Afghanistan – News Stories About Afghanistan - Page 110

Sep 13, 2007 12:43 PM CDT

45 Taliban Die in Battle on Ramadan Eve

Month-long surge in fighting in Afghanistan expected to continue

(Newser) - Forty-five Taliban insurgents were killed in a clash with coalition and Afghan troops in Afghanistan today. The Taliban attacked a joint patrol; the Afghan forces responded, with help from coalition airstrikes. The skirmish comes at the beginning of Islam's holy month of Ramadan

Taliban Told Hostages to Convert or Die

Sep 12, 2007 5:46 PM CDT

Taliban Told Hostages to Convert or Die

Freed Koreans describe harrowing 6-week Afghanistan ordeal

(Newser) - South Korean aid workers held captive by Taliban militants in Afghanistan recounted being urged at gunpoint to convert to Islam during at a news conference in Seoul today, the BBC reports. They were often beaten and forced to work "like slaves" during a six-week ordeal, which ended last month...

Russia Tests ‘Father of
All Bombs’

Sep 12, 2007 9:45 AM CDT

Russia Tests ‘Father of All Bombs’

Boasts its newly tested weapon beats US ‘Mother of All Bombs’

(Newser) - Russia has tested a vacuum bomb as powerful as a nuclear weapon, christening it after an American nuke while insisting it's “not unleashing a new arms race.” Trumpeting the “father of all bombs” in a report on State TV, an army higher-up said that, unlike a nuclear...

Rumsfeld Says He Has
No Regrets

Sep 10, 2007 7:50 PM CDT

Rumsfeld Says He Has No Regrets

Ex-defense secretary sleeps just fine, thank you; still backs Bush

(Newser) - Ever unflappable, Donald Rumsfeld praises progress in Afghanistan, backs his old boss, and tells GQ he has nothing to apologize for in his first interview since his ouster in December. Rummy still exudes the confidence he was known for in office, dismissing questions of guilt in Iraq, saying, "I...

Japanese PM Backtracks From Hints He'll Quit

Sep 10, 2007 7:14 PM CDT

Japanese PM Backtracks From Hints He'll Quit

Abe ignores calls for resignation, says he'll stay to enact reforms

(Newser) - Shinzo Abe has backed off his threat to quit if Japan yanks aid to US-led troops in Afghanistan. Many clamored for the beleaguered PM to step down after his party’s defeat in July elections, and Abe hinted yesterday that he'd walk away—a possible indication that he was looking...

Bureaucracy Played Role in Veteran's Death

Sep 5, 2007 7:08 PM CDT

Bureaucracy Played Role in Veteran's Death

Man, called up despite stress diagnosis, killed in standoff with police

(Newser) - Deployment to Afghanistan markedly changed Sgt. Jamie Dean, and the news that the Army was calling him out of reserve and sending him to Iraq—despite a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder—helped send him into a fatal standoff with Maryland police in December 2006. As his family prepares lawsuits,...

Danish Police Arrest 8, Foil Terror Plot

Sep 4, 2007 8:14 AM CDT

Danish Police Arrest 8, Foil Terror Plot

Officials say the men, with Mideastern backgrounds, are tied to Al Qaeda

(Newser) - Danish police have arrested eight men they say were plotting a terror attack and were tied to Al Qaeda. The arrest comes after months of surveillance, an intelligence official told a press conference in Copenhagen today, but he declined to say what country was the target of the attack. "...

Korean Hostages Back Home

Sep 2, 2007 8:12 AM CDT

Korean Hostages Back Home

They're sorry for 'causing trouble'

(Newser) - Nineteen relieved Christian aid workers returned home to South Korea yesterday after Taliban kidnapers released them from six weeks of captivity. They sank into the grateful arms of family and apologized to the public for "causing trouble." Korean officials had warned the church group not to travel to...

Final Korean Hostages
Walk Free

Aug 30, 2007 1:34 PM CDT

Final Korean Hostages Walk Free

Christian aid workers out of Taliban hands after 6 weeks

(Newser) - Taliban militants in Afghanistan freed the remaining seven South Korean hostages today, CNN reports, ending an episode that began July 19 with the abduction of 23 Christian aid workers. After two were executed, the remaining hostages were gradually released as the South Korean government negotiated with the captors, promising to...

Taliban Frees 4 More Captives

Aug 30, 2007 10:17 AM CDT

Taliban Frees 4 More Captives

Last Koreans also scheduled for release

(Newser) - Taliban militants released four of their remaining seven South Korean hostages today. The two men and two women were released to Red Cross officials on a road in central Afghanistan, the AP reports. The Red Cross is on its way to pick up the three remaining hostages from the original...

8 Korean Hostages Freed

Aug 29, 2007 6:56 AM CDT

8 Korean Hostages Freed

Taliban freeing prisoners after reaching a deal with South Korea

(Newser) - The Taliban released eight hostages today, a day after reaching a deal with the South Korean government. Three who were released earlier this morning were brought to the town of Ghazni by tribal elders—acting as mediators—then handed over to the Red Cross. South Korea has agreed to pull...

US Apologizes For Insensitive Soccer Balls

Aug 28, 2007 4:16 PM CDT

US Apologizes For Insensitive Soccer Balls

Afghans don't like prophet's name being kicked around

(Newser) - The US military apologized to Afghans today for soccer balls it distributed to young Muslim Beckhams in “good will.” The balls sported the Saudi flag, which carries the Islamic declaration of faith—including the names of Allah and Muhammad. An Afghan governor said villagers wanted to demonstrate against...

Deal Reached on Hostages

Aug 28, 2007 8:14 AM CDT

Deal Reached on Hostages

Taliban, Seoul agree on terms, including withdrawal of troops

(Newser) - Talks between the Taliban and the South Korean government have resulted in the outline of a deal to release the remaining 19 hostages held in Afghanistan for over a month. The agreement involves withdrawal of Korea's 200 noncombat troops and an end to missionary activity, CNN reports, but not payment...

Afghanistan Supplies 93%
of World's Opiates

Aug 28, 2007 6:47 AM CDT

Afghanistan Supplies 93% of World's Opiates

Poppy crop jumps 34% over last year

(Newser) - Afghanistan's opium production has soared over the last year and the country now supplies 93% of the world's opiates. Most of the poppies are grown along the country's southern border with Pakistan, where the insurgency is strong, security is weak, and the Taliban continues to use its drug profits to...

Criminal Probes Launched Into Iraqi Arms Deals

Aug 28, 2007 5:11 AM CDT

Criminal Probes Launched Into Iraqi Arms Deals

One of scores of investigations focus on aide to Gen. Petraeus

(Newser) - Scores of investigations are under way into fraud, bribery and other criminal activity relating to billions of dollars worth of arms and other war materiel supplied to forces in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait, the New York Times reports. The focus of the investigations range from the misappropriation of a few...

Three UK Soldiers Killed by US Fire

Aug 24, 2007 9:59 AM CDT

Three UK Soldiers Killed by US Fire

Jet was providing support v. Taliban

(Newser) - Fire from an American jet killed three British soldiers in Afghanistan yesterday evening in one of the worst “friendly fire” disasters in years. The US air support was called in to aid the soldiers, who were fighting Taliban forces; a single bomb from the F15 killed the Royal Anglian...

Afghan Refugees Flooding Home, Some Forced From Camps

Aug 20, 2007 4:34 PM CDT

Afghan Refugees Flooding Home, Some Forced From Camps

Mass repatriation may be new disaster

(Newser) - Afghan refugees are returning to their post-Taliban nation by the hundreds of thousands, and there are few resources to support them. Much of the repatriation is voluntary, the BBC reports, with newfound stability attracting Afghanis who fled as long as 25 years ago; others have been forced out of Pakistani...

Army Can't Sustain Troop Demand in Iraq

Aug 20, 2007 3:28 AM CDT

Army Can't Sustain Troop Demand in Iraq

Not enough soldiers to support surge through spring

(Newser) - With nearly all its forces exhausted, the US Army will have to break some promises to sustain the current troop buildup through spring, according to new documents acquired by AP. The Army would have to extend tours, reduce rest, or accelerate use of National Guard members to maintain current levels—...

Police Raid Frees Kabul Hostage

Aug 19, 2007 6:49 PM CDT

Police Raid Frees Kabul Hostage

Kidnappers call themselves 'a special network,' police say they are not Taliban

(Newser) - Afghan police stormed a secret location in Kabul today and freed a German aid worker held by kidnappers this weekend, CNN reports. Her abductors had circulated a video of her asking for the release of unknown prisoners and pleading for her own freedom. The captors said only that they are...

Korean Hostage Talks Fail

Aug 18, 2007 11:46 AM CDT

Korean Hostage Talks Fail

Taliban says demands not met; group is considering the fate of 19 captives

(Newser) - As the 19 remaining Korean hostages await news of their fate, negotiations to secure their release have failed, according to a Taliban spokesman. The terror group says its principal demand—the liberation of insurgents being held by coalition forces—was not met; South Korean officials have insisted Seoul has no...