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 …

BBC News – A suicide bomber has killed two people and injured at least four others in the Afghan capital, Kabul, police say. The bomber, who was riding a motorbike, blew himself up next to highway police guarding a road construction project. Nato said a separate bomb blast in the …

AFP – Fresh attacks claimed the lives of four more members of Afghanistan’s fledgling security forces as officials said Tuesday a dozen more insurgents were killed in various clashes. The latest unrest, daily fare in a growing insurgency, came as the German foreign minister met President Hamid Karzai for talks …

By Sayed Salahuddin, Reuters The world must remain engaged in Afghanistan until the country manages to stand on its own feet or “terrorists” will strike again, President Hamid Karzai warned on Tuesday. The Taliban and allies such as the al Qaeda network have stepped up raids in the past 18 …

By RAHIM FAIEZ, Associated Press Afghanistan’s lower house of parliament voted Monday to oust an outspoken female lawmaker who has enraged former mujahedeen fighters now in President Hamid Karzai’s U.S.-backed government. The lawmaker, Malalai Joya, compared parliament to a stable full of animals in a recent TV interview. The video …

Canada and Britain must put pressure on Pakistan’s president to clear country of insurgents, experts warn Mike Blanchfield, The Ottawa Citizen Published: Monday, May 21, 2007 It was a fierce battle last September between the Pakistani army and al-Qaeda insurgents. When the dust settled and the bodies were counted, 20 terrorist …

KABUL, Afghanistan (Reuters) — A suicide bomber killed 10 civilians and wounded at least 30 other people, including foreign troops, in a crowded market in southeastern Afghanistan on Sunday, officials said. Taliban militants claimed responsibility for the attack.

KABUL – Afghan security officials claimed on Saturday to have killed some 70 suspected Taleban in a clash in south-eastern Afghanistan in which US-led coalition close air support was also used, while several dozens more were killed in a separate attack. The firefight took place in Samkanai district of Paktia …

Three German soldiers were among nine people killed in a suicide bomb attack in northern Afghanistan. At least 14 people were injured in the blast which happened when the troops were conducting a foot patrol in Kunduz city, in the province of the same name.

TEHRAN (AFP) – Iran has agreed to slow down a drive to expel illegal Afghan residents after its speed prompted Kabul to sack two Afghan cabinet ministers, Iranian state media reported on Monday. Iranian deputy foreign minister Mahdi Safari, visiting Afghanistan, said President Mahmud Ahmadinejad “has agreed to repatriate Afghans …