April 2010
13 posts
Taleban rift ignites power struggle over who... →
Two of the Taleban’s most senior military commanders are involved in a bitter power struggle, which insiders claim has split the insurgents’ leadership council and could turn violent in parts of…
Taleban defectors 'are rejoining insurgency' →
Almost a quarter of the low-ranking Taleban commanders lured out of the insurgency in southern Afghanistan have rejoined the fight because of broken government promises and paltry rewards, a scathing…
Italian medics accused of bomb plot are freed →
Three Italian medics accused of plotting to blow up the governor of Helmand province have been released without charge after interventions by their Government.
Beer, wine and women seized by vice police in... →
Afghanistan’s “vice and virtue” police have raided Western bars and restaurants in Kabul, seizing thousands of gallons of alcohol and arresting at least six waitresses, accusing them of being…
Nato soldiers kill four in civilian bus attack →
Nato plans for a massive operation in southern Afghanistan suffered a major setback yesterday when soldiers opened fire on a bus, killing four civilians and injuring at least a dozen more.
Italians 'confess' to murder plot in Afghanistan →
Three Italian aid workers seized by Afghan police in Helmand have confessed to their part in a plot to assassinate the provincial governor, Afghan officials claimed today.
3 tags
US army chief begs Afghans to forgive →
The Times Jerome Starkey in Khataba
A top US special forces commander visited a family in rural Afghanistan yesterday to plead for forgiveness after finally admitting that his troops killed five innocent people in a botched raid, which, Afghan officials said, the soldiers then tried to cover up.
Vice-Admiral William H. McRaven went to Paktia in eastern Afghanistan to the home of family head,...
Karzai drug claims prompt questions about... →
Controversial claims by a former UN ambassador that Hamid Karzai has taken drugs are based on a classified report about life in the presidential palace in Kabul, western officials have told The…
Raging at his allies could cost Afghan President... →
The Americans are furious, his own supporters are incredulous and opposition politicians think that he is mad.
1 tag
US special forces 'tried to cover-up' botched... →
The Times Jerome Starkey in Kabul
US special forces soldiers dug bullets out of their victims’ bodies in the bloody aftermath of a botched night raid, then washed the wounds with alcohol before lying to their superiors about what happened, Afghan investigators have told The Times.
Two pregnant women, a teenage girl, a police officer and his brother were shot on February 12 when US and Afghan...
Three German soldiers killed in series of Taleban... →
Three German soldiers were killed and up to eight seriously wounded during a series of violent attacks in northern Afghanistan.
Three German soldiers killed in Afghan attack →
Three German soldiers were killed and as many as eight others seriously injured yesterday during a series of violent attacks in northern Afghanistan.
March 2010
23 posts
Hamid Karzai’s brother to stay in power despite... →
US officials have abandoned efforts to persuade President Karzai to force his controversial brother out of his power base in southern Afghanistan, an about-turn that demonstrates how hard it will be…