January 2008
6 posts
2 tags
Afghan protest: 'He just shared an article with... →
The Independent
By Jerome Starkey in Kabul
One the streets of the Afghan capital last night, public opinion on the fate of Sayed Pervez Kambaksh was divided. Residents of Kabul are invariably more secular than people in rural areas but, even so, they have mixed views on whether Mr Kambaksh deserves to die.
Madina, a 17-year-old journalism student at Kabul University, said that his execution...
1 tag
Taliban signal new approach with suicide attack on... →
The Independent
By Jerome Starkey in Kabul and Kim Sengupta
A Taliban suicide squad stormed a five-star hotel in Kabul yesterday, killing at least six people and wounding more than six others. Witnesses said three gunmen burst past security guards at dusk, after a fourth man exploded his suicide vest at the armoured front gate. Police said the squad of raiders used rocket-propelled grenades on...
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US attacks UK plan to arm Afghan militias →
The Independent
By Jerome Starkey in Kabul
The US general in charge of training the Afghan police has criticised British-backed plans to arm local militias in an attempt to defeat the Taliban. The remarks by Maj-Gen Robert Cone, the second most senior US soldier in Afghanistan, are likely to deepen the row between London and Washington over how to counter the insurgency.
General Cone, who is...
4 tags
Marines: We'll sink Taliban →
The Sun
By Jerome Starkey in Helmand
CRACK Royal Marines have launched the first-ever amphibious assault in landlocked Afghanistan.
Commandos crossed a reservoir in assault boats to sneak behind enemy lines at night to recce Taliban positions in Helmand.
Our Boys are guarding a hydro-electric power station. Capt Iain Sutherland, of 40 Commando, said: “These ops allow us to surprise them...
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1 tag
UK troops to be ordered to crack down on booming... →
Daily Mail
By Jerome Starkey
British troops in Afghanistan could be ordered to risk their lives to combat the country’s opium trade after Nato’s top soldier warned 2008 will be another record year for poppy growers.
General Dan McNeill said he would take Nato’s mandate “to the limit” to support operations against poppy farmers and drugs traffickers in Helmand who...