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Return of the Taliban

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Return of the Taliban

They're back ?"and they're making themselves heard

At one point they were broken, disorganized, and on the run, hiding in the caves of Tora Bora, beaten down by an all-out attack by America and its allies following 9/11. Now, riding popular discontent over civilian casualties caused by allied forces, and with the US distracted by the war in Iraq, they are resurgent, challenging Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s control of the country. Inspired by Al-Qaeda’s devastating suicide bomb attacks in Iraq, the Taliban have imported this tactic to Afghanistan, making them a powerful—and deadly—threat once again

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March 2008
- Harry Praised by US Pilots
  
  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 »
- Canadian Convoy Bombed in Afghanistan
  
  Associated Press | Mar 12, 08 7:39 AM CDT
  
  (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 »
- Afghan Intel Chief Says Only 5% of Territory Is Lawless
  
  Associated Press | Mar 3, 08 11:22 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Afghanistan controls all but 5% of its territory, insisted its intelligence chief today—contradicting a far more pessimistic US assessment that last week said the Afghan government controls just 30% of its territory, the Taliban holds 10%, and tribal leaders are in charge of the rest. Western governments have chimed in against the US assessment. More »
- We Were Hunting Harry: Taliban
  
  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 »
- Pakistan Charges 5 in Bhutto Murder
  
  Associated Press | Mar 1, 08 6:32 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Police in Pakistan have filed charges against five men, including the country’s top Taliban commander, accusing them of planning the December assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the AP reports. President Pervez Musharaff had named the Taliban leader (and suspected al-Qaeda operative), Baitullah Mehsud, days after the attack, but today’s formal accusation led a judge to issue warrants for his and his co-conspirators’ arrest. More »
February 2008
- 35 Dead in Suicide Bombing at Pakistan Funeral
  
  Associated Press | Feb 29, 08 4:05 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - At least 35 people were killed and at least 60 injured today when a suicide bomber struck a funeral in northwest Pakistan' near the border with Afghanistan, the AP reports. The funeral in the Swat Valley drew 800 mourners for a police official killed today by a roadside bomb in the region, rife with conflict between authorities and pro-Taliban forces. More »
- Afghanistan Is Out of Control: Intel Chief
  
  Guardian (UK) | Feb 29, 08 2:05 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - The 6-year NATO campaign in Afghanistan is failing, the US intelligence chief told the Senate Armed Services Committee this week. Mike McConnell said Harmid Karzai’s US-backed government controls only about 30% of the country, with the Taliban holding another 10%, and the rest under tribal rule. Security, meanwhile, is “deteriorating” as the Taliban adopts Iraqi guerrillas' tactics. More »
- 80 Killed in Afghan Bombing
  
  BBC | Feb 17, 08 5:40 AM CST
  
  (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 »
- Bin Laden Is 'Planning' in Pakistan, Says US Official
  
  Reuters | Feb 9, 08 6:00 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Mullah Omar and his Taliban compatriots are running their insurgency from the Pakistani city of Quetta, while Osama bin Laden is operating in tribal areas of the country, says a US official. Bin Laden and right-hand man Ayman Al-Zawahiri are “planning” near the Afghanistan border, says the source, in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Area, Reuters reports. More »
- NATO Faces a Split Over Afghanistan
  
  Reuters | Feb 6, 08 5:43 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said today that NATO risks splitting into a "two-tiered alliance" because some members aren't willing to pull their weight in Afghanistan. The vast majority of the fighting against the Taliban in the country is done by Canadian, British, American and Dutch troops, and those countries want other nations to chip in, Reuters reports. More »
- Hundreds of Taliban Buy Their Freedom
  
  Newsweek | Feb 5, 08 12:50 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Hundreds of Taliban are buying their way out of jail every year, bribing police, judges, and wardens to return to the fields and streets of Afghanistan to fight again. Despite denials from the government, American and Afghan sources—and the Taliban itself—attest to the growing trend. Newsweek reports from one of the poorest countries in the world, where the quick money is irresistible. More »
- Bhutto Warned of Her Murder by Osama's Son
  
  Times (UK) | Feb 3, 08 8:23 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was told that four suicide bomb squads had been sent to kill her—and names Hamza bin Laden, son of Osama, as the leader of one, the slain leader says in an eerie, posthumously published autobiography. Bhutto's claim appears to bolster intelligence reports that Hamza, 16, is being groomed as a future al-Qaeda head, reports the Times of London. More »
- Germany Balks at US Request for Troop Help
  
  Der Spiegel | Feb 1, 08 5:47 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Germany has rejected a request from US defense secretary Robert Gates for more troops to fight the Taliban insurgency in southern Afghanistan, Der Spiegel reports. German defense minister Franz Josef Jung prefers his troops remain in the country's north, in accordance with Germany's Afghanistan mandate—which says troops will only head south to aid allies in emergencies. More »
January 2008
- Afghan Deputy Governor, 5 Others Killed in Mosque Attack
  
  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 »
- Afghan Women Protest Yank Kidnapping
  
  Associated Press | Jan 29, 08 5:44 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Some 500 Afghan women, many wearing burqas, assembled in an extremely rare mass protest in Kandahar to protest the kidnapping of American aid worker Cyd Mizell. "Her kidnapping is against our culture and tradition," said the director of the women's organization in Kandahar. Some of the women had obtained permission from their husbands to attend the rally. More »