Afghanistan

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Afghan Deputy Governor, 5 Others Killed in Mosque Attack

Bombing comes amid 'failed state' warnings

(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,...

Afghan Children Turning to Life on Street

Begging or selling, many are family's only source of income

(Newser) - An estimated 60,000 children in Afghanistan spend their days hawking trinkets or begging on the streets, and many are their families' sole source of income. Aid workers say the kids are a legacy of the country's 25 years of nearly continuous war, NPR reports. "The majority of them...

US Wants More NATO Troops for Afghan War

US calls on NATO allies for reinforcements

(Newser) - The US will pressure its NATO allies to commit more troops to Afghanistan, Reuters reports, but won't send more Americans, beyond the 3,200-Marine surge ordered last month. The need for increased manpower in the 6-year-old conflict resurfaced this week when Canada's prime minister threatened to withdraw his nation's 2,...

Afghan Women Protest Yank Kidnapping

Rare gathering of 500 rallies for female aid worker

(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...

Afghans Search for Abducted American
Afghans Search for Abducted American
Jan 27, 2008 10:04 AM CST

Afghans Search for Abducted American

Taliban remains silent as police hunt for missing aid worker

(Newser) - Afghan police are searching for an American aid worker and her driver kidnapped yesterday in Kandahar. Police have tightened security in the southern city, AFP reports, blocking traffic and questioning Afghans in the area where Cyd Mizell was seized. Nobody has claimed responsibility; a Taliban spokesman refused to say whether...

Afghan Gunmen Kidnap Female US Aid Worker

Woman, 49, was wearing burqa when stopped near Kandahar

(Newser) - An American woman has been kidnapped in Afghanistan along with her driver, the AP reports. The woman, 49, worked for an aid organization and was wearing a burqa when she was stopped near the southern city of Kandahar. Police are searching for the kidnappers, whom a local governor called “...

Canadian Panel Urges Afghanistan Troop Pullout

Miffed Canadians say allies need to step up

(Newser) - A government-appointed panel has recommended that Canada withdraw from a combat role in Afghanistan next year unless European allies shoulder more of the burden, reports the Financial Times. "Canadian resources, and Canadians' patience, are not limitless," said the panel, which was established to defuse the debate that has...

Petraeus Could Be Tapped to Head NATO

Pentagon mulls Iraq commander's next assignment

(Newser) - Iraq’s top commander could be at the helm of NATO by the start of next year, the New York Times reports. While no final decisions have been made, the Pentagon is considering nominating Gen. Petraeus in September, installing him before the election dust settles in a new, highly prestigious,...

Homeless Vets Spark Outcry: Haven't We Learned?

1,500 back from Iraq now in poverty

(Newser) - Iraq war veterans are suffering from stress, turning to alcohol, and falling into poverty—a fate that prompts some to ask whether the US has learned from tragedies of veterans past. Washington has identified 1,500 Iraq vets as homeless and helped about a third, but echoes of Vietnam persist...

US Makes Canadian Torture List
US Makes Canadian Torture List
Jan 18, 2008 6:40 AM CST

US Makes Canadian Torture List

'Torture awareness' manual for diplomats includes US, Syria, Israel, Iran

(Newser) - The US, along with China, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, and Israel, is listed in an official Canadian foreign ministry document of countries where prisoners are at risk of torture, the BBC reports. The "torture awareness" training manual classifies as torture some US interrogation techniques, including forced nudity, isolation, and sleep...

Sick Soldiers Sent to War Zones
Sick Soldiers Sent to War Zones
Jan 18, 2008 3:27 AM CST

Sick Soldiers Sent to War Zones

Deployed with injuries to meet goals

(Newser) - Soldiers who are unfit because of injuries or illness are being sent to Iraq to meet deployment goals. Physicians reveal that 52 soldiers from Colorado's Fort Carson were deployed despite suffering from nerve damage, mental health problems and other ailments, the Denver Post reports. "Because of issues reaching deployable...

Indignant NATO Allies Blast Gates' Critique

It's 'bloody outrageous,' says angry Brit official

(Newser) - US Defense Secretary Robert Gates has sparked an uproar among America's allies after he complained to the Los Angeles Times that some NATO forces are unprepared for their jobs in Afghanistan. The Dutch, British and Canadians—who all have troops in the south of the country—immediately slammed the comments,...

3,200 Marines Tapped for Afghan Surge

Allies bicker as US prepares to boost troop levels to 7-year high

(Newser) - Official orders have yet to be signed, but thousands more Marines have been told to prepare for deployment to Afghanistan, the AP reports. The extra 3,200 troops would bring the number of US forces there to some 30,000, its highest level since 2001, to combat a rise in...

Kabul Hotel Attack Kills 6
Kabul Hotel Attack Kills 6
Jan 14, 2008 7:31 PM CST

Kabul Hotel Attack Kills 6

US citizen and Norwegian reporter die in brazen downtown strike

(Newser) - A quartet of Taliban militants killed six people in a Kabul hotel today and sent Norway's foreign minister scrambling to the hotel basement, BBC reports. One attacker set off a suicide bomb as three others fired machine guns in the 5-star hotel. A Norwegian reporter and a US citizen were...

US May Send 3,000 Marines to Afghanistan

Pentagon considers more troops to ward off Taliban offensive

(Newser) - Afghanistan may receive its own troop surge this April, the AP reports. To fend off a resurgent Taliban, the Pentagon will consider deploying another 3,000 Marines for 7 months. Military commanders say they actually need another 7,500 troops to fend off the expected offensive, and defense chief Robert...

US Afghan Prison Dwarfs Gitmo
US Afghan Prison Dwarfs Gitmo
Jan 7, 2008 12:00 PM CST

US Afghan Prison Dwarfs Gitmo

Plans to transfer prisoners falls short

(Newser) - Guantanamo Bay may get all the press, but Bagram, the US detention center in Afghanistan, holds over twice as many prisoners, and it’s proving just as difficult to close. Plans to transfer its roughly 630 inmates to a US-funded Afghan prison outside Kabul have failed, the New York Times...

Afghans Facing Food Crisis
Afghans Facing Food Crisis
Jan 6, 2008 5:28 AM CST

Afghans Facing Food Crisis

Minister pleads for wheat from international community

(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....

Bhutto Killing: Deadly Blow to Pakistan Stability

Musharraf blames terrorists for assassination

(Newser) - The assassination of Benazir Bhutto deals a devastating setback to hopes for political stability in Pakistan. The death today of the nation's most charismatic opposition leader is likely to trigger an outpouring of anti-government sentiment, political analysts tell the Wall Street Journal, and force postponement of next month's scheduled elections....

Afghanistan Deports EU, UN Diplomats
Afghanistan Deports EU,
UN Diplomats
Dec 27, 2007 11:50 AM CST

Afghanistan Deports EU, UN Diplomats

Pair accused of meeting, paying Taliban leaders

(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...

UK-Taliban Secret Talks Come to Light

Despite denials, British intelligence organized series of 'jirgas'

(Newser) - British intelligence agents held a series of secret talks with leading members of the Taliban this summer, reports the Telegraph. At jirgas in Afghanistan, the country's secret service attempted peace negotiations and offered "mentoring." Details of the meetings—as many as a half dozen—emerged just as Afghan...

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