Kandahar

(Newser) - A US air strike killed 40 civilians at a wedding party Monday, the Afghan government said today. The US said it was investigating the incident, but would not verify any attack or death toll, the New York Times reports. A Kandahar province official said US forces were fighting with the Taliban in the area, and called in air support, which mistakenly targeted the wedding. More »

(Newser) - The insurgency in Afghanistan is mushrooming, and targeting the refurbished highway that provides a weak connection between the country's ethnic halves, the New York Times reports. A series of deadly attacks in June has exposed the tribulations of the United States' 6-year-old effort to defeat the Taliban. More »

(Newser) - Afghan and NATO troops launched a huge offensive against the Taliban today, Reuters reports, starting with an air and ground assault on a valley in southern Afghanistan. Bolstered with hundreds of fighters freed in last week’s prison break, the Taliban has taken several villages in Arghandab, and has its sights on nearby Kandahar city—where NATO is bolstering security in response. More »

(Newser) - Taliban fighters blasted into Kandahar's main prison last night and freed about 1,200 inmates, including 350 Taliban, the New York Times reports. Prisoners, including Taliban leaders, quickly flooded the streets and scattered into nearby villages. “It is very dangerous for security," a Kandahar politician said. "They are the most experienced killers and they all managed to escape." More »

(Newser) - Afghanistan police have made what is believed to be the biggest narcotics bust in history, the Guardian reports. Some 260 tons of hashish—worth $400 million—was found buried in trenches near the Pakistan border. The narcotics haul, which would have made as much as $14 million in profits for the Taliban, was so massive that an airstrike had to be called in to destroy the drugs. More »

(Newser) - A man arrested in Pakistan and held as an enemy combatant in Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay was hung from the ceiling, beaten, and shocked with jolts of electricity, he testified to Congress yesterday. The German-born Turkish citizen told lawmakers that US interrogators also forced water down his throat. He was released without charge after nearly 5 years in custody. More »

(Newser) - A suicide attack on a Canadian convoy in Afghanistan killed a civilian, injured at least one soldier, and set ablaze a nearby home less than half a mile from the Canadian base of operations in Kandahar. The Taliban took credit for the attack, which comes just as Canada is about to debate whether or not to stick with the operation, widely opposed by the Canadian public. More »

(Newser) - Terrorists targeting a Canadian NATO convoy today in southern Afghanistan killed at least 37 when they detonated a massive car bomb in a crowded marketplace, the Guardian reports. At least 30 more were wounded, including three soldiers. Like yesterday’s bombing, which claimed 100 lives and was the deadliest since the fall of the Taliban, the blast hit Kandahar province, near the Pakistani border. More »

(Newser) - A suicide blast today killed at least 80 in a crowd of spectators watching a dog fight in the Afghan city of Kandahar. Nobody claimed responsibility for the attack, but local authorities believe it was the work of the Taliban, which has a large presence in the area, BBC reports. Militia leaders watching the dog fight were the likely target of the attack. More »

(Newser) - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her British counterpart David Miliband made a surprise visit today to Kandahar, the dangerous city in southern Afghanistan that diplomats rarely visit. Rice and Miliband will meet Hamid Karzai later today to try to reassure the Afghan president that his country remains a top NATO priority, reports the Telegraph . More »