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December 2, 2008 9:54:24 PM CST

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Helmand province

Helmand province news stories

12 Stories

updated

9 US Troops Die in Afghan Attack; Suicide Bomb Kills 24

But at least 40 militants killed in separate attack on coalition forces

Associated Press Associated Press Jul 13, 08 12:31 PM CDT
(AP) - A multi-pronged militant assault on a remote US base killed nine American soldiers and wounded 15 today in the deadliest attack on US forces in Afghanistan in 3 years, officials said. The attack came the same day a suicide bomber targeting a police patrol killed 24 people, while US coalition and Afghan soldiers killed 40 militants elsewhere in the south. More »

More about:  Afghanistan • Taliban • suicide bombing • suicide bomber • Helmand province

Harry Praised
by US Pilots 

F-15 flyers note composure of then unknown Brit who called in airstrikes

Air Force Times Mar 16, 08 11:19 AM CDT
(Newser) - American F-15 fighter pilots were impressed with the composure of the British soldier who called in air cover on Taliban entrenchments in Afghanistan in December. But for 2 months Capt. Ben Donberg and Col. Dan DeBree had no idea that "Widow Six Seven" was actually Britain's Prince Harry calling in his first airstrikes, the Air Force Times reports. More »

More about:  Afghanistan • Taliban • airstrike • Prince Harry • US Air Force • Helmand province • British Army

OPINION

Prince Harry Should Have Stayed

Christopher Hitchens asks what threat he posed others

Slate Slate Mar 12, 08 9:11 AM CDT
(Newser) - When Matt Drudge revealed to the world Prince Harry was in Afghanistan, there he should have stayed, writes Christopher Hitchens for Slate. It's "piffle" to think that his royal highness was a "bullet magnet" in Helmand province, already one of the most dangerous places on Earth for any Western soldier. Even if the jihadists wanted to, Hitchens reasons, they couldn't "bring extra firepower to bear." More »

More about:  Afghanistan • War on Terror • war • Prince Harry • British troops • Drudge Report • Matt Drudge • Helmand province • British Army • Buckingham Palace

We Were Hunting Harry: Taliban

Militants after 'important chicken'

Newsweek Newsweek Mar 3, 08 5:00 AM CST
(Newser) - Taliban militants knew Britain's Prince Harry was deployed with his infantry unit in Afghanistan and were plotting to kidnap or kill him, one of their leaders tells Newsweek . Deputy Taliban commander Mullah Abdul Karim claims he learned of the presence of "an important chicken" as long ago as December, despite attempts by British Army brass to keep the prince's presence a secret. More »

More about:  Afghanistan • Taliban • Prince Harry • Drudge Report • Matt Drudge • Helmand province • Ministry of Defence

Media Leak Ends Harry's Afghan Mission

Army planning emergency exit
for soldier prince

Times (UK) Times (UK) Feb 29, 08 5:38 AM CST
(Newser) - Britain's defense ministry is setting up emergency plans to withdraw Prince Harry from his battalion in Afghanistan after yesterday's news leak that he had been stationed there. He has completed 10 weeks of what was supposed to be a four-month tour of duty in Helmand Province, reports the Times of London. The defense ministry lifted its media embargo on coverage of Harry's service after the Drudge Report, the German tabloid Bild and an Australian women's magazine reported the story. More »

More about:  Afghanistan • media • British royals • Prince Harry • British military • Drudge Report • Helmand province

Afghan Deputy Governor, 5 Others Killed in Mosque Attack

Bombing comes amid  'failed state' warnings

Times (UK) Times (UK) Jan 31, 08 8:04 AM CST
(Newser) - A suicide bomber in Afghanistan killed six people, including the deputy governor of the dangerous Helmand province, in an attack inside a mosque today. At least 11 others were injured in the explosion in the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah, a focus of reconstruction programs led by the British army, reports the Times of London. More »

More about:  Afghanistan • Taliban • bombing • suicide bomber • Kabul • opium • British military • Helmand province • poppies • drug trade • failed state

Afghans Facing Food Crisis

Minister pleads for wheat from international community

BBC BBC Jan 6, 08 5:28 AM CST
(Newser) - Afghanistan is facing a critical food shortage and is appealing to the world to send extra wheat, the BBC reports. "The situation is serious," warned the nation's commerce minister. Afghanistan relies on food imports, and the rising price of grain on world markets is triggering a national hardship. In some places, the price of a loaf of bread has quadrupled. Unrest in Pakistan means wheat shipments from there have also been cut. More »

More about:  Afghanistan • opium • food shortage • Helmand province • wheat prices

Afghanistan Deports EU,
UN Diplomats

Pair accused of meeting, paying
Taliban leaders

Reuters Reuters Dec 27, 07 11:50 AM CST
(Newser) - Two veteran diplomats left Afghanistan today after failing to refute accusations that they’d met with the Taliban, Reuters reports. A UN spokesman said the men were only “speaking to people on the ground,” and would return, but Afghan officials were resolute about barring the EU and UN reps. "They had met with leaders of suicide attacks," said one. More »

More about:  Afghanistan • Taliban • suicide attack • diplomat • Helmand province • Musa Qala

Euro Envoys Booted by Afghanis for Taliban Talks

Diplomatic row over alleged Taliban meeting

BBC BBC Dec 26, 07 7:43 AM CST
(Newser) - European officials were scrambling today to block Afghanistan's ordered expulsion of two high-ranking foreign officials because of an alleged link to Taliban insurgents, the BBC reports. Afghan authorities claim that the men, one an Irish envoy from the EU and the other a British UN official, met with Taliban members and gave them money. The order follows revelations in the media that British intelligence operatives secretly met with the Taliban last summer. More »

More about:  Afghanistan • Taliban • Kabul • diplomat • Helmand province • Musa Qala

80 Taliban Killed in Afghan Battle

Coalition, Afghan forces pitch 6-hour battle after insurgent ambush

Reuters Reuters Oct 28, 07 7:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - In a sudden new flash of violence in another American battle theater, US-led forces killed 80 Taliban fighters yesterday near a southern Afghanistan town held by insurgents. The battle erupted when Taliban troops ambushed a joint coalition and Afghan army patrol with machine gun and rocket-propelled grenade fire. Coalition forces retaliated with a six-hour ground and air strike, Reuters reports. More »

More about:  Afghanistan • Taliban • insurgents • Helmand province • Afghan Army • Musa Qala

US Targets Afghan Opium Crop

Karzai reluctant to allow spraying of heroin producing crop

New York Times New York Times Oct 8, 07 9:15 AM CDT
(Newser) - The US is pressing the Afghan government to stem its booming poppy crop with mass spraying following the biggest opium harvests in its history—which accounts for 91% of the world's production. Therein lies much of the resurgent Taliban's revenue, the New York Times reports, but Karzai fears a Taliban-inspired loss of popular support if he targets the opium trade.  More »

More about:  Afghanistan • United Nations • Taliban • Condoleezza Rice • Hamid Karzai • heroin • opium • Helmand province • poppies • counternarcotics

Taliban Shoots Down NATO Chinook

At least 7 dead in Afghan region
still controlled by guerrillas

Washington Post Washington Post May 31, 07 4:14 AM CDT
(Newser) - Taliban fighters shot down a NATO Chinook helicopter in Afghanistan yesterday, killing all 7 on board, including five Americans. Guerrillas then ambushed rescuers attempting to reach the crash. The attack occurred in Helmand Province, a region of Afghanistan known for opium poppy cultivation and a strong Taliban presence, according to t he Washington Post . More »

More about:  Afghanistan • Taliban • War on Terror • NATO • crash • helicopter • Helmand province

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