Afghanistan

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NATO Sorry for Afghan Civilian Deaths

Insurgents hid in a civilian compound, says NATO commander

(Newser) - NATO apologized earlier today for an airstrike that killed at least nine civilians in the insurgent-plagued Helmand province of Afghanistan, reports AP . "I want to offer my sincere apologies for the nine civilians who were killed during the incident in Nawzad district, Helmand province," said the southwest regional...

Afghan Officials: NATO Airstrike Killed 12 Children

NATO says the matter is under investigation

(Newser) - A NATO airstrike targeting insurgents inadvertently hit two civilian homes in the volatile southwestern Helmand province, killing 12 children and two women, an Afghan government official said today. He said the alliance launched the airstrike late yesterday in retaliation for an attack earlier in the day on a US Marine...

Afghan Blast Kills 7 US Troops
 Afghan Blast Kills 7 US Troops 
May 26, 2011 10:39 PM CDT

Afghan Blast Kills 7 US Troops

Kandahar roadside bomb deadliest since 2009

(Newser) - Nine NATO service members were killed Thursday in Afghanistan, including seven US troops and another NATO service member killed when a powerful bomb exploded in a field where they were patrolling on foot, officials said. Two Afghan policemen also died and two others were wounded in the explosion in the...

Taliban Denies Report of Leader's Death

But intelligence bureau confirms Mullah Mohammad Omar cannot be located

(Newser) - Afghanistan’s main intelligence agency is investigating reports that Taliban leader Mohammad Omar cannot be located, the Washington Post reports. Rumblings that Omar and top commanders vanished from their hideout sometime during the last few days led to reports by some media outlets in the country that he may be...

6 Killed in Hours-Long Afghan Siege

Taliban gunmen storm government building

(Newser) - Taliban fighters wearing suicide bomb vests hidden under police uniforms attacked a government building in eastern Afghanistan today, triggering an hours-long gun battle and killing six people, officials said. Four men armed with assault rifles and wearing explosives drove shortly before dawn into a compound that houses the provincial traffic...

Release Scapegoat 'American Taliban,' Says Dad

John Walker Lindh was a 'scapegoat,' not a traitor

(Newser) - With Osama bin Laden dead, it's time to release John Walker Lindh—the notorious "American Taliban" captured with Taliban forces in Afghanistan just months after 9/11—says father Frank Lindh in the New York Times . "Like Ernest Hemingway during the Spanish Civil War, John had volunteered for...

Taliban Massacres Highway Workers

35 killed in eastern Afghanistan attack

(Newser) - At least 35 workers were killed when Taliban militants ambushed a highway construction crew in eastern Afghanistan yesterday. Almost every one of the laborers, engineers, and guards on site where killed, kidnapped, or injured after the insurgents attacked a roadside camp early in the morning, reports the BBC . Eight militants...

11 Afghans Dead as Protest of NATO Raid Turns Violent

Four were killed in last night's raid

(Newser) - Hundreds of protesters, angered by an overnight NATO raid that they believed killed four civilians, clashed with security forces today on the streets of a northern Afghan city. At least 11 people were killed and 50 injured as the protesters fought with police and tried to assault a NATO outpost...

Breathing Trouble Dogs Middle East Vets

 Breathing Trouble 
 Dogs Middle East Vets 
study says
May 17, 2011 9:05 AM CDT

Breathing Trouble Dogs Middle East Vets

New study increases concern over respiratory issues

(Newser) - Why do so many young, previously healthy soldiers come back from the Middle East with respiratory problems, some so bad they can no longer pass a physical required for active duty? The question was made more urgent with the results of a new study showing that Iraq and Afghanistan veterans...

Pakistan Fires on NATO Helicopters

Two Pakistani soldiers injured in brief firefight

(Newser) - Pakistani ground troops and NATO helicopters exchanged fire this morning, injuring two Pakistani soldiers. Pakistan says it opened fire on the choppers when they crossed into Pakistani air space from Afghanistan, the New York Times reports. But US defense officials tell the Wall Street Journal that they have reports that...

US-Taliban Talks Speed Up
 US-Taliban Talks Speed Up 
May 17, 2011 6:50 AM CDT

US-Taliban Talks Speed Up

Officials hope Obama will have progress to report by July

(Newser) - The US has accelerated direct talks with the Taliban, a move that predates the killing of Osama bin Laden. US representatives have attended at least three meetings with a Taliban official believed to be close to the group's leader, the most recent of which was just "eight or...

Taliban Recruits Child Suicide Bombers: Afghan Officials

Young boys describe how they were led into terror

(Newser) - Last weekend, the Afghan intelligence service paraded five young boys—some not yet adolescents—in front of reporters and photographers to send a clear message: "The Taliban are recruiting children in their ranks and using them to carry out suicide attacks in Afghanistan," a spokesman said. One 9-year-old...

After Death, What Holbrooke Really Thought Revealed

Friends to the late special envoy want his true opinions known

(Newser) - In life, Richard Holbrooke was loyal to the Obama administration, but since his December death, his widow and friends have decided that it is important people know the true opinions of this special envoy to the Af-Pak region, writes Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times —including what Holbrooke...

After bin Laden's Death, Afghanistan Debate Heats Up

Washington weighs withdrawal, other options

(Newser) - The big question in Washington: Now that Osama bin Laden is dead, what do we do about Afghanistan? Senators John Kerry, a Democrat, and Richard Lugar, a Republican, both said yesterday that we must reassess the nearly decade-old conflict and work toward, as Kerry said, "the smallest footprint necessary....

Military Outlining Modest Afghan Withdrawal

But only a small one

(Newser) - US military officers are drawing up plans for a modest troop reduction in Afghanistan that’s designed to meet President Obama’s July deadline without conceding the ground they’ve gained in the restive south. Preliminary plans call for the withdrawal of 5,000 troops in July, and another 5,...

Taliban: Osama's Death Inspires Us to Keep Fighting

New video shows purported frontline fighters

(Newser) - Al-Qaeda isn't the only organization making threats in the wake of Osama bin Laden's death: In a new video, unidentified fighters who identify themselves as frontline Taliban militants promise to continue fighting until all foreign forces have left Afghanistan. "Even if the news of Osama bin Laden'...

US Saw Chance at bin Laden in 2007

Osama was expected at Taliban, al-Qaeda rally in Afghanistan

(Newser) - Four years ago, the US believed it had a chance to capture or kill Osama bin Laden: Militants would be gathering in the Tora Bora region of Afghanistan for suicide attack training, and there were whispers that bin Laden would attend. A secret raid on the site resulted in the...

Obama: Perpetual Afghan Footprint No Longer Needed
Obama: Perpetual Afghan Footprint No Longer Needed
'60 minutes'
May 6, 2011 8:15 AM CDT

Obama: Perpetual Afghan Footprint No Longer Needed

Bin Laden's death confirms Afghan war can be refocused

(Newser) - Osama bin Laden's death has stirred up a debate over whether the US should pull out of Afghanistan early. Asked about it on his upcoming 60 Minutes appearance, President Obama reminded Steve Kroft that he's already committed to a draw-down of troops starting in July. But bin Laden'...

With Osama Dead, Taliban, al-Qaeda May Part Ways

Bin Laden's death provides the opening for peace talks

(Newser) - Osama bin Laden's death is likely to make the Taliban rethink its alliance with al-Qaeda, which was likely initially based on a personal friendship between bin Laden and the Taliban's one-eyed leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, analysts tell the AP . The US and Afghan governments won't negotiate a...

Leon Panetta: Pakistan Might Have Alerted Osama

And Obama didn't actually watch him being killed

(Newser) - Pakistan was told nothing about the mission to kill Osama bin Laden, because the CIA thought “any effort to work with the Pakistanis could jeopardize the mission,” Leon Panetta told Time yesterday. “They might alert the target.” The statement is likely to deepen the speculation swirling...

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