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Suicide bomber kills 13 in western Afghanistan

DurkaDurka — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:48:16 +0000

A suicide bomber riding a motorcycle killed 13 people, including a police officer, and wounded 30 others Friday in a busy city square in western Afghanistan.

Several children were among those wounded in the morning explosion, said a doctor at the hospital in Farah city, Shir Agh Asas.

Afghan police shouted “Stop! Stop!” at the motorcyclist before he detonated the explosives, provincial police chief Gen. Mohammad Faqir Askar said.

Provincial Governor Rohul Amin said the blast occurred about 55 yards (50 meters) from his compound in a crowded square in Farah.

“These days Taliban are causing high casualties because the foreign forces and Afghan forces have been conducting operations against the insurgency in the region,” Askar said.

An operation three days ago in another part of the province killed five insurgents, including a Taliban commander and a bomb-maker, Askar said.

The violence comes a day after Afghan President Hamid Karzai, in his second inaugural address, said he has placed national reconciliation with insurgents at the top of his peace-building agenda.

Taliban call for Afghans to boycott runoff poll

DurkaDurka — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 09:11:28 +0000

Taliban fighters warned Afghans not to take part in the war-wracked country’s upcoming presidential runoff, threatening Saturday to launch a fresh wave of violence on polling day to stop them.

The warnings came on the first official day of campaigning for the Nov. 7 vote. The militant group denounced the race between President Hamid Karzai and challenger Abdullah Abdullah as “a failed, American process” and said its fighters would “launch operations against the enemy and stop people from taking part.”

Why the Taliban Are Winning for Now ?

DurkaDurka — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 11:22:52 +0000

The war in Afghanistan has not been going well, and it is no surprise that Americans are frustrated. Many observers can rightly point to signs of progress: the functionality of specific Afghan government ministries and programs, the slow growth of the Afghan National Army, the building of major infrastructure such as roads and dams, and agricultural improvements. These accomplishments, however, have not created the conditions that the United States has aimed to achieve: an Afghan state with a competent government considered legitimate by its people and capable of defending them, such that Afghanistan can no longer function as a safe haven for Islamist terrorist groups. Indeed, as Gen. Stanley McChrystal, commander of coalition forces, recently suggested, the situation shows signs of deteriorating: Afghan enemy groups remain highly capable, have gained momentum, and have expanded their areas of operations. Violence against coalition forces is rising. So the question is: Why haven’t we been winning in Afghanistan?

British fighter jet crashes in south Afghanistan

DurkaDurka — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 11:55:59 +0000

A British Tornado fighter jet crashed at a major NATO base in southern Afghanistan on Monday, officials said, the third aircraft mishap in as many days as foreign forces press their new offensives against the Taliban.

With military casualties rising, Afghanistan’s growing insurgency is also taking a heavy toll on civilians. In the remote west, 12 Afghan traders were killed when their van hit a roadside bomb most likely meant for Afghan or foreign troops.

NATO spokesman Captain Glen Parent said the Royal Air Force Tornado GR4 aircraft crashed shortly after take-off at the sprawling Kandahar Air Field, the main military base for foreign troops in Kandahar province, the birthplace of the Taliban.

NATO officials said the crash was not the result of an attack by insurgents. However, Taliban spokesman Qari Muhammad Yousuf said the insurgents had shot down a NATO aircraft near the Kandahar base, killing several soldiers

Afghan journalist jail for Prophet Mohammad blasphemy

DurkaDurka — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 23:26:22 +0000

AFGHANISTAN’S appeal court sentenced an Afghan journalist to 20 years in jail, commuting an earlier death sentence, for distributing an Internet article that said the Prophet Mohammad had ignored the rights of...

Afghanistan: We Must Finally Face The Facts

DurkaDurka — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 17:59:45 +0000

Parallels between the collapse of the Soviet Union and America are almost eerie, especially the dire political and economic consequences suffered by both countries as the direct result of engaging in an unwinnable war in Afghanistan, though the USA...

Talks with the Taliban

DurkaDurka — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 19:25:40 +0000

The Saudi Arabia had been asked by Afghanistan’s president Hamid Karzai to arrange talks with the ‘Taliban’ about some kind of power-sharing. The British government supports such attempts and British military have spoken in favor...

Threw Himself on Exploding Grenade and Got a Nosebleed

DurkaDurka — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 20:00:28 +0000

A ROYAL Marine has told how he threw himself in front of an exploding grenade to save his colleagues - and escaped with just a nose bleed.

Lance Corporal Matt Croucher has been recommended for a Victoria Cross, Britain’s The Times newspaper reports.

He and three other soldiers were on patrol in southern Afghanistan when Lance Corporal Croucher hit a tripwire attached to the grenade.

Battle rages in Basra as gov’t cracks down

DurkaDurka — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 09:30:23 +0000

Iraqi forces fought Shiite militants on Wednesday in battles that threatened to wreck a truce by a powerful cleric that US forces had credited for much of the reduction in violence of the past year.

More than 60 people have been killed and hundreds wounded in the fighting, centered on the oil hub of Basra in the south and on Shiite neighborhoods of Baghdad where armed followers of cleric Muqtada al-Sadr hold sway.

Taliban negotiations produce mixed results for beleaguered villagers

DurkaDurka — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 11:48:10 +0000

Faced with Taliban militants burning down their schools and killing their people, the elders of this impoverished province took a drastic step. They went behind the backs of the American military and their own government to negotiate with the Taliban.

But Haji Hashem, chairman of Zabul provincial council, learned an important lesson when he and other leaders sat down with Taliban commanders, one he was reminded of Monday after weekend carnage left more that three dozen Taliban dead: negotiating with the insurgents simply is not a viable option.

“At first, we negotiate. Otherwise the fight is the only way we can solve the problem. It’s the second best way,” Haji Hashem, chairman of Zabul provincial council, told Canwest News in an exclusive interview from the capital of remote and impoverished Zabul province that borders Pakistan.