Afghanistan

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NATO Raid Kills Ex-Gitmo Detainee in Afghanistan

He became al-Qaeda operative after leaving Gitmo, say officials

(Newser) - NATO and Afghan forces killed a former Guantanamo detainee who had become a key al-Qaeda affiliate after returning to Afghanistan, officials said today. Sabar Lal Melma, who was released from Guantanamo in 2007 after five years of detention, had been organizing attacks in eastern Kunar province and funding insurgent operations,...

For US Forces in Afghanistan, August Deadliest Month Yet

Killing of 30 in helicopter spiked death toll

(Newser) - With 66 American troops killed in Afghanistan so far in August, this month has been the deadliest for US forces since the war began in 2001, reports the AP . Before this August, the deadliest month had been July 2010, when 65 US soldiers died. Nearly half of this month's...

Afghans Leaked US-Taliban Talks to End Them

US contact Tayyab Aga has fled to Europe

(Newser) - Someone in the Afghan presidential palace intentionally leaked the news that the US was negotiating with the Taliban, scuttling the talks and sending the US contact into hiding, sources tell the AP . Hamid Karzai didn't trust the US and feared any deal between it and the Taliban would diminish...

Hero&#39;s Dog Guards His Coffin
 Hero's Dog Guards His Coffin 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Aug 28, 2011 1:09 PM CDT

Hero's Dog Guards His Coffin

Hawkeye waits for his master's voice

(Newser) - A loyal Labrador retriever kept a faithful vigil at his master's side this week even as friends and family wept at his human's coffin. "Hawkeye" waited patiently at the Iowa funeral for a word or a whistle from downed Navy SEAL Jon Tumilson, 35, killed with 29...

Marines Ban Audible Farts in Afghanistan
 Marines Ban 
 Audible Farts 
 in Afghanistan 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Aug 28, 2011 9:11 AM CDT

Marines Ban Audible Farts in Afghanistan

Bend over backwards to avoid offending Afghans

(Newser) - US military leaders, sensitive to winning hearts and minds in Afghanistan, have instituted several unloved regulations on troops there—no swearing, no talking about volatile subjects like politics or girls. But now leaders apparently want to win ears and noses, too, as they have introduced an unusual no-no—no farting,...

Afghan Militants Kill 12 in Pakistan

Latest in series of raids that has increased tension

(Newser) - Hundreds of militants crossed the Afghan border today and attacked three security checkpoints in northwestern Pakistan, killing 10 paramilitary soldiers and two policemen, officials said. It was the latest of a series of attacks that Pakistani officials say have been launched from an area of eastern Afghanistan where the US...

US Troops May Stay in Afghanistan Until 2024

Telegraph : Deal would keep 'thousands'

(Newser) - The US already has spent a decade fighting in Afghanistan, and the Telegraph suggests it might spend a decade or so more. The British paper reports that US and Afghan officials are close to a deal that would keep "thousands" of US troops in the country until 2024—not...

10 Dead in Attack on British Council in Kabul

Five insurgents involved; Taliban claims responsibility

(Newser) - A coordinated attack today on a British compound in Kabul involving two suicide bombers and a five-hour long firefight between Afghan security troops and attackers who penetrated the complex killed at least 10 people, Afghan officials say. The attack on the British Council occurred as Afghans celebrated Independence Day, marking...

Air Force Plane, Drone Collide
 Air Force Plane, Drone Collide 
Aug 17, 2011 8:49 AM CDT

Air Force Plane, Drone Collide

Accident renews criticisms of using drones in civilian airspace

(Newser) - A C-130 cargo plane made an emergency landing in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, after colliding with a 12-foot-by-20-foot RQ-7 Shadow unmanned drone, reports the Wall Street Journal . The cargo plane was only slightly damaged and none of its crew was injured, but the incident is expected to step up criticisms...

$360M Lost to Insurgents, Criminals in Afghanistan

'Reverse money laundering' turned clean money dirty

(Newser) - While the US military has known for some time that a chunk of the money being spent in Afghanistan on logistics ends up in the hands of the Taliban and criminals , at last the military has an estimate of just how big those losses are—$360 million, according to a...

Witnesses Recount Helicopter Tragedy

Chinook burst into flames, crashed in pieces

(Newser) - As soon as the Chinook helicopter carrying 30 American troops and eight Afghans was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade fired from a hillside, it burst into flames, a witness tells the AP . "After it started burning, it crashed. It came down in three pieces. We could see it burning...

US-Taliban Talks Collapse
 US-Taliban Talks Collapse 
Aug 11, 2011 10:07 AM CDT

US-Taliban Talks Collapse

Taliban unhappy over media leaks

(Newser) - The US-Taliban talks have been cut off, thanks to media leaks. Western diplomats tell the Telegraph that confidentiality was a key condition of the talks, held in Germany and Qatar in March and April, but they were halted after just three meetings because details were leaked. Among other things, the...

NATO Strikes Kill Taliban Helicopter Shooters

But second Taliban leader gets away

(Newser) - A NATO strike on Monday took out the Taliban forces responsible for downing a Chinook helicopter, reports Reuters , in a tragedy that killed all 38 Afghan and American soldiers aboard last weekend. "The strike killed Taliban leader Mullah Mohibullah and the insurgent who fired the shot associated with the...

Drone Strike Kills 20 in Pakistan

Latest strike kills militants belonging to the Haqqani network

(Newser) - American-fired missiles killed 20 Islamist militants in northwest Pakistan today, most of them members of a powerful insurgent network fighting the US presence in Afghanistan, say Pakistani intelligence officials. Two missiles slammed into a house in North Waziristan, a militant hotspot that lies just across the border from Afghanistan. Unnamed...

Was Crashed Copter's Rescue Mission Necessary?

Investigators probing that question

(Newser) - A heartbreaking twist in the helicopter tragedy that claimed 38 US and Afghan lives: The rescue mission the troops were en route to may not even have been necessary. Special Operations forces in the remote Tangi Valley requested assistance after coming under fire from "several" insurgents, even though they...

NATO: Taliban Rocket Likely Downed Helicopter

Officials working to recover every single piece

(Newser) - The helicopter that crashed over the weekend in Afghanistan, killing 30 US troops and eight others, was likely shot down by a Taliban rocket, NATO forces said today. Though the Taliban was quick to claim responsibility, Western officials had been tight-lipped until today's announcement, Reuters notes. The Navy SEALs...

SEALs in Afghan Crash Died After Rescuing Comrades

Elite fighters saved Army Rangers pinned down by fire

(Newser) - The Navy SEALs killed in the helicopter crash in Afghanistan were headed home from a rescue mission in which they flew to the aid of Army rangers who had come under a major Taliban assault, officials are revealing. The SEALs had "subdued attackers" who had pinned down the Rangers...

AP: Crash Victims Include SEALs Who Killed bin Laden
SEALs From Elite Unit Killed in Afghan Crash
updated
Aug 6, 2011 11:40 AM CDT

SEALs From Elite Unit Killed in Afghan Crash

They weren't the same men who got bin Laden, however

(Newser) - US officials tell the Associated Press that they believe none of the Navy SEALs who died in today's helicopter crash in Afghanistan had participated in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, although they were from the same unit that carried out the bin Laden mission. In all, 30...

30 US Troops Die in Afghan Chopper Crash

Deadliest incident in decade-old war; Karzai sends condolences

(Newser) - A helicopter crash in Afghanistan's eastern Wardak province has killed 30 US special operation troops and seven Afghan soldiers, Hamid Karzai said today. (The US figure was revised from 31.) It was the highest number of casualties recorded in a single incident in the decade-long war. NATO confirmed...

Cat Fight Erupts at US Embassy in Kabul

Diplomats split over fate of semi-feral felines

(Newser) - At the Duck and Cover bar at America's embassy in Kabul, cats are a contentious topic, the Washington Post finds. Some 30 semi-feral cats roam the embassy grounds and some staffers are fiercely resisting plans to exterminate them to prevent rabies. The embassy "cat committee" has been told...

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