday, he said.
"In this particular case, we were clearing an area to put in a road that would have allowed the economy to flow north and south through the Panjwaii area," Lewis said. "We've got to remain vigilant to the Taliban reinfiltrating into the area."
The attack prompted a quick response.
"Almost immediately other forces responded to it, treated and medevaced the casualties, and carried on with the operation," said Lt.-Col. Omer Lavoie, the ground-level commander of Canada's fighting force.
Two U.S. soldiers were also wounded nearby. It was not clear whether they were hit by the same group of insurgents or a separate ambush.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued a statement on the deaths of Gillam and Mitchell: "On behalf of all Canadians, I wish to extend my sincerest condolences
to the families and friends of Sergeant Gillam and Corporal Mitchell, who died today while serving their country in Afghanistan."
" We also pray for the speedy recovery of the five other soldiers who were injured," Harper's statement said.
"Canada is forever grateful to these brave men who put their lives on the line and made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of promoting peace, stability and security in Afghanistan."
The fighting came exactly one month after the launch of Operation Medusa, the NATO operation led by Canadian troops that officials boasted killed hundreds of Taliban. NATO and Canadian officials said they had driven insurgents out of the area west of Kandahar city and had done serious damage to the ability of the insurgents to mount attacks.
Lavoie said the latest attacks are a shift back to familiar insurgent tactics after the Taliban were devastated in a more conventional fight.
"They've learned they can't take us on head-to-head in a conventional battle, so they're going back to typical insurgent tactics, (roadside bombs) and hit-and-run tactics," Lavoie said.
The fatal attack was the last in a series aimed at Canadians on Tuesday. The earlier attacks caused no Canadian casualties.
Soldiers of Charles Company were the first to come under fire in the morning as they pushed along the Arghandab River, a few kilometres west of the deadly attack that would come hours later.
Insurgents fired mortars, rockets and automatic weapons at Seven Platoon of Charles Company, the unit that was hit with a deadly ambush Sept. 3.
The soldiers and their Afghan army counterparts returned fire and emerged unscathed.
"Luckily, they're not very good aim," said Warrant Officer Ray Macfarlane, a senior platoon leader.
Closer to Kandahar city and a few hours later, a suicide bomber on a motorcycle attacked a Canadian convoy, setting a G-wagon jeep aflame. The suicide bomber died; no one else was injured.
Local civilians and soldiers have said Taliban have quietly seeped back into the area.
"The Taliban has threatened (civilians) with their lives from any kind of association with the coalition," said Maj. Steve Brown, commander of Charles Company.
"They've gone back to the tactic that has consistently worked for them, that is to infiltrate and conduct guerrilla-type operations. Now they're back at it threatening people and their property. That's consistent with this enemy."
The insurgents have learned how to exploit the Canadians' rules of engagement to escape attack, Macfarlane said. Those rules cannot be disclosed under the embedding agreement that allows The Canadian Press to travel with Canadian soldiers on their missions.
"They're smart. I wouldn't say I respect them, but they've learned to play to our weaknesses," Macfarlane said.
Two suspected Taliban members were detained in the morning clash.
A Canadian soldier died last week in a mine explosion on a road that the Canadians have cut through fields to avoid such attacks.
The soldiers killed Tuesday were protecting a similar road-building project aimed at avoiding improvised explosive devices - roadside bombs.
The spate of violence came on Oct. 3, a day of the month that has proved deadly for Canadians recently.
On Sept. 3, the Taliban ambushed Macfarlane's Seven Platoon, killing four soldiers and wounding several more. The next day, the company was accidentally strafed by a U.S. warplane, killing another soldier and wounding more than 30.
On Aug. 3, four soldiers of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry died nearby in a roadside bomb and firefight.
The foiled rebel ambush Tuesday in the rocky, dry river bed of the Arghandab River was a test of resolve for soldiers of Seven Platoon, still recovering from the Sept. 3 attack.
"Honestly, the troops performed extremely well in combat, better than I expected," said Macfarlane.
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/w...1befe-2f1f-4728-8bf8-c539c47cc2f0&k=12252&p=3
SPERWAN, Afghanistan (CP) - Emboldened insurgents killed two Canadian soldiers and wounded five others Tuesday in an attack on ground the Canadians took from the Taliban just weeks ago.
The small group of soldiers were providing security for road construction, holding an observation post in the former Taliban heartland about 20 kilometres west of Kandahar city when they came under attack around 4:50 p.m. from a handful of insurgents armed with rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles.
Canadian military officials identified the dead as Sgt. Craig Paul Gillam and Cpl. Robert Thomas James Mitchell, both members of the Royal Canadian Dragoons based in Petawawa, Ont. Their hometowns were not immediately available.
"They were members of the surveillance troop . . . a reconnaissance squadron," Col. Fred Lewis, deputy commander of the Canadian contingent, said in Kandahar. "They were conducting vehicle checkpoints and observation posts at the time."
With the latest toll, 39 Canadian soldiers and a diplomat have now been killed in Afghanistan since 2002.
Two of the wounded soldiers were reported in serious but stable condition. All the wounded were evacuated to Kandahar Airfield, the main coalition base, and described as having "non-life-threatening injuries."
Lewis indicated the scale of the attack was small, involving between two and five well-armed insurgents.
The casualties were probably caused by mortars or rocket-propelled grenades, he said. "The injuries right now: there don't seem to be any sort of bullets involved."
As the attack happened shortly before dark, further investigation into the attack will have to wait until Wednesday, he said.
"In this particular case, we were clearing an area to put in a road that would have allowed the economy to flow north and south through the Panjwaii area," Lewis said. "We've got to remain vigilant to the Taliban reinfiltrating into the area."
The attack prompted a quick response.
"Almost immediately other forces responded to it, treated and medevaced the casualties, and carried on with the operation," said Lt.-Col. Omer Lavoie, the ground-level commander of Canada's fighting force.
Two U.S. soldiers were also wounded nearby. It was not clear whether they were hit by the same group of insurgents or a separate ambush.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued a statement on the deaths of Gillam and Mitchell: "On behalf of all Canadians, I wish to extend my sincerest condolences
to the families and friends of Sergeant Gillam and Corporal Mitchell, who died today while serving their country in Afghanistan."
" We also pray for the speedy recovery of the five other soldiers who were injured," Harper's statement said.
"Canada is forever grateful to these brave men who put their lives on the line and made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of promoting peace, stability and security in Afghanistan."
The fighting came exactly one month after the launch of Operation Medusa, the NATO operation led by Canadian troops that officials boasted killed hundreds of Taliban. NATO and Canadian officials said they had driven insurgents out of the area west of Kandahar city and had done serious damage to the ability of the insurgents to mount attacks.
Lavoie said the latest attacks are a shift back to familiar insurgent tactics after the Taliban were devastated in a more conventional fight.
"They've learned they can't take us on head-to-head in a conventional battle, so they're going back to typical insurgent tactics, (roadside bombs) and hit-and-run tactics," Lavoie said.
The fatal attack was the last in a series aimed at Canadians on Tuesday. The earlier attacks caused no Canadian casualties.
Soldiers of Charles Company were the first to come under fire in the morning as they pushed along the Arghandab River, a few kilometres west of the deadly attack that would come hours later.
Insurgents fired mortars, rockets and automatic weapons at Seven Platoon of Charles Company, the unit that was hit with a deadly ambush Sept. 3.
The soldiers and their Afghan army counterparts returned fire and emerged unscathed.
"Luckily, they're not very good aim," said Warrant Officer Ray Macfarlane, a senior platoon leader.
Closer to Kandahar city and a few hours later, a suicide bomber on a motorcycle attacked a Canadian convoy, setting a G-wagon jeep aflame. The suicide bomber died; no one else was injured.
Local civilians and soldiers have said Taliban have quietly seeped back into the area.
"The Taliban has threatened (civilians) with their lives from any kind of association with the coalition," said Maj. Steve Brown, commander of Charles Company.
"They've gone back to the tactic that has consistently worked for them, that is to infiltrate and conduct guerrilla-type operations. Now they're back at it threatening people and their property. That's consistent with this enemy."
The insurgents have learned how to exploit the Canadians' rules of engagement to escape attack, Macfarlane said. Those rules cannot be disclosed under the embedding agreement that allows The Canadian Press to travel with Canadian soldiers on their missions.
"They're smart. I wouldn't say I respect them, but they've learned to play to our weaknesses," Macfarlane said.
Two suspected Taliban members were detained in the morning clash.
A Canadian soldier died last week in a mine explosion on a road that the Canadians have cut through fields to avoid such attacks.
The soldiers killed Tuesday were protecting a similar road-building project aimed at avoiding improvised explosive devices - roadside bombs.
The spate of violence came on Oct. 3, a day of the month that has proved deadly for Canadians recently.
On Sept. 3, the Taliban ambushed Macfarlane's Seven Platoon, killing four soldiers and wounding several more. The next day, the company was accidentally strafed by a U.S. warplane, killing another soldier and wounding more than 30.
On Aug. 3, four soldiers of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry died nearby in a roadside bomb and firefight.
The foiled rebel ambush Tuesday in the rocky, dry river bed of the Arghandab River was a test of resolve for soldiers of Seven Platoon, still recovering from the Sept. 3 attack.
"Honestly, the troops performed extremely well in combat, better than I expected," said Macfarlane.
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/w...1befe-2f1f-4728-8bf8-c539c47cc2f0&k=12252&p=3
KashifAsrar
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2 U.S. soldiers die in Afghan gunbattles
By FISNIK ABRASHI Associated Press Writer
© 2006 The Associated Press
KABUL, Afghanistan — Gunbattles in Afghanistan left two U.S. troops and at least one NATO soldier dead, officials said Tuesday, as the Western alliance prepared to assume military command over the country from the U.S.-led coalition.
One NATO soldier was killed and another was presumed dead when insurgents attacked a patrol in Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, a statement by the alliance said.
Eight soldiers were wounded in the clash after the patrol came under mortar and small arms fire in Zhari district, the statement said. NATO did not release details and calls seeking comment went unanswered. The nationalities of the soldiers were not disclosed.
The Canadian Press reported that two Canadian soldiers were killed and five were wounded while providing security for road construction just west of Kandahar city, but it was not immediately clear if the attack was the one confirmed by NATO.
The two American soldiers were killed during a gunfight will militants Monday in eastern Kunar province, which borders Pakistan, the U.S. military said. Three U.S. soldiers were wounded and one Afghan soldier was killed in the battle in Pech district, it said.
About 7,000 Afghan and U.S. troops are operating in eastern Afghanistan as part of Operation Mountain Fury, aimed at wiping out militants and extending the Afghan government's reach.
Elsewhere, a suicide bomber on a motorbike attacked a Canadian military convoy in the city of Kandahar, but no troops were injured, said Maj. Daryl Morrell, a spokesman for the NATO-led force.
Three border police were killed and three wounded late Monday after Taliban fighters attacked their outpost in the eastern province of Paktika, said provincial Gov. Mohammad Akram Akhpelwak.
NATO-led troops, meanwhile, will take over command of military operations for all of Afghanistan from the U.S.-led coalition on Thursday, said Daan Everts, the alliance's senior civilian representative in Afghanistan.
The takeover is seen as a significant step in an already historic expansion of missions for the largely European alliance that was created as a Cold War bulwark against the Soviet Union.
Of the 40,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, about 8,000 U.S. troops tracking al-Qaida terrorists or involved in air operations will remain outside NATO's control, officials said.
NATO's twin roles of combating the growing violence and trying to extend the reach of the Afghan government are among the most challenging missions the alliance has undertaken in its 57-year history.
Afghanistan in recent months has seen the largest increase in violence since the U.S.-led invasion ousted the Taliban regime in 2001.
A suicide bomber in the capital, Kabul, killed 12 people and wounded more than 40 on Saturday.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/4233929.html
By FISNIK ABRASHI Associated Press Writer
© 2006 The Associated Press
KABUL, Afghanistan — Gunbattles in Afghanistan left two U.S. troops and at least one NATO soldier dead, officials said Tuesday, as the Western alliance prepared to assume military command over the country from the U.S.-led coalition.
One NATO soldier was killed and another was presumed dead when insurgents attacked a patrol in Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, a statement by the alliance said.
Eight soldiers were wounded in the clash after the patrol came under mortar and small arms fire in Zhari district, the statement said. NATO did not release details and calls seeking comment went unanswered. The nationalities of the soldiers were not disclosed.
The Canadian Press reported that two Canadian soldiers were killed and five were wounded while providing security for road construction just west of Kandahar city, but it was not immediately clear if the attack was the one confirmed by NATO.
The two American soldiers were killed during a gunfight will militants Monday in eastern Kunar province, which borders Pakistan, the U.S. military said. Three U.S. soldiers were wounded and one Afghan soldier was killed in the battle in Pech district, it said.
About 7,000 Afghan and U.S. troops are operating in eastern Afghanistan as part of Operation Mountain Fury, aimed at wiping out militants and extending the Afghan government's reach.
Elsewhere, a suicide bomber on a motorbike attacked a Canadian military convoy in the city of Kandahar, but no troops were injured, said Maj. Daryl Morrell, a spokesman for the NATO-led force.
Three border police were killed and three wounded late Monday after Taliban fighters attacked their outpost in the eastern province of Paktika, said provincial Gov. Mohammad Akram Akhpelwak.
NATO-led troops, meanwhile, will take over command of military operations for all of Afghanistan from the U.S.-led coalition on Thursday, said Daan Everts, the alliance's senior civilian representative in Afghanistan.
The takeover is seen as a significant step in an already historic expansion of missions for the largely European alliance that was created as a Cold War bulwark against the Soviet Union.
Of the 40,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, about 8,000 U.S. troops tracking al-Qaida terrorists or involved in air operations will remain outside NATO's control, officials said.
NATO's twin roles of combating the growing violence and trying to extend the reach of the Afghan government are among the most challenging missions the alliance has undertaken in its 57-year history.
Afghanistan in recent months has seen the largest increase in violence since the U.S.-led invasion ousted the Taliban regime in 2001.
A suicide bomber in the capital, Kabul, killed 12 people and wounded more than 40 on Saturday.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/4233929.html
KashifAsrar
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2ND Two German journalists killed in Afghanistan
dpa German Press Agency
Published: Saturday October 7, 2006
Kabul- Two German journalists, identified as Karen Fischer, 30, and Christian Struwe, 38, were killed in northern Afghanistan on Saturday, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said. The two were described as having plenty of experience with Afghanistan and are the first German journalists to be killed in the country since the ouster of the Taliban in 2001. Their deaths occurred on the fifth anniversary of the war in Afghanistan which began on October 7.
According to the ISAF spokesman Dominic White, the two - a man and a woman - had been working "in connection with ISAF" until last Wednesday, when they went travelling on their own.
The Afghan Interior Ministry said in Kabul that the two had worked for the German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle. The two had been shot at around 1.30 am.
A spokesman said they had been on their way from the northern province of Baghlan to neighbouring Bamyan and had camped near a village called Abi Tootak.
Taliban spokesman Kari Yussuf Ahmadi denied responsibility for the killings. "Our mujahideen do not attack journalists," he told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
It remained unclear who had killed the journalists and why.
Dpa has learnt that the two intended to work on a documentary piece in Bamyan after being with ISAF, who had warned them about the risks of their trip. The province is the location of the world famous Buddha statues, which the Taliban blew up in March 2001.
Bamyan head of police General Mohammad Jalal Hashimi said the two had been travelling alone and without driver or guide. They had neglected to inform the police in Baghlan of their trip.
They were also not properly accredited in Kabul, according to the Afghan Foreign Ministry.
The two were killed by several shots. Hashimi said robbery did not appear to be the motive, as cameras and other equipment had been found intact, along with their vehicle.
The journalists had pitched their tent some 12 metres from the main road to Bamyan, he said.
While Bamyan province is considered fairly quiet, security experts in Baghlan - where the two fell victim to the attack near the village of Abi Tootak - caution, as Baghlan is considered "quite problematic".
In Berlin, the Defence Ministry said the two had not been under German military protection at the time of their death. The German government condemned the attack harshly.
In a statement Saturday, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said: "This terrible act has to be clarified and the perpetrators brought to justice," adding, "The brutal and senseless death of our countrymen reinforces our duty to help the Afghan government's attempts at security and rule of law in Afghanistan and support them even more."
Meanwhile, a soldier with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was killed in an attack in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, NATO said.
According to an ISAF statement, the soldier was killed following the ignition of an explosive device and small arms fire in Panjwayi district 20 kilometres west of Kandahar city Saturday morning.
The nationality of the soldier was not released, though there around 2,000 Canadian soldiers based in Kandahar under NATO-led ISAF making the Canadian contingent the largest part of the ISAF in Kandahar province.
Afghanistan has been facing a wave of attacks by improvised explosives and suicide bombers since the start of the year, particularly after NATO took command of the fight against insurgents last spring.
Panjwayi is the former stronghold of Taliban rebels where NATO completed two operations in mid-September, in which NATO claimed to have killed over 500 Taliban insurgents.
Around 500 foreign soldiers have died during missions in Afghanistan and more than 165 have died in the course of 2006 alone - far more than in any other year before.
International journalists are not generally targeted by rebels. The last German journalist who was killed in Afghanistan worked for the German weekly magazine Stern. He died during clashes in November 2001 before the Taliban was ousted. Since then, no other German reporters have been killed in the country.
© 2006 dpa German Press Agency
http://rawstory.com/news/2006/2ND_Two_German_journalists_killed_i_10072006.html
dpa German Press Agency
Published: Saturday October 7, 2006
Kabul- Two German journalists, identified as Karen Fischer, 30, and Christian Struwe, 38, were killed in northern Afghanistan on Saturday, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said. The two were described as having plenty of experience with Afghanistan and are the first German journalists to be killed in the country since the ouster of the Taliban in 2001. Their deaths occurred on the fifth anniversary of the war in Afghanistan which began on October 7.
According to the ISAF spokesman Dominic White, the two - a man and a woman - had been working "in connection with ISAF" until last Wednesday, when they went travelling on their own.
The Afghan Interior Ministry said in Kabul that the two had worked for the German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle. The two had been shot at around 1.30 am.
A spokesman said they had been on their way from the northern province of Baghlan to neighbouring Bamyan and had camped near a village called Abi Tootak.
Taliban spokesman Kari Yussuf Ahmadi denied responsibility for the killings. "Our mujahideen do not attack journalists," he told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
It remained unclear who had killed the journalists and why.
Dpa has learnt that the two intended to work on a documentary piece in Bamyan after being with ISAF, who had warned them about the risks of their trip. The province is the location of the world famous Buddha statues, which the Taliban blew up in March 2001.
Bamyan head of police General Mohammad Jalal Hashimi said the two had been travelling alone and without driver or guide. They had neglected to inform the police in Baghlan of their trip.
They were also not properly accredited in Kabul, according to the Afghan Foreign Ministry.
The two were killed by several shots. Hashimi said robbery did not appear to be the motive, as cameras and other equipment had been found intact, along with their vehicle.
The journalists had pitched their tent some 12 metres from the main road to Bamyan, he said.
While Bamyan province is considered fairly quiet, security experts in Baghlan - where the two fell victim to the attack near the village of Abi Tootak - caution, as Baghlan is considered "quite problematic".
In Berlin, the Defence Ministry said the two had not been under German military protection at the time of their death. The German government condemned the attack harshly.
In a statement Saturday, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said: "This terrible act has to be clarified and the perpetrators brought to justice," adding, "The brutal and senseless death of our countrymen reinforces our duty to help the Afghan government's attempts at security and rule of law in Afghanistan and support them even more."
Meanwhile, a soldier with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was killed in an attack in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, NATO said.
According to an ISAF statement, the soldier was killed following the ignition of an explosive device and small arms fire in Panjwayi district 20 kilometres west of Kandahar city Saturday morning.
The nationality of the soldier was not released, though there around 2,000 Canadian soldiers based in Kandahar under NATO-led ISAF making the Canadian contingent the largest part of the ISAF in Kandahar province.
Afghanistan has been facing a wave of attacks by improvised explosives and suicide bombers since the start of the year, particularly after NATO took command of the fight against insurgents last spring.
Panjwayi is the former stronghold of Taliban rebels where NATO completed two operations in mid-September, in which NATO claimed to have killed over 500 Taliban insurgents.
Around 500 foreign soldiers have died during missions in Afghanistan and more than 165 have died in the course of 2006 alone - far more than in any other year before.
International journalists are not generally targeted by rebels. The last German journalist who was killed in Afghanistan worked for the German weekly magazine Stern. He died during clashes in November 2001 before the Taliban was ousted. Since then, no other German reporters have been killed in the country.
© 2006 dpa German Press Agency
http://rawstory.com/news/2006/2ND_Two_German_journalists_killed_i_10072006.html
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NATO soldier killed by roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan The Associated Press
Published: October 7, 2006
KABUL, Afghanistan A NATO soldier was killed in an attack by militants who exploded a roadside bomb and shot small arms fire at a military patrol in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, the fifth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan.
The attack in the volatile Panjwayi district of Kandahar province happened near a NATO base, the alliance said. One of the patrolling vehicles was damaged. Attack helicopters and an explosives disposal team were dispatched to the area.
NATO did not release the nationality of the dead soldier.
Southern Afghanistan has been the scene of increased fighting and attacks the last several months. Taliban militants have been stepping up the use of roadside and suicide bombs. NATO troops had massive clashes with militants in Panjwayi district last month, and NATO said more than 300 fighters were killed.
In the eastern province of Khost, meanwhile, a suicide car bomber targeted a U.S. patrol near the border with Pakistan, said provincial police chief Mohammed Ayub. He said there were no casualties but one vehicle was damaged. The U.S. military had no immediate information.
In Ghazni province, police said a regional Taliban commander — Mullah Abdul Rahim Sabauun — was killed by police on Thursday.
Sabauun and his bodyguard, who were riding on a motorbike, were killed by police in Gelan district, said police chief Mirhamid, who goes by only one name. Sabuun was reportedly a high-ranking politician during the Taliban's rule.
The U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan began Oct. 7, 2001, to oust the hardline Taliban regime for hosting Osama bin Laden. Western forces and Afghanistan's Northern Alliance quickly routed the Islamic regime.
But the militant fighters who once appeared down and out have returned with a vengeance, taking control of large swaths of countryside in the last year.
More than 3,000 people have been killed in rising violence this year, mostly militant fighters battling Western forces and their superior firepower. Suicide bombers are increasingly targeting ordinary Afghans and Western troops, and militants are assassinating key political figures, burning down schools and using roadside bombs to deadly effect.
Some 40,000 U.S. and NATO troops are now in Afghanistan, 2 1/2 times the number three years ago.
Making matters worse, drug production that was virtually wiped out by the Taliban by 2001 has skyrocketed. Afghan farmers grew enough opium in 2005-06 to make 610 tons of heroin — more than all the world's addicts consume in a year.
Afghanistan
Published: October 7, 2006
KABUL, Afghanistan A NATO soldier was killed in an attack by militants who exploded a roadside bomb and shot small arms fire at a military patrol in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, the fifth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan.
The attack in the volatile Panjwayi district of Kandahar province happened near a NATO base, the alliance said. One of the patrolling vehicles was damaged. Attack helicopters and an explosives disposal team were dispatched to the area.
NATO did not release the nationality of the dead soldier.
Southern Afghanistan has been the scene of increased fighting and attacks the last several months. Taliban militants have been stepping up the use of roadside and suicide bombs. NATO troops had massive clashes with militants in Panjwayi district last month, and NATO said more than 300 fighters were killed.
In the eastern province of Khost, meanwhile, a suicide car bomber targeted a U.S. patrol near the border with Pakistan, said provincial police chief Mohammed Ayub. He said there were no casualties but one vehicle was damaged. The U.S. military had no immediate information.
In Ghazni province, police said a regional Taliban commander — Mullah Abdul Rahim Sabauun — was killed by police on Thursday.
Sabauun and his bodyguard, who were riding on a motorbike, were killed by police in Gelan district, said police chief Mirhamid, who goes by only one name. Sabuun was reportedly a high-ranking politician during the Taliban's rule.
The U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan began Oct. 7, 2001, to oust the hardline Taliban regime for hosting Osama bin Laden. Western forces and Afghanistan's Northern Alliance quickly routed the Islamic regime.
But the militant fighters who once appeared down and out have returned with a vengeance, taking control of large swaths of countryside in the last year.
More than 3,000 people have been killed in rising violence this year, mostly militant fighters battling Western forces and their superior firepower. Suicide bombers are increasingly targeting ordinary Afghans and Western troops, and militants are assassinating key political figures, burning down schools and using roadside bombs to deadly effect.
Some 40,000 U.S. and NATO troops are now in Afghanistan, 2 1/2 times the number three years ago.
Making matters worse, drug production that was virtually wiped out by the Taliban by 2001 has skyrocketed. Afghan farmers grew enough opium in 2005-06 to make 610 tons of heroin — more than all the world's addicts consume in a year.
Afghanistan
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Pakistan not supporting Taliban, says NATO commander
ISLAMABAD: General David Richards, the commander of NATO troops in Afghanistan, said on Monday that Pakistan was not supporting the Taliban in Afghanistan. Speaking to Geo television, the NATO commander, who arrived in Pakistan for a two-day visit on Monday, denied reports that he had come with evidence that Islamabad was supporting the Taliban.
He said that these reports were baseless and rubbish. The Taliban were being supported by poppy cultivation in Afghanistan, which funded their weapons purchases, he said. He said he had no information about the whereabouts of Taliban leader Mullah Umar. He praised Pakistanââ¬â¢s contribution in the war against terrorism, and welcomed the peace agreement between Pakistanââ¬â¢s government and tribal elders in North Waziristan, saying it was a good example and should be followed by others.
He denied that NATO forces were in contact with Taliban in Afghanistan, but they were in contact with local tribal elders in Helmand for a peace agreement in the area. He said that Afghanistan, Pakistan and Britain were partners in the war against terrorism and his meeting with President Musharraf would be a friendly one.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006\10\10\story_10-10-2006_pg1_5
Pakistan not supporting Taliban, says NATO commander
ISLAMABAD: General David Richards, the commander of NATO troops in Afghanistan, said on Monday that Pakistan was not supporting the Taliban in Afghanistan. Speaking to Geo television, the NATO commander, who arrived in Pakistan for a two-day visit on Monday, denied reports that he had come with evidence that Islamabad was supporting the Taliban.
He said that these reports were baseless and rubbish. The Taliban were being supported by poppy cultivation in Afghanistan, which funded their weapons purchases, he said. He said he had no information about the whereabouts of Taliban leader Mullah Umar. He praised Pakistanââ¬â¢s contribution in the war against terrorism, and welcomed the peace agreement between Pakistanââ¬â¢s government and tribal elders in North Waziristan, saying it was a good example and should be followed by others.
He denied that NATO forces were in contact with Taliban in Afghanistan, but they were in contact with local tribal elders in Helmand for a peace agreement in the area. He said that Afghanistan, Pakistan and Britain were partners in the war against terrorism and his meeting with President Musharraf would be a friendly one.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006\10\10\story_10-10-2006_pg1_5
Pakistan army to join Nato in Afghanistan
ISLAMABAD (updated on: October 10, 2006, 19:39 PST): Nato's commander in Afghanistan met President Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday amid media reports suggesting the Western alliance was losing patience with Pakistani efforts to quell the Taliban insurgency.
In an interview with a private TV channel taped before the meeting, British General David Richards denied he would deliver evidence that Pakistani intelligence was helping the insurgents.
"That is not the reason for one moment that I've come here," he told the channel.
Britain's Sunday Times had reported this week that Richards would confront President Musharraf over allegations of covert Pakistani support for the insurgents, and would provide evidence of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar's presence in Quetta.
Richards said he would be seeking more help from Pakistan, but others needed to try harder too.
"Yes, we all want to do more because we still have a problem. Lots of other people can do more as well -- the people who I'm working with in Afghanistan and the international community," Richards said.
As part of a drive to enhance co-ordination, Pakistani army officers would soon be joining Nato's headquarters in Kabul, Richards said.
Richards met President Musharraf in Rawalpindi.
A statement released by the Pakistani military said the Nato general had said that it was understood that "the vast majority of problems in Afghanistan were emanating from within the country", and that the Taliban insurgency was being funded by drug trafficking and other criminal activities.
Nato took responsibility for security in the whole of Afghanistan last week, when the United States transferred control of the eastern provinces and its troops serving there to Nato command.
Richards, who now has more than 30,000 troops under his command, had been quoted on Sunday in an interview as saying that Afghanistan was reaching a "tipping point" and needed more troops to speed up reconstruction and development five years after a Taliban government was toppled.
His comments corresponded to President Musharraf's warning that President Hamid Karzai's government in Kabul risked seeing the insurgency develop into a "people's war" unless it made Afghans feel safer and better off.
Link: Pakistan army to join Nato in Afghanistan
ISLAMABAD (updated on: October 10, 2006, 19:39 PST): Nato's commander in Afghanistan met President Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday amid media reports suggesting the Western alliance was losing patience with Pakistani efforts to quell the Taliban insurgency.
In an interview with a private TV channel taped before the meeting, British General David Richards denied he would deliver evidence that Pakistani intelligence was helping the insurgents.
"That is not the reason for one moment that I've come here," he told the channel.
Britain's Sunday Times had reported this week that Richards would confront President Musharraf over allegations of covert Pakistani support for the insurgents, and would provide evidence of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar's presence in Quetta.
Richards said he would be seeking more help from Pakistan, but others needed to try harder too.
"Yes, we all want to do more because we still have a problem. Lots of other people can do more as well -- the people who I'm working with in Afghanistan and the international community," Richards said.
As part of a drive to enhance co-ordination, Pakistani army officers would soon be joining Nato's headquarters in Kabul, Richards said.
Richards met President Musharraf in Rawalpindi.
A statement released by the Pakistani military said the Nato general had said that it was understood that "the vast majority of problems in Afghanistan were emanating from within the country", and that the Taliban insurgency was being funded by drug trafficking and other criminal activities.
Nato took responsibility for security in the whole of Afghanistan last week, when the United States transferred control of the eastern provinces and its troops serving there to Nato command.
Richards, who now has more than 30,000 troops under his command, had been quoted on Sunday in an interview as saying that Afghanistan was reaching a "tipping point" and needed more troops to speed up reconstruction and development five years after a Taliban government was toppled.
His comments corresponded to President Musharraf's warning that President Hamid Karzai's government in Kabul risked seeing the insurgency develop into a "people's war" unless it made Afghans feel safer and better off.
Link: Pakistan army to join Nato in Afghanistan
Because only Pakistan can handle the Taleban.
I think US is trying to bail out and leave the Taleban problem to Pakistan.
Iraq is already a failure, Afghanistan is turing into another disaster for the US forces and foreign policy.
Even if Pakistan joined NATO we'll not allow India to enter, we'll deal it our way.
I think US is trying to bail out and leave the Taleban problem to Pakistan.
Iraq is already a failure, Afghanistan is turing into another disaster for the US forces and foreign policy.
Even if Pakistan joined NATO we'll not allow India to enter, we'll deal it our way.
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