Afghanistan

Taliban launches new Afghan operation

By NOOR KHAN, Associated Press The Taliban has launched a new operation targeting government and foreign forces in Afghanistan, a spokesman said Sunday, as two policemen died in an ambush in the volatile south. Purported Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi said the group’s leaders announced the beginning of operation “Kamin,” …

Read More »

Soldier dies in Afghan operations

BBC News – A British soldier has been killed and four others injured in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said. The dead soldier was from the 1st Battalion the Grenadier Guards. The five were hit by an explosion after clashes with Taleban forces during offensive operations in Garmsir …

Read More »

US under fire over Afghan poppy plan

By Guy Dinmore and Rachel Morarjee, Financial Times The US is proceeding with plans for a big crop-spraying programme to destroy opium poppies in Afghanistan, in spite of resistance from the government of President Hamid Karzai and objections from some senior US military officers who fear it will fuel the …

Read More »

Suicide attack hits Afghan city, three police wounded

AFP – A suicide attacker struck a police patrol close to the governor’s office in Afghanistan’s southern city of Kandahar, wounding at least three policemen, an officer said. Remains of the bomber, who had been on foot, were scattered across the road, which was immediately cordoned off by police, an …

Read More »

U.N. should lead Afghanistan peace effort: Britain

By Patrick Worsnip, Reuters Britain lobbied U.N. officials on Thursday with a proposal for the world body to lead a comprehensive “campaign plan” for peace in Afghanistan, where NATO-led troops are struggling against Taliban insurgents. Defense Secretary Des Browne said the United Nations was best placed to coordinate a peace-building …

Read More »

Protest against suspension of Afghan female MP

AFP – A rowdy protest of about 200 people, half of them women wearing burqas, demanded that parliament reinstate a female MP suspended for comparing her colleagues to animals. The demonstrators marched in the eastern town of Jalalabad to the offices of the United Nations where they were to hand …

Read More »

Finnish soldier killed in Afghanistan

AFP – Finland lost its first soldier in Afghanistan when a bomb struck a foot patrol in the normally peaceful north, while another Taliban suicide bombing hit the capital and killed a policeman. The new attacks linked to a spreading Taliban insurgency came as Germany transported home the bodies of …

Read More »