Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan – Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday that Iranian weapons are falling into the hands of anti-government Taliban fighters but he stopped short of blaming Tehran.

Reuters – The Taliban will stage a “massive” operation against Western troops in Afghanistan and civilians must stay away from them in order to avoid casualties, a spokesman for the group said on Sunday.

By Alastair Leithead, BBC News Each time the old woman breathed out you could hear a small groan of pain as she sat, her head in one hand, her other shoulder shattered by shrapnel and fixed in a coarse plaster.

AFP – A NATO soldier was killed in a bomb blast in Afghanistan Friday while two Afghan women and a policeman died in attacks elsewhere linked to a deepening Taliban insurgency, officials said.

AFP – More than 10,000 pro-Taliban supporters rallied near the Afghan border in southwest Pakistan Friday to hear a tape by the brother of slain Taliban commander Mullah Dadullah.

KABUL, Afghanistan – A powerful and sophisticated type of roadside bomb prevalent in Iraq but not seen before in Afghanistan was discovered near a university in Kabul last week, prompting a rare countrywide warning to NATO and Afghan troops.

“The ground has been lost and all we are doing is surviving,” Capt Docherty said. “It’s completely barking mad.”

KABUL, Afghanistan – Five Americans and two other soldiers died when a Chinook helicopter was apparently shot down Wednesday evening in Afghanistan‘s most volatile province, a U.S. military official said. The Taliban claimed responsibility.NATO‘s International Security Assistance Force said other troops rushing to the scene were ambushed and had to …

AFP – New attacks in Afghanistan left six policemen and guards dead Wednesday while the US-led coalition said soldiers had killed six Taliban, although a local insisted they were civilians.

AP – Afghan and U.S.-led coalition forces clashed with Taliban militants Wednesday in eastern Afghanistan, leaving six suspected insurgents dead and one wounded, the coalition said.