--------------------
Cleric Slain After Speech Against Taliban Leader
--------------------

From Times Wire Reports

May 30 2005

Gunmen killed a prominent anti-Taliban cleric in southern Afghanistan. Mawlavi Abdullah Fayaz was gunned down by two men on a motorcycle as he was leaving his office in the heart of Kandahar, witnesses said.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...headlines-world

New Attacks Strike in Afghanistan

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=DB0952:2F72C9D

Police officials say bomb went off shortly after NATO vehicle drove by
on main road east of Kabul

British soldiers inspect a car that was hit by a roadside bomb in
KabulA roadside bomb outside the Afghan capital, Kabul, wounded at
least five people Monday, and insurgents fired a missile at NATO's
security force compound in the capital.

Police officials say the bomb went off shortly after a NATO vehicle
drove by on the main road east of Kabul.

The explosion injured five Afghan civilians riding in a taxi behind
the NATO car.

An earlier overnight blast shook NATO's fortified headquarters in
central Kabul, but no casualties were reported.

Karen Tissot van Patot, a spokeswoman for the NATO military force
keeping security in Kabul, says a rocket was fired at the compound,
and the shell landed near a military barracks around one o'clock
Monday morning.

"There were no injuries, and only a little damage to the building as a
result of the incident," she said.

The two attacks have contributed to increasing unease across the
country, as the Taleban insurgency intensifies after several months of
relative calm during the harsh winter.

On Sunday, gunmen shot and killed a prominent pro-government cleric in
Kandahar.

Mawlavi Abdullah Fayaz was murdered as he left his office in the
southern city, considered a stronghold for pro-Taleban sentiment.

Last week, Mr. Fayaz condemned the insurgency in a speech to more than
500 religious leaders.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has condemned the killing. At least 10
suspects have been arrested.

Also on Sunday, a local television station aired a video of a
kidnapped Italian aid

Clementina Cantoni shown on Tolo TVworker. Gunmen abducted the
32-year-old Clementina Cantoni on May 16 in Kabul.

The video shows two men pointing rifles at Ms. Cantoni's head, while
an unseen captor prompts her to identify herself for the camera.

"My name is Clementina…. My name is Clementina. My father's name is?
My father's name is Fabio," she repeated after captor.

It is not clear when the video was shot.

There were reports last week that Ms. Cantoni had been killed. The
tape has raised hopes that she is still in good health and could be
released.

But it has also sparked fears that kidnappers in Afghanistan are
copying the techniques of insurgents in Iraq, where several foreigners
have been abducted, then video of them in captivity has been released.
In many such cases, the kidnapping victims were later murdered.

10 suspected Taliban and an Afghan soldier killed in fighting:

Fighting between Afghan troops and suspected Taliban rebels Monday in the country's troubled south left at least 10 insurgents and a soldier dead, a government
http://snipurl.com/f8wq



Nato compound attacked in Kabul:

An Afghan police officer outside the compound, said a rocket struck inside the heavily fortified base, which is near the US embassy and other diplomatic missions in central Kabul.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/784...E669A370608.htm

http://snipurl.com/f8wr



NATO sends F-16s to disperse Afghan protesters :

NATO peacekeepers sent F-16 fighter jets to a northeastern Afghanistan province on Monday in a show of force to disperse thousands of protesters, police said.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/2...o-protests.html

http://snipurl.com/f8ws

Elite Australian troops 'killed innocent Afghans':

Australian SAS soldiers were part of a patrol that killed 11 innocent tribesmen and wounded 16 in a bungled operation during the war on terror in Afghanistan
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8985.htm

http://snipurl.com/f9vh

Nine Afghan anti occupation forces killed:

Afghan resistance fighters launched three nearly simultaneous attacks on US and Afghan government positions and up to nine attackers were killed, the US military said today.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,15472088-38201,00.html

http://snipurl.com/f9vi



Afghan Women No Better Off After Taliban: Amnesty : –

Women are raped, murdered and abused with impunity all over Afghanistan despite the overthrow of the Taliban that was supposed to have ushered in a new era of women rights, Amnesty International said on Monday
http://www.islamonline.org/English/News/20...article01.shtml

http://snipurl.com/f9vl



Afghanistan Harvests Another Bumper Opium Crop :

Afghanistan produced an estimated 4,200 metric tons of raw opium last year, amounting to 87 percent of world supply, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/may2005/2005-05-31-03.asp

http://snipurl.com/f9vn

Suicide Attack Kills at Least 20 at Afghan Mosque

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=DB6C3B:2F72C9D

Blast occurred during the funeral of Mullah Abdul Fayaz, a prominent
pro-government cleric who was shot Sunday by suspected Taleban gunmen

Afghan police officer, right, stands inside the mosque after a bomb
blast in Kandahar, Afghanistan Wednesday, June 1, 2005A massive blast
has ripped through a mosque in Afghanistan, leaving at least 20 dead
and dozens wounded. A suicide bomber blew himself up during the
funeral of a murdered anti-Taleban cleric.

The blast occurred when the mosque in the southern city of Kandahar
was packed with mourners at the funeral of Mullah Abdul Fayaz, who was
killed Sunday by suspected Taleban gunmen.

Mr. Fayaz was a prominent pro-government cleric and last week had
condemned the Taleban insurgency in a speech to more than 500
religious leaders.

Interior Ministry spokesman Latfullah Mashal says the police chief of
the capital, Kabul, was among those killed in Wednesday's attack. Mr.
Mashal says security forces across the region are on guard against
further attacks.

"It's difficult to prevent a suicide attack but police are trying
their best to provide enough security and deploy enough police
officers in different parts of the city," said Latfullah Mashal.

Unidentified Afghan man donates blood for the injured victims of the
bomb blast The bombing was the deadliest so far this year and one of
the worst since U.S.-led forces ousted the Taleban regime in 2001.

After a winter lull, insurgents have stepped up their attacks in
recent weeks with a series of high profile assassinations, bombings
and missile attacks.

A missile attack on NATO headquarters in Kabul Monday slightly damaged
a military barracks but no injuries were reported.

NATO spokeswoman Karen Tissot Van Patot told reporters Wednesday
international forces would not be intimidated by terrorist acts.

"These events serve to remind us all that we must remain determined
and coordinated to thwart those who would conspire to disrupt the
peace and security we are all trying to maintain," said Karen Tissot
Van Patot.

However, international observers say the stakes are increasingly high
with national parliamentary elections scheduled for September.

Election organizers say security, especially in the south, remains a
significant challenge to any successful vote.

The United States and NATO are expected to expand their troop presence
in the months leading up to the election.

Suicide Attack Kills at Least 20 at Afghan Mosque:

A massive blast has ripped through a mosque in Afghanistan, leaving at least 20 dead and dozens wounded. A suicide bomber blew himself up during the funeral of a murdered anti-Taleban cleric.
http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=42974

http://snipurl.com/fat7



16 Taleban, four Afghan cops killed in attacks :

US-led warplanes and troops killed up to nine suspected Taleban after repelling a wave of militant attacks, while four Afghan police and seven rebels died during an assault on a police station, officials said yesterday.
http://snipurl.com/fat9



2 killed, 5 injured in bomb blast in south Afghanistan :

Two persons were killed and five injured in a controlled bomb attack in Afghan south province of Helmand on Wednesday noon.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-06/...ent_3032312.htm

http://snipurl.com/fatb



3 Troops Wounded By Roadside Bomb In Afghanistan:

Three paratroopers from Fort Bragg were recovering Wednesday from wounds they sustained when a roadside bomb exploded next to their Humvee.
http://www.nbc17.com/news/4553704/detail.html

http://snipurl.com/fatc

Afghan Fighting Leaves U.S. Soldier Dead:

"Insurgents" ambushed a coalition patrol in eastern Afghanistan on Friday, killing one American and wounding three.
http://snipurl.com/fi3a



Desertions blow hits Afghan army :

Hundreds of soldiers have deserted the Afghan National Army complaining of poor conditions and fierce resistance from the Taleban, US officials say.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4078118.stm

http://snipurl.com/fi3b



Iran helped overthrow Taliban, candidate says:

Members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards fought alongside and advised the Afghan rebels who helped U.S. forces topple Afghanistan's Taliban regime in the months after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the guards' former leader says.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-06...POE=click-refer

http://snipurl.com/fi4i



Chris Floyd: Blood Group :

The brutal system of torture, corruption, lawlessness and war established in Washington by the faction of President George W. Bush is now backed by the greatest military power in history, able to wipe whole nations from the face of the earth in minutes.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9098.htm

http://snipurl.com/fi3c

Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal disease caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. A person can become infected by drinking contaminated water or eating food contaminated by the bacterium. Common sources of infection are raw or poorly cooked seafood, raw fruit and vegetables, and other foods that have been contaminated during preparation or storage.Cholera is an acute intestinal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. It has a short incubation period, from less than one day to five days, and produces an enterotoxin that causes a copious, painless, watery diarrhoea that can quickly lead to severe dehydration and death if treatment is not promptly given. Vomiting also occurs in most patients.

Bin Laden Aide Rejects Role for the US in the Mideast New York Times

21 killed in Afghanistan fighting:

Fierce fighting between Taliban rebels and Afghan security forces left 18 militants and three others dead, a day after the US military pounded suspected rebels in airstrikes that killed as many as 20, officials said today.
http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.asp?...400&p=y46778yx6

http://snipurl.com/fppk

Afghan and U.S. forces kill 32 Taliban, retake town:

Hundreds of Afghan police backed by U.S. air strikes retook control on Tuesday of a district capital in southwestern Afghanistan that was overrun by the Taliban, killing 32 guerrillas, police said.
http://snipurl.com/fqie

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/internatio...059&partner=AOL

US Spy Plane on Afghanistan Mission Crashes, Killing Pilot

Fierce firefights between US-led troops and Taliban-led militants kill scores one day after Afghan, Pakistani officials smooth over differences.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0622/dailyUpdate.html

Afghan Fighting Kills 60 Rebels, 12 Others:

American warplanes pounded a suspected Taliban safe haven in the mountains of southern Afghanistan during an assault that killed up to 60 insurgents and 12 security forces, officials said Wednesday. Five American soldiers were wounded.
http://snipurl.com/frnx



William S. Lind: The Other War:

It is easy to forget that we are fighting, and losing, not one Fourth Generation war but two. Five U.S. troops were killed in Afghanistan last week.
http://www.military.com/Opinions/0,,Lind_062105,00.html

http://snipurl.com/frny

Flight over Afghanistan ends in fatal crash of U-2 Houston Chronicle
An American U-2 spy plane crashed while returning to its base in the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday, killing the pilot after a mission in support of US troops in Afghanistan. The aircraft crashed in the Emirates while approaching the base to land, said a Pentagon official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the operation. Early reports gave no indication of any hostile fire, the official said. The U-2 is a single-seat, single-engine reconnaissance plane that operates at an altitude of more than 70,000 feet and has been used in every major conflict the U.S. has fought since the aircraft went into service a half-century ago. Flying beyond the range of most surface-to-air missiles — the pilot must wear a full pressure suit similar to those used by astronauts — the U-2 was famously shot down in 1960 over the Soviet Union.
High degree of precision
With its bicycle-type landing gear and the challenges of handling the aircraft at low altitudes, the U-2 requires a high degree of precision during landing. Forward visibility is limited, partly because of the extended nose. A second pilot normally "chases" the U-2 while it lands, assisting the pilot by providing information on altitude and runway alignment. The military did not immediately release the location or circumstances of the crash because it did not want to create problems for the nation where the plane went down. Officials also withheld the name of the pilot pending notification of relatives. In Washington, Lt. Col. Barry Venable, a Pentagon spokesman, said the plane had completed a mission related to Operation Enduring Freedom, the code name for American operations in Afghanistan. "The airmen of the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing mourn the loss of a true American hero in the service of his country," said Col. Darryl Burke, the unit's wing commander. The wing has been based at the al-Dhafra air base near Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, since early 2002 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The U-2 has been used by the United States for decades, and the new model, the U-2S, entered service in 1994 — 39 years after the first plane went into operation. There are just 36 in the world, 29 being used by the Air Force, five two-seat trainers and two used for high-flying NASA research. The planes also were used in the 1991 Persian Gulf War, and employed with great success by U.N. weapons inspectors in Iraq in the 1990s to uncover advanced weapons development centers, which were later destroyed.
Plane's historical value
A U-2 was shot down May 1, 1960, over Soviet territory while photographing Soviet missile installations. After parachuting to safety, pilot Francis Gary Powers was captured and later convicted as a spy. He was held for almost two years before being traded for a KGB captive. In the summer of 1962, the Soviet Union began installing 42 medium-range nuclear missiles in Cuba. U.S. spy planes detected the missiles, and the United States began a naval blockade of the island nation. Tensions peaked when Cuba shot down a U-2 on Oct. 27; Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev submitted to President Kennedy's demand the missiles be withdrawn.
Cold War echo in fatal crash of U-2 spy plane Boston Globe
U-2 Spy Pilot Dies in Crash in the Mideast New York Times
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http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review...y/s_346773.html

US kills 76 Afghan militants

Afghans say 132 Taliban dead, four commanders under siege:

The brother-in-law of fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar is one of the key figures under siege in a mountain hideout, the Afghan defence ministry said Thursday. The claim could not be independently confirmed.
http://www.bakutoday.net/afps/english/shar...2.6pgunr2g.html

http://snipurl.com/fsjh

Russia concerned over terrorist training camps in Afghanistan :

"We are seriously concerned that terrorist training bases are still operating on Afghan territory, including with the immediate participation of certain secret services," Putin said
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20050623/40751063.html

http://snipurl.com/fsjj

5 Afghans Dead, 2 Germans Missing in Blast :

A massive explosion at a weapons dump near an airfield in northern Afghanistan killed five Afghans, while two German soldiers missing in the blast were presumed dead, officials said Sunday.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/stor...5099487,00.html

http://snipurl.com/fv9h

US military helicopter crashes in Afghanistan Reuters
A US military Chinook helicopter capable of carrying more than 30 people crashed on an anti-guerrilla mission in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday but the fate of those on board was not immediately known. The U.S. military was unable to say how many were on board but CNN quoted an unidentified U.S. military official as saying "about 16 U.S. troops" were on the helicopter. "A rocket was fired at an American helicopter in the district," said an Afghan official in Kunar province, where the crash occurred. He requested anonymity. A Pentagon official, asking not to be named, said: "I wouldn't rule out anything." The crash occurred west of the city of Asadabad in Kunar province, which borders Pakistan, and the twin-rotor CH-47 was transporting troops into an area in support of U.S. forces, the U.S. military said in a statement. "The cause of the crash and status of survivors is unknown at this time," the statement said. "U.S. fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters are currently providing close air support to the forces on the ground." U.S. military spokeswoman Lieutenant Cindy Moore said she had no further details at this stage. The U.S. Army says a Chinook is capable of carrying three crew and 33 troops. It was the second crash of a U.S. military CH-47 in Afghanistan in less than three months.

GOVERNMENT VOW ON ELECTIONS
Earlier on Tuesday, bombs killed a top Afghan policeman and four other people, but the government said Taliban guerrillas would not derail parliamentary polls on Sept. 18. Government spokesman Jawed Ludin vowed the parliamentary elections would be held on schedule and would be even more successful than last October's presidential ballot won by U.S.-backed Hamid Karzai. "The (guerrilla) challenges are very feeble," said Ludin. The police chief of Sarkano district in the eastern province of Kunar was killed along with two of his sons when a roadside bomb blew up their vehicle south of the provincial capital Asadabad, officials said. Seven police were wounded. Several rockets landed near a U.N.-Afghan election commission office in Asadabad, but caused no casualties or damage. Another roadside bomb killed two police officers and wounded two others in the Naish district of the southwestern province of Kandahar, police said. The government said fighting in the southwest last week showed the weakness of the Taliban, ousted from power by U.S.-led forces in late 2001. It says U.S.-backed forces killed 178 Taliban in the Mian Nishin region in what would be one of the guerrillas' bloodiest setbacks, although U.S. forces gave a toll of 77. The guerrillas said they lost only 7-8 men in the fighting. "The events in Mian Nishin show how fragile the terrorist threat against the people of Afghanistan is," said Ludin. "(The guerrillas) are very small compared with the increasing capability of our own forces, compared with the combined capability of the international community that's there to help us and compared to the will of the Afghan people." Election organizers said on Monday a voter registration drive had produced an overwhelming response, with 73,000 people signing up in two days. But U.N. Special Representative Jean Arnault told the U.N. Security Council on Friday worsening security had had a negative impact on poll preparations and military operations were not enough to beat destabilization efforts by the Taliban. He said it was necessary to stop financing for the guerrillas, safe havens and support networks and welcomed contacts on this with neighboring Pakistan, which Afghan and U.S. officials have accused of giving sanctuary to guerrillas despite being an ally in the U.S.-led war against terrorism. About 400 insurgents have been killed since March, according to government and U.S. figures. Fourteen U.S. troops and dozens of Afghan police and troops have been killed in attacks.
(Additional reporting by Yousuf Azimy)
US chopper crashes in Afghanistan CNN
US Chinook crashes in Afghanistan ABC Online
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Bombs kill senior Afghan policeman and four others:

Bombs killed a top policeman and four other people in Afghanistan on Tuesday and rockets struck near a U.N. election office, but the government said Taliban guerrillas would not derail parliamentary polls in September.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L28545814.htm

http://snipurl.com/fw8n



US helicopter down in Afghanistan :

The Chinook helicopter went down in the eastern province of Konar while carrying troops, the statement said.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4631947.stm



In case you missed it:

How Bush Was Offered Bin Laden and Blew It:

As a consequence of this failure more than 3,000 Americans and thousands of Afghans died.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9332.htm

http://snipurl.com/fw9u

Five Afghan policemen killed in attack:

Afghan President Hamid Karzai's spokesman dismissed the threat posed by the ousted Taleban regime yesterday as officials said five policemen and a suspected militant were killed in separate attacks.
http://snipurl.com/fxbi



17 US soldiers die as hostile fire hits aircraft as it tries to land in Afghanistan:

The U.S. military now believes that all 17 service members aboard the helicopter that crashed in Afghanistan on Tuesday were killed, a senior Pentagon official told reporters Wednesday.
http://egyptelection.com/modules.php?name=...rticle&sid=1664

http://snipurl.com/fxbj



'New weapon' downed US Chinook in Afghanistan:

The Taliban claim to have used a new weapon to shoot down a US military helicopter in a remote region of Afghanistan.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200506/s1403572.htm

http://snipurl.com/fxbl



Taliban Said To Have Executed Survivors: :

The NBC report could give credence to the Taliban's claims - yet unconfirmed - that they shot down the helicopter and executed some U.S. personnel aboard the aircraft. The helicopter was said to be carrying at least 16 U.S. military personnel.
http://snipurl.com/fxbm

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/30/internat...059&partner=AOL

Mood of Anxiety Engulfs Afghans as Violence Rises

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-06...ting-usat_x.htm

US sees fighting rekindled in Afghanistan

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-06/...ent_3156543.htm

Hostile fire may have downed US copter: military officer

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/30/internat.../30chopper.html

Afghan Insurgent Fire Seen as Causing US Copter Crash

All 17 in US helicopter crash feared dead in Afghanistan London Free Press
US military officials said yesterday they fear all 17 people on board a transport helicopter that went down under fire in Afghanistan are dead but couldn't provide confirmation that was the case. The officials all spoke on condition of anonymity. They cited reports from the region that the helicopter struck the side of a mountain and slid into a deep ravine, which suggested there was little hope of survival. Officially, the military provided no information on fate of those aboard. Rescue operations were hampered by rugged terrain and bad weather and troops had to approach the crash site on foot because additional helicopters could not land close to the crash site. Military officials said they knew of no communications from survivors of the crash and hadn't been told any rescue forces had reached the site. The MH-47 helicopter carrying U.S. navy SEALs went down Tuesday after coming under fire near a landing zone, officials said. It travelled about two kilometres before going down, officials said. The helicopter was ferrying troops while hunting al-Qaida fighters in the mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan. "Initial reports indicate the crash may have been caused by hostile fire. The status of the service members is unknown at this time," a U.S. military statement said. Coalition and Afghan troops "quickly moved into position around the crash to block any enemy movement toward or away from the site" and coalition support aircraft were overhead. The helicopter was carrying forces into the area as part of Operation Red Wing against al-Qaida insurgents, the military said. Provincial Gov. Asadullah Wafa said Taliban rebels downed the aircraft with a rocket. He gave no other details.
All GIs feared dead in Afghan copter attack Newark Star Ledger
US sees fighting rekindled in Afghanistan USA Today
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17 US troops feared dead Seattle

Bodies from U.S. copter crash found in Afghanistan:

The bodies of 13 U.S. troops have been recovered from the crash of a U.S. helicopter in eastern Afghanistan, but seven more U.S. soldiers are unaccounted for and some may have been captured, a news report said on Thursday
http://snipurl.com/fxzw

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/commo...55E1702,00.html

Taliban kill 15; lose 13

US bombs suspected Taliban compound Boston Globe
A US soldier search a house for weapons in Bagh village, in Khakeran Valley, Zabul province, Afghanistan, Sunday, June 26, 2005. From US and UN officials down to Afghan villagers, there is growing fear that this country may be at a seminal moment with three years of state-building in danger of succumbing to the barrage of violence. American warplanes bombed a suspected Taliban compound in an area where an elite U.S. military team has been missing for five days in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan, a U.S. military spokesman said Saturday. It was not clear if there were any casualties from the airstrike. "We conducted an airstrike on a target we deemed we had to hit immediately. The target was an enemy compound in Kunar province," U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Jerry O'Hara said. "The bombing was done using precision guided munitions. The target objective was intelligence driven." He said a "battle damage assessment is ongoing" and declined to speculate on casualties from the attack, which happened at dusk on Friday. O'Hara also declined to say if the airstrike was directly related to the missing military team. He said earlier Saturday that there had been no sign of the team by rescuers who are desperately scouring the mountains near Asadabad town, Kunar province, close to the Pakistani border. A purported Taliban spokesman claimed Friday that militants had captured one of the men. Meanwhile in central Afghanistan, 18 rebels and two Afghan soldiers were killed in an assault on a Taliban hide-out in mountains where about 100 insurgents were thought to be camped, Uruzgan provincial Gov. Jan Mohammed Khan said. The operation comes after fighting in the region left 25 people dead, including nine tribal elders who Taliban rebels kidnapped and then killed, apparently in retaliation for the deaths of their own. The loss of the American military team in remote eastern mountains worsened the already stinging blow suffered by the U.S. military after 16 troops were killed Tuesday aboard the MH-47 Chinook chopper. It comes as the United States is scrambling to deal with an insurgency that threatens three years of progress toward peace. U.S. forces were using "every available asset" to search for the missing men, O'Hara said. The troops are a small team from the special operations forces. The downed helicopter had been trying to "extract the soldiers" Tuesday when it went into the mountains. "All our hopes are that we find our missing servicemembers. On top of those hopes are actions on the ground looking for them," O'Hara said. "It's a very demanding area: Very mountainous, very wooded and the likelihood of enemy contact is probable." The Taliban claim to have captured one of the men came from purported spokesman Mullah Latif Hakimi. He said a "high-ranking American" was caught in the same area as where the helicopter went down. O'Hara said there was "no proof or evidence indicating anything other than the soldiers are missing." Hakimi, who also claimed insurgents shot down the helicopter, often calls news organizations to take responsibility for attacks, and the information frequently proves exaggerated or untrue. His exact tie to the Taliban leadership is unclear. The loss of the helicopter, the missing men and the fierce clashes in central Afghanistan follow three months of unprecedented fighting that has killed about 495 suspected insurgents, 49 Afghan police and soldiers, 134 civilians, and 45 U.S. troops.
Associated Press reporters Noor Khan in Kandahar contributed to this report.
US searches for team missing in Afghanistan International Herald Tribune
US forces scour Afghan mountains for missing unit Minneapolis Star Tribune (subscription)
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http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/arti...liban_compound/

US Bombs Suspected Taliban compound

--------------------
U.S. Attacks Near Copter Crash Site
--------------------

Taliban says 25 fighters were killed by strikes in the area of Afghanistan where an American team went down. Some troops may be captive.

By Halima Kazem
Special to The Times

July 3 2005

KABUL, Afghanistan — American fighter planes bombed a suspected insurgent compound in the same eastern area of Afghanistan where a team of U.S. soldiers has gone missing, military officials said Saturday.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...headlines-world

US Commando Rescued In Afghanistan:

The official said the search continues in eastern Afghanistan for the remaining missing U.S. troops.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/07/03/...ain706060.shtml

http://snipurl.com/g09j



U.S. bombards militants; Taliban shoot cleric:

The BBC quoted unidentified U.S. military officials as saying civilians may have died in the bombing of a militant compound in Kunar province on Friday
http://snipurl.com/g09k



Brits and Americans divided over Iraq pullout as Afghanistan slides toward civil war:

There is clearly a behind-the-scenes struggle going on between the Brits and Americans over a pullout from Iraq,
http://www.simplyappalling.blogspot.com/#112006385767972003

http://snipurl.com/g09m

US strike: '17 civilians dead' News24
Kabul - Seventeen people, including a number of women and children, died when US aircraft bombed a suspected militant hideout in eastern Afghanistan last week, a provincial governor said on Monday. US forces launched the airstrike on Chichal village in the province of Kunar on Friday during a search for a missing American reconnaissance team. "Seventeen civilians died in the US bombing of the village," said Kunar governor Assadullah Wafa. "There are a number of children and women among the victims but I don't have the exact figure right now." The US military said at the weekend they had bombed Kunar province but did not confirm any civilian casualties.

Targeted
The attack targeted a compound "which in our assessment we had to hit immediately", spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jerry O'Hara said on Saturday. Another US spokesperson, US Colonel James Yonts, also said on Saturday that "all possible efforts are taken to prevent non-combatant injuries and deaths". The ousted Taliban regime said on Saturday that the US bombing had killed 25 civilians, including children. Reports on Sunday said that one of the missing US special forces soldiers had been rescued almost a week after the team went missing in a rugged mountain area of Kunar. US forces were searching for the rest of the group.

Suspected
Sixteen US service members died on Tuesday when an American MH-47 Chinook helicopter was shot down by suspected militants as it made a botched attempt to extract the reconnaissance team. It was the biggest US loss of life in a single attack since the fall of the Taliban in late 2001. During the same period of time, US-led forces in Afghanistan have killed scores of civilians in their hunt for insurgents. Afghan President Hamid Karzai voiced concerns in May about civilian deaths resulting from US-led operations.
Sailor Rescued in Afghanistan New York Times
Missing SEAL rescued alive Houston Chronicle
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Central Asian states ask when US troops will leave Khaleej Times
Russia, China and the Central Asian states told US-led troops on Tuesday to fix a date for their departure from military bases in Central Asia that were set up to support operations in Afghanistan in 2001. The United States operates military airbases in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan -- two of the five ex-Soviet Central Asian states that Russia still views as its backyard and where China, seeking oil and gas, is an increasingly vocal player. The call was made at a meeting in Kazakhstan of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which groups the five former Soviet “states” with Russia and China, and against the backdrop of veiled criticism of Western influence in the region. “Member states of the SCO believe that participants in the anti-terrorist coalition should define a deadline for the temporary use of infrastructure and their military presence on SCO member state territory,” a joint SCO declaration said. Sergei Prikhodko, an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, told reporters the call was being made since active operations in Afghanistan were coming to an end. “No one is telling them it should be tomorrow, in a month, in five months or in a year and a half, but it’s just straightforward that SCO members know by when the anti-terrorist coalition will leave,” he said. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Hu Jintao joined other regional leaders in making the call just a day before they were both due to meet US President George W. Bush in Scotland at a Group of Eight summit. Bush has shown no sign of wanting to give up the bases. The US military has already had to reorganise operations in authoritarian Uzbekistan, which introduced limitations on flights to the US Karshi-Khanabad airbase following Western criticism of a bloody government suppression of a rebellion in the eastern town of Andizhan.

West not wanted
Speeches by Hu and Uzbek President Islam Karimov included veiled criticism of Western influence in Central Asia. They follow hawkish comments by Russian officials criticising attempts by unspecified foreign forces to destabilise the region, rich in oil and gas reserves. The region, to the east of the Caspian Sea, has been unsettled by the violence in Andizhan, where witnesses say 500 people were killed in a massacre. The government says only 176 people were killed, in a police operation against “terrorists”. Protests and a coup in Kyrgyzstan this year and peaceful democratic revolutions in Ukraine and Georgia before that have also unnerved Central Asia’s long-serving rulers, none of whom has won an election judged free and fair by Western monitors. Karimov, in an apparent jibe against the West, said outside forces were seeking to stir up trouble. “(They) aim to create a situation of so-called manageable instability and ... foist on us their own model of development,” he said. Karimov has been widely criticised in the West for stifling dissent by jailing thousands of young Muslims who do not subscribe to state-sponsored Islam and pursuing economic policies that have left the country in extreme poverty. China’s Hu, who cordially received Karimov on a state visit following the Andizhan violence, said the Central Asian states should choose their own path. “The people of Central Asia are the only masters of their destiny,” he said, speaking through a Russian interpreter. “They are wise and free enough to put their own houses in order.”
SCO Council of Foreign Ministers on summit RIA Novosti
Central Asian alliance calls for US pullout date MSNBC
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US bombing kills Afghan villagers as search continues for soldiers :

The Kunar governor, Asadullah Wafa, said 17 villagers, including women and children, had died - news that may further inflame Afghan sensitivities about heavy-handed US tactics.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9372.htm

http://snipurl.com/g1px



Two missing US troops 'are dead' :

Two of the three US special forces soldiers missing in eastern Afghanistan for almost a week have been found dead, US government sources told the BBC.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4650295.stm



US endures deadliest year in Afghanistan;

This year has been the deadliest for US troops in Afghanistan since war began in late 2001, as more American soldiers have died than in each of the previous three years, according to military figures.
http://snipurl.com/g1q0

Afghanistan condemns deadly attack on civilians People's Daily Online
The Afghan Government Tuesday condemned the killing of up to 17 civilians in a US air strike on a house in remote mountains, as a senior US defence official confirmed the deaths of two Navy Seals who were missing in action in the country's northeast. The air strike came on Friday in Kunar Province, which borders Pakistan, the same area where a US transport helicopter was downed on June 28 in the deadliest single blow to US forces since they ousted the Taliban in 2001. "The president is extremely saddened and disturbed," said Jawed Ludin, President Hamid Karzai's chief of staff. "There is no way... the killing of civilians can be justified... It's the terrorists we are fighting. It's not our people who should suffer." A government team is on its way to the site to investigate the bombing, a Defence Ministry statement said. Kunar Provincial Governor Asadullah Wafa said that an initial air strike destroyed a house, and as villagers gathered to look at the damage, a US warplane dropped a second bomb on the same target, killing 17 of them, including three women and children. He said it was unclear who was killed in the initial attack in the tiny village of Chechal. "Maybe some militants were killed, but I don't know," he said. "The 17 people were killed in the second bombing." The US military said the attack was carried out "with precision-guided munitions that resulted in the deaths of an unknown number of enemy terrorists and non-combatants." "The targeted compound was a known operating base for terrorist attacks in Kunar Province as well as a base for a medium-level terrorist leader," it said. "Battle damage assessment is currently ongoing." The statement added that US forces "regret the loss of innocent lives and follow stringent rules of engagement specifically to ensure that non-combatants are safeguarded. However, when enemy forces move their families into the locations where they conduct terrorist operations, they put these innocent civilians at risk." Meanwhile, two members of the US Navy's elite special forces branch known as Seals who were missing in Kunar Province have been found dead, a senior US defence official in Washington said on Monday night. Another Seal was rescued on Saturday and the fate of a fourth was unknown. The official who confirmed the recovery of the two bodies spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing effort to account for the missing US servicemen in Afghanistan. The team was reported missing on June 28. A rescue effort the same day ended in tragedy when the transport helicopter seeking to extract the team was shot down, killing 16 troops aboard.

Plot to block gas pipeline
Meanwhile, Karzai's spokesman said that opponents of the Afghan Government were plotting to block the implementation of a gas transmission project from Turkmenistan to Pakistan through Afghanistan. "Like opposing other vital projects, the enemies of Afghanistan are making conspiracy to block the implementation of the gas transmission pipeline project," Ludin told reporters at a press conference in Kabul. These conspiracies, he added, were being implemented by terrorists to derail the economic reconstruction of the war- ravaged nation. He did not give more details. However, he added that implementation of the giant project would benefit all countries in the region. The 2,600-kilometre giant project, projected in early last decade, has been hit snag due to persistent instability in Afghanistan and rivalry among the interested regional power.
Afghan optimistic about vote International Herald Tribune
Two US Troops Found Dead in Afghanistan Washington Post
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Taliban claims to hold US soldier Xinhua
A purported Taliban spokesman has reiterated his group's claim that it is holding a missing US commando, saying insurgent leaders have decided to kill him. Mullah Latif Hakimi said Thursday the American would never be forgiven and the group would release a video after the man's death. Hakimi said he was last in contact Wednesday with the rebels who are holding the American and was told that he had not been abused. He added the rebels were holding the U.S. service member in a house in Kunar. The purported spokesman frequently claims to speak for the rebels to media outlets, but his information in the past has proven exaggerated or untrue, and his exact tie to the Taliban leadership cannot be independently verified. The US military says it hopes the commando is in good condition and the US is making every effort to locate him. The commando is the last of a four-member US Navy SEAL commando team missing since last month in Kunar province. One of the men was rescued; the other two were found dead. A special forces helicopter carrying reinforcements to the area crashed on June 28, killing all 16 Americans on board, the deadliest single attack on the U.S. military since the war here began in 2001.
Taliban Claims SEAL Hostage, Threatens to Kill Him FOX News
Two Missing Commandos Are Dead CBS News
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Taliban Threatens To Kill Captured American Commando:

Spokesman: 'American Definitely Will Be Killed'
http://www.nbc4i.com/news/4692982/detail.html

http://snipurl.com/g3pj

Karzai Says Bin Laden Is Not in His Country Los Angeles Times
Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Osama bin Laden was not in Afghanistan and that his government had no idea where the terrorist leader was.
Question mark over Pakistan's agenda New Zealand Herald
Karzai says bin Laden isn't in Afghanistan Boston Globe
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http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.d...46/1016/OPINION

Afghan Alarms

News from Iraq is so disturbing that it is easy to overlook the increasingly grim reports about Afghanistan.

But that would be a mistake.

Violence is increasing rapidly in Afghanistan, and the Taliban and other radicals are getting stronger. According to a report last week in The New York Times, Afghans are increasingly fearful for their future and uncertain about America's commitment to their welfare.

Part of the dilemma is military. The Bush administration has concentrated American forces in Iraq, with the result that the fewer than 18,000 troops in Afghanistan are insufficient to quell widening attacks and kidnappings, many of which are predictable attempts to disrupt elections scheduled for September.

Taliban forces may be receiving more sophisticated arms through Pakistan. The downing of an American Chinook helicopter last week is particularly ominous.

But much of Afghanistan's agony comes from a failure to make more progress in rebuilding the country from the ruins of more than 30 years of war.

The most alarming statistic is that more than 320,000 acres, an all-time high, are now cultivated for opium poppies, which in turn provide for 80 percent of the world's heroin.

Simply put, a narco-state cannot emerge as a secure, democratic, free-market nation. Moral considerations aside, opium finances warlords and terrorists who undercut national unity and the authority of the central government.

But farmers and regional governors must have alternatives to opium. That is why it is critical that billions of dollars of promised but unfulfilled American and other international aid be delivered.

Afghanistan's situation is not as perilous yet as Iraq's.

The Bush administration could make a difference by making good on aid, arranging for a bigger American and multinational force to enable that aid to be delivered, pressuring Pakistan to stem the flow of fighters and arms into Afghanistan, and paying more heed to Afghan advice on how to conduct U.S. operations without offending Afghan sensibilities.

Progress on these fronts increase the chances of successful elections in September and for long-term recovery.

Inattention and distraction, however, may leave future historians wondering how American turned victory into defeat.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/world/3259925

6 Afghan policemen beheaded in Taliban ambush

Body of missing US soldier found: US official Xinhua
The body of the missing US Navy SEALs member has been found in Afghan eastern province of Kunar during the weekend, according to a US defence official. The official was quoted by a US media as saying Monday that the soldier was killed in the firefight with the militants, but not captured by Taliban. However, the spokeswoman of US troops in Afghanistan Cindy Moorsaid US military still had no idea about the location of the missing soldier. Four US Navy SEALs members were missing as they carried out the reconnaissance work in Kunar on June 28. US military on the same day sent a Chinook chopper to the place for rescuing them, but ended in tragedy with being shot down by the rocket-propelled grenade. Sixteen US soldiers including eight Navy SEALs members inthe chopper died. More than 300 US soldiers were dispatched to the place for the continued rescue afterwards. Until now, one US soldier has been saved, and other two have been confirmed dead. Taliban spokesperson Latif Hakimi Saturday said they had captured and beheaded the missing US soldier, and abandoned the body to the mountainous area of Kunar. US military rejected the news and said the researching work was still going on. After the collapse of Taliban at the end of 2001, a US-led coalition of over 18,000 soldiers remains in the country hunting down remnants of the Taliban and other Islamic militants. The death of these 19 US soldiers in this accident brings the death toll of US troops to almost 170 in and around Afghanistan since Operation Enduring Freedom began in 2001. Enditem
SEALS 'too close to Osama' NEWS.com.au
Body of US Commando Found in Afghanistan Los Angeles Times
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Rice Says US won't withdraw troops from Afghanistan

17 Killed in Fresh Violence in Afghanistan :

Reports from Afghanistan say 12 Afghan soldiers were killed Sunday when their vehicle ran over a land mine in eastern Paktika province.
http://www.turkishweekly.net/news.php?id=14731

http://snipurl.com/g6ju



Missing U.S. commando's body found in Afghanistan:

The body of a missing U.S. commando has been located in eastern Afghanistan, the military said Monday, bringing an end to the desperate search for the last member of an ill-fated, four-man special forces unit that disappeared last month.
http://www.cbc.ca/cp/world/050711/w071134.html

http://snipurl.com/g6jv



"Terror" suspects escape US Afghan base :

The escape from Bagram is the latest reversal for US forces in Afghanistan.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/afghanistan/stor...1526159,00.html

http://snipurl.com/g6jx


700 More US Troops To Be Deployed In Afghanistan :

The troops are to be deployed from Fort Bragg, N.C., the Pentagon said on its Web site
http://snipurl.com/g6ji



Al-Qaeda, Taliban teaming up: minister:

A resurgent al-Qaeda terror network has teamed up with Taliban militants in Afghanistan to unleash a wave of attacks which have killed about 600 people this year, a senior government minister said on Saturday.
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/arch...7/11/2003263061

http://snipurl.com/g6jz

Theory of inside job in Afghan prison break Sydney Morning Herald (subscription)
Kabul: Hundreds of US and Afghan troops backed by helicopters hunted yesterday for four alleged al-Qaeda militants who escaped from the heavily guarded prison at Bagram air base. Following the escape on Monday, the US military said it would conduct an investigation into the breakout. "It is a very serious matter for us," Lieutenant-Colonel Jerry O'Hara said, asked if the escapees might have received inside help from guards. "We will carry out an investigation on the issue certainly." The escape is the first known from the base and a serious embarrassment for the US military. Colonel O'Hara refused to identify the four men, referring to them as"dangerous enemy combatants". But Afghan officials named the men as Abdullah Hashimi, a Syrian, Mahmoud Ahmad Mohammad, a Kuwaiti, Saudi Mahmoud Alfatahni, a Saudi Arabian, and Mohammad Hassan, a Libyan. The US military provided Afghan security forces with photographs of the escapees, which showed bearded men in orange prison uniforms whose ages appeared to range from 20 to 40. Kabir Ahmad, the chief of Bagram district, said he had heard the men might have escaped the base by a car. The Bagram jail has housed hundreds of militant suspects since US-led forces overthrew the Taliban in late 2001 for refusing to give up Osama bin Laden after the September 11 attacks. They have included senior al-Qaeda suspects arrested in neighbouring Pakistan and elsewhere. A US military spokeswoman said at the weekend that about 450 militant suspects were now being held there.
Suspects Flee US Base in Afghanistan Los Angeles Times
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US, Afghan soldiers search for escapees, while violence in the country increases.

http://csmonitor.com/2005/0712/dailyUpdate.html

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/GG13Ag03.html

Afghanistan, Iraq style

By Golnaz Esfandiari

The Taliban and their allies have markedly increased attacks in the southern and eastern regions of Afghanistan, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of people.

The fatalities include 16 US soldiers killed when their Chinook helicopter was shot down on June 28 - one of the heaviest US casualties since the 2001 ouster of the Taliban - and 21 people killed in a suicide bomb attack in Kandahar, also in June, at the funeral of a senior cleric assassinated days earlier.

Adding to the US's woes, on Monday four al-Qaeda prisoners escaped from a detention center at Bagram air base north of Kabul. Hundreds of US and Afghan troops supported by helicopters hunted on Tuesday for the four Arab men - the first ever to escape from from the heavily guarded center at the main US base in Afghanistan.

The detention center has housed hundreds of militant suspects since US-led forces overthrew the Taliban in late 2001 for refusing to give up al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. They have included senior al-Qaeda suspects arrested in neighboring Pakistan and elsewhere. A US military spokeswoman said about 450 militant suspects were currently held at the base.

The intensification of violence in Afghan appears to bear out comments from the Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak earlier this this month that he had received intelligence that al-Qaeda was regrouping and intended to bring Iraqi-style bloodshed to Afghanistan.

And he said on Monday that foreign fighters from Arab and neighboring countries were carrying out attacks with the Taliban. "Following the melting of the snow [in March], there has been a significant increase in terrorist attacks, more than we expected," Wardak said.

His comments came as authorities in southern Afghanistan confirmed the death of 10 Afghan police officers. Six of them were beheaded and their bodies and heads were dumped near the border with Pakistan. Beheading has been rare in the conflict in Afghanistan.

Afghan Interior Minister Ali Ahmad Jalali said on Monday that the police officers had been abducted on July 8 following an ambush in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province. "In Helmand, in the Deshu district, a patrolling group of Afghan border forces came under attack by a large number of terrorists while it was traveling from Barancha region to Rubatak," Jalali said. "As a result of the fighting, unfortunately, they took with them 10 members of the border force, they martyred four of them in one place, the other six men were killed just 200 kilometers away from the Pakistani border. Then the kidnappers escaped to the Gerdi Jangal border."

Jalali condemned the killings as un-Islamic and inhuman. "Those people who commit such crimes are not Muslims and they are not human beings because this is against Islam and humanity," Jalali said.

Afghan officials have said that the Taliban and their allies are stepping up their attacks in an effort to disrupt upcoming parliamentary and local elections. The scheduled September 18 elections are considered another key step in the Afghanistan's path towards recovery.

Afghan election officials say that three Afghans working in support of the elections have been killed in recent months.

Vahid Mozhdeh, an Afghan writer and security expert based in Kabul, believes that the attacks are aimed at creating fear among government forces to force them to quit. "One reason that can explain the stepping up of [attacks] is the wish of al-Qaeda for the Americans to be blighted in Afghanistan as they are in Iraq and to suffer more casualties," Mozhdeh said.

Mozhdeh told RFE/RL that Taliban forces and their allies were becoming more organized. He said they were changing their tactics and using more effective explosives.

"Fewer fighters are involved, they come and attack using motorbikes and quickly escape," Mozhdeh said. "The Taliban want to put people and the coalition forces against each other. They conduct operations somewhere and then leave and then coalition forces carry an attack against them there but mostly civilians get hurt. We've been witnessing a series of suicide attacks, which in the past had not been common in Afghanistan. Therefore, we see that the experience of violence is spreading from Iraq to Afghanistan."

Copyright © 2005, RFE/RL Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington DC 20036