US, NATO set to launch massive assault against Taliban-led militants

[yellow people]

Pakistan to probe video showing "army killings"


Pakistan to probe video showing "army killings"

By Zeeshan Haider ISLAMABAD | Fri Oct 8, 2010 3:07am EDT

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan army chief General Ashfaq Kayani ordered on Friday an investigation into a video posted on the Internet showing men in Pakistani military fatigues shooting at a group of what the military said were civilians. The video raised fresh questions about alleged extra-judicial killings by the army, while Pakistan faces mounting U.S. pressure to crack down harder on militants launching attacks on Western forces in Afghanistan from Pakistani sanctuaries.

The U.S. officials said last week they had asked Pakistan for information about the Internet video purporting to show Pakistani troops lined up in a firing squad shooting bound and blindfolded men in traditional Pakistani clothing. Human Rights Watch this year briefed the U.S. State Department and congressional officials about evidence of more than 200 summary executions of suspected Taliban sympathizers by Pakistani soldiers in Swat, a former Taliban stronghold.

Pakistan denied the allegations. Tom Malinowski, Washington director for Human Rights Watch, told Reuters last week although the video's authenticity remained a subject of debate, the occurrence of such abuses was not. The military said Kayani vowed to take action if the perpetrators were found to be soldiers, and has set up a board of inquiry to establish the identity of "uniformed personnel."

"It is not expected of a professional army to engage in excesses against the people whom it is trying to guard against the scourge of terrorism," the military quoted Kayani as saying in a statement. "(It is) unacceptable under any circumstances." However, Kayani cautioned against "reaching hasty conclusion" as previously militants had disguised themselves as soldiers during a number of attacks including one on military headquarters in the city of Rawalpindi last year.

If the blurry, amateurish video is found to be genuine, it is likely to raise troubling questions for Washington about its support for an army which is vital for efforts to stabilize Afghanistan. U.S. law forbids funding foreign military units singled out for human rights violations. The video has been on YouTube since late last month and has been circulated on blogs related to Pakistan, Afghanistan and the region, as well as on a Facebook page for a group called Pashtuns' International Association.

There is no clear indication in the video where the events occurred but it is labeled "Swat," a valley northwest of the capital, Islamabad, where many ethnic Pashtun people live. The military drove most Pakistani Taliban militants from the valley after a couple of years of intermittent fighting.

(Editing by Michael Georgy)

 

[yellow people]

British Soldier Killed In Afghanistan Blast


British Soldier Killed In Afghanistan Blast

Andy Jack

A British soldier has been killed in an explosion in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.

More than 300 UK troops have died in Afghanistan since 2001

The serviceman was from 2nd Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment attached to 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles, serving as part of Combined Force Nahr-e Saraj (South). He was killed in an explosion this morning in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand Province. Lieutenant Colonel David Eastman, spokesman for Task Force Helmand, said: "The soldier was carrying out a patrol in the Nahr-e Saraj area of the Province, providing a reassuring presence to the local population seeking to go about their daily lives in peace, when he was hit by an explosion. He gave his life protecting the people of the United Kingdom and Afghanistan - no more could be asked of any man. He will be sorely missed." The serviceman's family have been informed. A total of 340 UK troops have died since operations in Afghanistan began in 2001.

 

[yellow people]

US Private Security 'Funding' The Taliban


US Private Security 'Funding' The Taliban

9:10am Friday October 08, 2010
Kat Higgins

America's reliance on poorly monitored private security in Afghanistan is lining the Taliban's pockets and threatens the safety of coalition troops, a new report has warned.

It is feared the contracts could be putting US and coalition troops in more danger

The Senate Armed Services Committee claims contractors often do not vet recruits and end up hiring warlords or insurgents. Senator Carl Levin, Democratic chairman of the Senate panel said he is worried the US is unknowingly threatening the growth of Taliban-linked militia as Kabul struggles to recruit its own, lower paid soldiers and police officers. He said almost all of the young men working under US contracts are Afghans and highly likely to be armed.

Mr Levin also said there is evidence some security contractors even work against coalition forces, exacerbating the very threat they are hired to combat. "We need to shut off the spigot of US dollars flowing into the pockets of warlords and power brokers who act contrary to our interests and contribute to the corruption that weakens the support of the Afghan people for their government," he said. The Senate report follows a separate congressional inquiry in June that found trucking contractors pay tens of millions of dollars a year to local warlords for convoy protection.

Democrat Senator Carl Levin

However, with an estimated 26,000 private security personnel operating in Afghanistan, the Defence Department has said firing them all is not practical. Mr Levin said he does not expect the US to stop using recruits completely but insists they must be better vetted to stop damage to the mission in Afghanistan. In the summer, US forces in Afghanistan pledged to increase their supervision of security contractors and set up two task forces to look into allegations of misconduct and track the money spent, particularly among lower level subcontractors.

The military has said providing young Afghan men with employment will prevent them from joining the ranks of Taliban fighters. There is also the danger that bringing in foreign workers to do jobs Afghans can do could cause resentment. In August, Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced that private security contractors would have to cease operations by the end of the year.

He said the workers would have to either join the government security forces or stop work because they were contributing to corruption and undermining Afghanistan's police and army. Prime Minister David Cameron has said he wants British troops out of Afghanistan within five years. A total of 339 British soldiers have died since the start of operations in Afghanistan in 2001.

 

[singveld]

Nowshera, Afghanistan: Tankers carrying oil for Nato forces burn after an attack by the Taliban

 

[yellow people]

Gunmen in Pakistan torch nearly 30 NATO fuel tankers


Gunmen in Pakistan torch nearly 30 NATO fuel tankers

By Gul Yusufzai QUETTA, Pakistan | Fri Oct 8, 2010 10:42pm EDT

QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Gunmen in southwestern Pakistan set fire to nearly 30 tankers carrying fuel for NATO troops in Afghanistan on Saturday, an official said, two days after the United States apologized to Pakistan for a cross-border air raid that killed two Pakistani soldiers.

Suspected Islamist militants have stepped up attacks on convoys carrying supplies for NATO forces since the September 30 NATO air strike in northwestern Pakistan described by the U.S. ambassador as a terrible accident. About 20 gunmen set fire to around 30 tankers parked outside at a roadside restaurant near the southwestern town of Sibi in a pre-dawn attack, the official said. The tankers were on their way to the border town of Chaman.

"The attackers first fired shots and then fired small rockets at the tankers. Twenty-eight to 29 tankers caught fire," local government official Naeem Sherwani told Reuters. He said one of the paramilitary soldiers escorting the convoy was wounded. The U.S.-backed Pakistani government is battling Taliban insurgents who remain effective despite military crackdowns on their strongholds in the northwest near the Afghan border.

Two suspected suicide bombers struck at a crowded Sufi Muslim shrine in the Pakistani city of Karachi on Thursday, killing at least seven people and wounding 65. The U.S. apology for the September 30 cross-border raid had raised the hopes that Pakistan would reopen a vital supply route in the northwest for coalition forces which Islamabad shut after the NATO strike, citing security reasons. A second supply route passing through southwestern Pakistan has remained open.

Pakistan's foreign ministry said after the U.S. apology that security was being evaluated and a decision on reopening the supply route through the famous Khyber Pass would be taken "in due course," but also emphasised Washington and Islamabad were "allies in the fight against militancy." Trucking routes through Pakistan bring in around 40 percent of supplies for NATO forces in Afghanistan, according to the United States Transportation Command. Of the remainder, 40 percent come through Afghanistan's neighbors in the north and 20 percent by air.

The helicopter strike was the most serious of recent cross-border incidents involving NATO-led forces fighting in Afghanistan, which have stoked tensions with Pakistan. The United States has been pressing Pakistan to take a harder line against militants launching cross-border attacks from their Pakistani safe havens on Western forces in Afghanistan.

An alleged al Qaeda plot to attack European targets has put Pakistan's performance against militants under further scrutiny. The United States has also stepped up missile strikes against al Qaeda and Taliban militants by pilotless drones in Pakistan's lawless northwestern border regions in recent weeks. On Friday night, at least five militants were killed in the latest such strike in the North Waziristan tribal region.

(Writing by Zeeshan Haider; Editing by Nick Macfie)

 

[yellow people]

Four NATO troops killed in western Afghanistan


Four NATO troops killed in western Afghanistan

KABUL | Sat Oct 9, 2010 4:20am EDT

KABUL (Reuters) - Four troops from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) were killed in an insurgent attack in western Afghanistan on Saturday, ISAF said, the latest foreign casualties in a war now in its 10th year. Violence is at its worst in Afghanistan since the Taliban were overthrown by U.S.-backed forces in late 2001. More than 2,000 foreign troops have died since the start of the war, more than half of those in the last two years.

The rising violence in Afghanistan will weigh heavily on President Barack Obama when his administration faces mid-term Congressional elections next month amid sagging public support for the war and ahead of a strategy review in December. ISAF gave no further details regarding the nationality of the troops or the location of the attack. Troops from the United States, Spain and Italy are stationed in the west of the country.

Foreign troop casualties have spiked this year. More than 570 troops have died this year so far, compared to 521 for all of 2009. June was the bloodiest month, with more than 100 killed. More than 20 troops have died this month alone. There are now nearly 150,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, including some 100,000 Americans and leaders from troop contributing nations are facing intense pressure at home over an increasingly unpopular war.

In December, Obama ordered 30,000 more U.S. troops into Afghanistan to try to turn the tide, the last of which have arrived. But he also plans to start bringing troops home in July 2011 and slowly hand over security to Afghan forces. This year has also seen a rise in civilian deaths as ordinary Afghans are increasingly caught up in the crossfire. According to a mid-year United Nations report, violent civilian deaths jumped 31 percent in the first half of 2010.

(Reporting by Jonathon Burch; Editing by Ron Popeski)

 

[yellow people]

Afghanistan: Kidnapped Aid Worker Is Killed


Breaking News

3:25pm Saturday October 09, 2010

Afghanistan: Kidnapped Aid Worker Is Killed

Sarah Gordon

Kidnapped British aid worker Linda Norgrove has been killed during a failed rescue attempt in Afghanistan.

Sky sources report that the 36-year-old aid worker was fatally wounded as American special forces attempted to free her. Ms Norgrove was kidnapped two weeks ago when she the two-car convoy carrying her and three colleagues was ambushed in Kunar province - a well-known militant area. An Afghan intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the rescue team was closing in on the property where Ms Norgrove was being held when her captors threw a grenade into the room where she was kept, killing her. Allied troops then opened fire, killing all of the militants in the property.

Hope had been high among freinds and family for her return

Foreign secretary William Hague released a statement through the Foreign Office saying: "It is with deep sadness that I must confirm that Linda Norgrove, the British aid worker who had been held hostage in eastern Afghanistan since 26 September, was killed at the hands of her captors in the course of a rescue attempt last night." Mr Hague said British allies had received information about where Ms Norgrove was being held and decided to act "given the danger she was facing".

However, he said: "Responsibility for this tragic outcome rests squarely with the hostage takers. From the moment they took her, her life was under grave threat. Given who held her, and the danger she was in, we judged that Linda's best chance lay in attempting to rescue her." During the ambush, local police chased the kidnappers but lost them after a brief firefight. The three Afghan nationals were released a week ago, but Ms Norgrove continued to be held amid growing concern for her life.

Ms Norgrove had been held hostage since September 26

The Scottish national had carried out aid work all around the world and spent many years in Afghanistan working for various groups including the United Nations. She was based in Jalalabad supervising reconstruction programmes for US government-funded company Development Alternatives Inc (DAI) at the time of her kidnap. Based in Jalalabad, Ms Norgrove supervised reconstruction programmes in the eastern region of the country.

After the ambush, the Foreign Office requested a media blackout, believing Ms Norgrove would be seen as more valuable to her kidnappers if her name was known to the public. But hopes had been high on the Isle of Lewis, where the aid worker's parents live, that a lack of news meant progress was being made. DAI president James Boomgard said Ms Norgrove's murder was "devastating news". We are saddened beyond words by the death of a wonderful woman whose sole purpose in Afghanistan was to do good," he said.

 

[yellow people]

Drone attack kills eight in Pakistan


Drone attack kills eight in Pakistan

Suspected US unmanned aircraft launched a pair of missile strikes in northwestern Pakistan on Sunday, killing at least eight people in the latest attacks targeting militants who pose a threat to foreign forces in Afghanistan.

Published: 12:24PM BST 10 Oct 2010

A US Predator unmanned drone. The attacks in Pakistan are causing deep resentment of the US Photo: Massoud Hossaini/AFP/Getty Images

The identities of the people killed were not known, but the area where the strikes occurred is dominated by a militant group led by Hafiz Gul Bahadur that regularly attacks Nato troops in Afghanistan, said Pakistani intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to the media. In the first attack, a drone fired two missiles at a pair of cars in an Afghan refugee camp in the North Waziristan tribal area, killing six people as the vehicles and a house nearby were destroyed, said the officials.

The camp is located in the Spin Wam area near Mir Ali, one of the main towns in North Waziristan, they said. Minutes later, a drone killed two people near the bank of a river located just outside the refugee camp, the officials said. The strikes were the ninth and tenth carried out in Pakistan this month, continuing a surge in such attacks by the Obama administration.

There were at least 21 drone strikes in Pakistan in September – nearly double the previous monthly record. The U.S. rarely acknowledges the drone strikes publicly, but officials have said privately that they have killed several senior al-Qaida and Taliban commanders. Pakistan officially opposes the strikes as a violation of the country's sovereignty, but it is widely believed to help the CIA carry out the attacks.

 

[yellow people]

Murdered aid worker: It was right to attempt rescue says David Cameron


Murdered aid worker: It was right to attempt rescue says David Cameron

The Prime Minister has defended a failed rescue mission in Afghanistan during which British hostage Linda Norgrove was murdered by her rebel captors.

By Michael Howie
Published: 7:00PM BST 09 Oct 2010

Kidnapped British aid worker Linda Norgrove, who was killed by captors in Afghanistan during a rescue attempt Photo: PA

Mr Cameron said it was "right to try" to secure the release of the 36-year-old, from the Isle of Lewis, Scotland. General David Petraeus, the top Nato and US commander in Afghanistan, added that troops did "everything in their power" to save a woman colleagues described as an "inspiration". Miss Norgrove was seized by militants in Kunar province on September 26. Three Afghan nationals also taken by the insurgents were later released, but Miss Norgrove continued to be held amid growing concern.

After a tip off revealed her whereabouts, US troops in the eastern province were sent in on Friday night. During the fighting seven insurgents were shot dead, it is believed. But Ms Norgrove was killed by her captors before she could be secured and led to safety. Authorities in the US and the UK stressed that insurgent captors alone were responsible for the death. "There is nothing at all to suggest that US fire was the cause," a Foreign Office spokesman said.

Foreign Secretary William Hague broke the news of the failed rescue bid on Saturday morning. He said: "Responsibility for this tragic outcome rests squarely with the hostage takers. "From the moment they took her, her life was under grave threat. Given who held her, and the danger she was in, we judged that Linda's best chance lay in attempting to rescue her." In a statement, Mr Cameron added: "Decisions on operations to free hostages are always difficult.

But where a British life is in such danger, and where we and our allies can act, I believe it is right to try." The PM also paid tribute to the "valuable work" that Ms Norgrove carried out. A former United Nations employee, Ms Norgrove was working for the firm Development Alternatives Inc (DAI) at the time of her kidnap. Based in Jalalabad, she supervised reconstruction programmes in the eastern region of Afghanistan funded by the US government.

 

[yellow people]

Prince William: 'Let me serve in Afghanistan'


Prince William: 'Let me serve in Afghanistan'

Prince William, who is serving as a search-and-rescue helicopter pilot, wants to be allowed to join British troops in Afghanistan.

By Richard Eden
Published: 6:28AM BST 10 Oct 2010

Prince William wants to be allowed to join British troops in Afghanistan Photo: PA

The death of the kidnapped British aid worker Linda Norgrove illustrates the continuing dangers in Afghanistan, but Prince William is determined that he should be allowed to serve there. The Prince, who carried out his first RAF air-sea rescue mission in Cumbria last week, speaks of his ambitions in an interview with Ben Fogle, my fellow Telegraph columnist, to be screened on Sky One later this month.

"William talked a lot about it in the film," he says. Fogle is "appalled" at Channel 4's broadcast next week of a "dramatised documentary'' based on what would happen if William's younger brother were captured. He says The Taking of Prince Harry, which will show the Queen's grandson being subjected to mock executions and forced to appear in Taliban propaganda, "won't help" William's cause.

Civil servants choose Bermuda shorts not bowler hats

David Cameron's desire for an end to "sofa government" seems to have come as a shock to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It was deemed necessary to issue civil servants there with a dress code banning them from turning out in "beach wear or very short skirts in the office". It adds that "managers should take into account diversity when challenging a person's dress". Clearly, reports that bowler hats are coming back into fashion have yet to reach Whitehall.

 

[yellow people]

Rescuers may have killed UK Afghan aid worker


Rescuers may have killed UK Afghan aid worker

By Tim Castle LONDON | Mon Oct 11, 2010 2:06pm EDT

British aid worker Linda Norgrove is seen in this undated handout photograph released in London on October 9, 2010. A British aid worker abducted by gunmen in Afghanistan last month was killed by her captors during a rescue attempt, Britain's foreign minister said on Saturday. Norgrove, 36, had been held hostage in eastern Afghanistan since Sept. 26 after being kidnapped with three of her Afghan colleagues in Kunar province, a rugged region bordering on Pakistan held by the Taliban.

LONDON (Reuters) - A British hostage who died in Afghanistan on Friday during a U.S.-led rescue mission may have been accidentally killed by the troops trying to save her, British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Monday. Linda Norgrove, 36, who worked for a U.S. aid group, had been abducted on September 26 along with three Afghan co-workers when they visited a project in a remote part of Kunar province, a lawless region bordering Pakistan. Britain's Foreign Office had said on Saturday that Norgrove had been killed by her captors during a failed rescue attempt.

Cameron said General David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, had contacted his office to say a review of events had revealed evidence indicating that Norgrove may not have died at the hands of her captors. "That evidence, and subsequent interviews with the personnel involved, suggests that Linda could have died as a result of a grenade detonated by the task force during the assault," Cameron told a news conference at his Downing Street office.

"However, this is not certain, and a full U.S.-UK investigation will now be launched," he said. Cameron will be able to discuss the investigation in person with Petraeus on Thursday when the general comes to Britain as part of a pre-arranged visit. Foreign Secretary William Hague said Norgrove's captors were believed to be a group allied to local Taliban insurgents with links ultimately to al Qaeda. He said a review of military video footage had thrown doubt on the initial belief that Norgrove had been killed by the explosion of a suicide vest worn by one of her captors.

"The initial viewing of the various videos that were taken during this action suggested that it was an explosion caused by the hostage takers that had cost Linda Norgrove her life," Hague told parliament. "It was on a second viewing by different U.S. personnel that it appeared there was another possibility." Cameron said he took full responsibility for authorizing the operation to rescue the aid worker. He said intelligence at the time suggested Norgrove was about to be passed "up the terrorist chain of command," placing her in an even more dangerous situation, and hence it had been urgent to act.

"BEST CHANCE"

Cameron also said it was right that U.S. forces had attempted the rescue as Norgrove was being held in an area where military operations were under U.S. control. "We were clear that Linda's life was in grave danger and the operation offered the best chance of saving her life," he said. The U.S. military in Kabul confirmed Petraeus had ordered an investigation into Norgrove's death. Her kidnapping highlighted the dangers faced by aid workers in Afghanistan, where insurgents and other armed groups hold sway in many parts of the country.

The rescue attempt was not the first such operation. A raid that freed New York Times reporter Stephen Farrell, a Briton, from his Afghan captors last year provoked anger after his Afghan colleague and a British soldier were killed. Cameron praised the efforts of soldiers involved in the rescue mission. "General Petraeus ... and U.S. forces did everything in their power to bring Linda home safely. We should remember that Linda was being held at a remote location high in the mountains. This was a very difficult operation. "Ultimately the responsibility for Linda's death lies with those who took her hostage."

(Additional reporting by Estelle Shirbon and Matt Falloon; Editing by Peter Graff)

 

[yellow people]

Afghan firms "pay off Taliban with foreign cash"


Afghan firms "pay off Taliban with foreign cash"

By Hamid Shalizi KABUL | Wed Oct 13, 2010 6:58am EDT

KABUL (Reuters) - Cash from the U.S. military and international donors destined for construction and welfare projects in restive parts of Afghanistan is ending up in the hands of insurgents, a contractor and village elders said. The alliance of largely Western nations who back President Hamid Karzai and have nearly 150,000 troops on Afghan soil have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on aid and infrastructure since they ousted the Taliban from power in late 2001.

However with violence spreading and the insurgency bloodier than ever, some construction firms and workers on development projects say they are having to hand over some of their earnings to insurgents to protect their personnel, projects or equipment. Mohammad Ehsan said he was forced to pay insurgents a substantial part of a $1.2 million contract he won from the U.S. military two months ago to repair a road in Logar province south of Kabul, after they kidnapped his brother and demanded the cash.

"You know we need this American money to help us fund our Jihad," Ehsan quoted them saying when he eventually spent over $200,000 of the project money to secure his brother's freedom. Ehsan said the insurgents also demanded the cash be changed out of dollars into Afghan or Pakistani currency, saying greenbacks are "Haram" or forbidden for Muslims. Paying off militants is common across Afghanistan, where it is hard to work in villages or remote areas without greasing the palms of local insurgent commanders, said Ehsan.

"We are aware of those kind of reports...contracting methods are definitely considered part of the counterinsurgency effort," said Major Joel Harper, spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, when asked about Ehsan's payment. "Such incidents would be investigated, and we have measures in place to try and prevent these things happening." A U.S. Senate inquiry into private security firms contracting in Afghanistan found last week that funds had sometimes been funneled to warlords linked to insurgents, but did not look at other possible channels taking foreign money to insurgent groups.

LEVY EVEN ON SEWERS

The Taliban regularly attack supply convoys and development projects as well as military targets, but spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid denied the group extorts money from contractors, saying other elements may use the Taliban name to defame them. "It is totally baseless, we don't need any money from any organizations' that are linked to the invading force," he told Reuters by telephone from undisclosed location.

"The people support us willingly and we will continue our Jihad against all occupying troops and their contractors." But even elders from Provincial Development Shuras -- traditional local councils adapted to foster development -- that receive cash for small-scale projects in their villages, say they are not immune to the extortion.

"The Provincial Reconstruction Team gave me 500,000 Afghanis ($10,000) to clean sewers in my village but I was forced to pay 200,000 of it to the Taliban," said Aslam Jan from Logar's Baraki Barak district. The U.S. government's aid arm USAID said it was aware of the risks from working in dangerous areas and worked to counter them. "We take very seriously allegations that our funds are finding their way into the Taliban funds. We investigate each such allegation," USAID said in a statement.

Afghans who run transport businesses through volatile areas also prefer to pay off the Taliban rather than hire private guards who are often magnets for insurgent attacks. Abdul Ghafoor Noori, owner of a transport firm in Kabul, says paying the insurgents makes business sense. "I pay the Taliban not to attack my goods, and I don't care what they do with the money," he said laughing. "If you don't, the next day your property is attacked and destroyed."

(Editing by Emma Graham-Harrison and Alex Richardson)

 

[yellow people]

Six foreign troops killed in Afghanistan attacks


Six foreign troops killed in Afghanistan attacks

KABUL | Wed Oct 13, 2010 8:41am EDT

KABUL (Reuters) - Six foreign troops were killed in three separate attacks in Afghanistan on Wednesday, the latest in a growing number of casualties as the war enters its tenth year, the NATO-led force said. Four troops died in one improvised bomb attack and a service member was killed in a separate blast in the south of the country, while a sixth died in an insurgent attack in the east, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said.

ISAF did not immediately provide further details on the nationalities of the casualties or the attacks. More than 30 foreign troops have been killed just this month. The war against Afghanistan's insurgents is at its most bloody since the conflict began in 2001 when U.S.-backed Afghan forces ousted the Taliban from power. More than 2,000 foreign troops have died since then, over half in the last two years.

(Reporting by Patrick Markey; Editing by Nick Macfie)

 

[yellow people]

Poster girl of Taliban terror gets new nose


Poster girl of Taliban terror gets new nose

Published Oct 14 2010

A young Afghan girl, who went on to become a poster girl of Taliban oppression in Afghanistan after her nose was sliced off by her militant husband, has unveiled her new face to the world. 19-year-old Aisha triggered a worldwide outpouring of sympathy after her plight was highlighted by the Time magazine which put her on the front cover to draw attention to sufferings of women in Afghanistan.

The girl, thanks to pioneering surgery by American surgeons, got a new nose and appeared before the cameras to receive an Enduring Heart Award by a foundation which paid for her operation in Los Angeles, The Telegraph reported on Wednesday.Aisha was 12 when her father married her to a Taliban fighter to repay a debt.

Aisha on the cover of TIME magazine before her surgery, left, and, right, after her prosthetic nose was fitted ​

​

After she was handed over to the fighter`s family, she was abused and made to sleep in a stable with animals, and when she was caught trying to escape, her nose and ears were sliced off by her husband as punishment. After being left for dead in the mountains, Aisha crawled to her grandfather's house from where she was rushed to an American medical facility. "When they cut off my nose and ears, I passed out.

In the middle of the night it felt like there was cold water in my nose. I opened my eyes and I couldn't even see because of all the blood," she revealed. The Grossman Burn Foundation flew her to America in August where she had a prosthetic nose fitted at the West Hills hospital and the doctors say she would be given a "more permanent" solution soon.

This might involve rebuilding her nose and ears, using bone, tissue and cartilage from other parts of the body. Till then, Aisha is back to her old joyful ways. "This is an award given to a woman whose heart endures," said the Californian first lady Maria Shriver, wife of governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who presented the award to the Afghan girl who never thought she would see life again.

Despite the ordeal she had gone through, Aisha, whose surname has never been disclosed, was grateful to have a new life and face. "Thank you so much," she said. Aisha`s case has been used in the West to illustrate the fear of what will happen if US, British and other international forces leave prematurely.

 

[yellow people]

Attacks kill 8 foreign troops in Afghanistan


Attacks kill 8 foreign troops in Afghanistan

Thu, Oct 14 2010

KABUL | Thu Oct 14, 2010 7:45pm EDT

KABUL (Reuters) - Eight foreign troops from NATO-led forces were killed in five separate insurgent attacks in Afghanistan on Thursday, NATO said, bringing to 14 the number of troops killed in the last two days. Violence in Afghanistan is at its highest levels since the overthrow of the Taliban in late 2001, with rising casualties on all sides of the conflict. More than 2,000 foreign troops have died since then, over half in the last two years. Three troops with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) were killed by an improvised explosive device (IED) in the west of the country, ISAF said.

Four troops were killed in insurgent attacks and a bombing in the south, while an eighth service member was killed in the east in an attack by insurgents. ISAF did not give any further details on the attacks or provide nationalities of those killed. Six foreign troops were killed in three attacks in the east and south of the country on Wednesday. At least 40 foreign troops have died in Afghanistan this month alone -- nearly three deaths a day.

More than 585 troops have died this year compared to 521 for all of 2009. June was the bloodiest month for foreign forces in Afghanistan with 103 deaths. The rise in troop deaths is expected to weigh heavily on President Barack Obama and his administration ahead of a review of the war in Afghanistan in December. Increasingly, Afghan and U.S. officials see a negotiated end to the war and President Hamid Karzai has reached out to insurgents.

Fighting has intensified in the south of the country since late September when Afghan and NATO forces launched an operation to clear Taliban insurgent strongholds in the militants' heartland around Kandahar. But the insurgency has extended its foothold to other parts of Afghanistan, including once more peaceful areas in the north. There are nearly 150,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, including 100,000 Americans. Obama ordered an extra 30,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan in December to try and quell the violence but plans to start withdrawing forces from the middle of 2011.

(Reporting by Jonathon Burch and Patrick Markey; Editing by Myra MacDonald)

 

[yellow people]

Osama bin Laden 'living comfortably in Pakistan'


Osama bin Laden 'living comfortably in Pakistan'

Osama bin Laden is alive and well and living comfortably in a house in the north-west of Pakistan protected by local people and elements of the country's intelligence services, according to a senior Nato official.

bY Rob Crilly in Islamabad
Published: 1:10PM BST 18 Oct 2010

According to a senior NATO official Osama bin Laden is alive and well and living comfortably in a house in the north-west of Pakistan Photo: AFP/GETTY

The latest assessment contradicts the belief that the al-Qaeda leader is roughing it in underground bunkers as he dodged CIA drones hunting him from the air.

"Nobody in al-Qaeda is living in a cave," according to an unnamed Nato official quoted by CNN.

He added that Ayman al-Zawahiri, bin Laden's second in command, was also living in a house close by somewhere in the country's mountainous border regions. Pakistani officials on Monday repeated their long standing denials that the Saudi-born terrorist mastermind was being given safe haven.

However, the Nato official said bin Laden was thought to have ranged from the mountainous Chitral area near the Chinese border, to the Kurram Valley which borders Afghanistan's Tora Bora, one of the Taliban strongholds during the US invasion in 2001.

North Waziristan, in particular, has become a nexus for Afghan, Pakistani and Arab militants as they plot attacks against Nato forces across the border in Afghanistan. Earlier this month a leaked White House report accused its ally Pakistan of playing a double game by avoiding "military engagements that would put it in direct conflict with Afghan Taliban or al-Qaeda forces in North Waziristan".

A senior Pakistani security official denied that bin Laden was being protected and said the latest allegations were designed to heap pressure on Islamabad ahead of talks in Washington this week that would focus on strengthening co-operation between the two countries. "Every time something important is happening then things like this keep creeping out," he said. "If it's not bin Laden it's something else."

 

[yellow people]

Drone attacks 'taking serious toll' on al-Qaeda in Pakistan


Drone attacks 'taking serious toll' on al-Qaeda in Pakistan

American drone attacks are "taking a serious toll" on al-Qaeda's leadership in Pakistan's tribal areas close to the Afghan border, according to the Central Intelligence Agency.

By Dean Nelson in New Delhi
Published: 2:39PM BST 21 Oct 2010

The use of unmanned Predator drones is not directly acknowledged by the United States because of the sensitivity in Pakistan, where they are regarded as a breach of its sovereignty Photo: AP

Leon Panetta, the CIA director, said the organisation had been able to intensify its operations in the terrorist group's Pakistan 'safe-haven' through the personal support of Barack Obama, the US president, increased intelligence co-operation from Pakistan, and through "additional capabilities".

Although he did not specifically mention the increased deployment of drones, the 'additional capabilities' is a direct reference to them. The use of unmanned Predator drones is not directly acknowledged by the United States because of the sensitivity in Pakistan, where they are regarded as a breach of its sovereignty. In this year so far the United States has launched more than 88 drone attacks compared with 53 for the whole of last year.

The escalation of America's drone war in Pakistan is believed to have driven some Taliban and al-Qaeda figures to seek safety in Karachi and other "settled" parts of the country. The leader of the Pakistani Taliban, Baitullah Mehsud, was killed in a drone attack last year, while several other leading militant commanders have been killed or seriously wounded.

"The basis for that increased pace [of operations] is intelligence, weather and also just the threat streams we're getting on potential attacks in Europe," Mr Panetta said, while it had been made possible by "more hardware" and political support. "The president's been very supportive, obviously, of this operation," he said. Pakistan's ISI intelligence service, which is often regarded as obstructive, had been "very co-operative," he added.

 

[yellow people]

Kandahar campaign's fate not clear until June: NATO


Kandahar campaign's fate not clear until June: NATO

By Phil Stewart WASHINGTON | Thu Oct 28, 2010 5:37pm EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A NATO offensive to secure the Taliban's birthplace of Kandahar is putting pressure on militants, but genuine success will not be clear until next June, the region's top commander said on Thursday.

British Major-General Nick Carter's comments were the latest by U.S. and NATO officials touting battlefield advances but also calling for patience ahead of a NATO summit in November and a White House strategy review in December.

Kandahar is expected to figure prominently at both events. Thousands of U.S. and Afghan troops are engaged in a campaign to flush insurgents from districts around Kandahar city, a campaign seen as vital to turning the tide of a war now in its 10th year. Carter, briefing Pentagon reporters, said he saw "some encouraging signs, definitely momentum."

"(There is) a sense that probably the initiative is now with us and not, as it was a year ago, with the insurgency," he said. Carter said it is impossible to gauge advances from one season to the next because fighting in Afghanistan is seasonal. Fighting peaks in the summer, when foliage provides Taliban fighters with cover and casualties are at their highest.

"You, in Afghanistan, have to be very careful about not measuring progress until you match it to the appropriate season and the appropriate time of year," Carter said. "And I sense it won't be until June next year that we'll be sure that the advances we've made during the course of the last few months are genuinely success."

DEADLY YEAR

This year has been the deadliest for Western troops since U.S.-backed forces ousted Afghanistan's Taliban rulers in 2001. Forty-four U.S. troops have been killed this month alone. Officials have voiced renewed concern about Taliban safe havens in neighboring Pakistan. Still, no major changes to Afghan war strategy are expected at this year's December White House review.

President Barack Obama's review last year ended with a decision to deploy 30,000 additional U.S. forces to Afghanistan, allowing for a surge of troops into Kandahar and elsewhere in the south, where fighting is fiercest. Obama aims to start withdrawing U.S. forces from Afghanistan next July. The top U.S. and NATO commander there plans to start handing over security control to Afghan forces in 2011. Afghan President Hamid Karzai aims to take lead security control of all of Afghanistan by 2014.

Carter said insurgents have been "squeezed" thanks to NATO success retaking population centers, killing mid- to low-level leaders and thwarting attempts to bomb Western forces. Securing Kandahar and its surroundings is one of NATO's most daunting tasks, particularly since it depends not just on military might but getting local Afghans to trust a government long criticized as corrupt and ineffective.

 

[yellow people]

Al-Qaeda 'plotted to take hostages in Mumbai-style attacks on Britain’


Al-Qaeda 'plotted to take hostages in Mumbai-style attacks on Britain’

Al-Qaeda planned to take hostages in Mumbai-style attacks on Britain, France and Germany to demand the release of the mastermind of the September 11 atrocities, according to a former associate of Osama bin Laden.

By Praveen Swami, Diplomatic Editor, and Allan Hall, in Berlin
Published: 9:02PM BST 29 Oct 2010

One of the members of the Lashkar e Taiba terrorist group responsible for killing 166 civilians Photo: AFP

Noman Benotman said that bin Laden wanted to force the Americans to release Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who is awaiting trial for his part in the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Centre. Mr Benotman, a Libyan and former Afghanistan terrorist camp trainer, said that he was present at several discussions about the plot and believed it has now been reactivated.

He said: “I have information that I consider to be reliable, according to which al-Qaeda in North Waziristan is training how to carry out multiple parallel hostage takings in order to enforce the release of a prisoner.” Mr Bentoman’s claims in Spiegel magazine are backed by separate developments in al-Qaeda’s command structure, which suggest it is preparing for a major operation.

Muhammad Ibrahim Makkawi, who is counted among al-Qaeda’s most sophisticated planners, has rejoined the terrorist group after he was freed in return for Iranian diplomats kidnapped by the organisation. Adnan al-Shukrijuma, an al-Qaeda operative, has been given a senior operational role. Muhammad Illyas Kashmiri, a top Pakistani jihadist close to al-Qaeda, is thought to have been made responsible for training teams for attacks on Western targets.

Counter-terrorism experts say Mr Benotman’s claims deserve attention. Berlin-based Guido Steinberg, of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, said: “In the past all of his information proved to be right.” Now based in London, Mr Benotman is a consultant with the Quilliam Foundation, which monitors the activities of violent Islamist groups. He was a ranking member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), an al-Qaeda affiliate founded in 1995 by Libyan jihadists who had fought against Soviet forces in Afghanistan.

In 2001 though, Mr Benotman broke with al-Qaeda after bin Laden rejected the LIFG’s calls for an end to strikes outside Afghanistan. Intelligence suggesting that an al-Qaeda commander boasted that he had sent terrorists to Britain and Germany as part of a Mumbai-style plot caused an alert across Europe last month, although no evidence of attack planning has been uncovered. Ahmed Siddiqi, a German national, was arrested in Afghanistan in July and told US interrogators about the plot.

The key members of the team are thought to include Shahab Dashti, a German of Iranian descent who featured in a 2009 jihadist video calling on Western Muslims to support al-Qaeda. Rami Makanesi, a German of Syrian origin, is also believed by US and European intelligence services to be a member of the group. European intelligence officials believe Siddiqi and other members of the team were recruited by Naamen Meziche, a French national of Algerian origin, from a Hamburg mosque.

Mamoun Darkazanli, a German who led prayers at the mosque, was identified by the 9/11 Commission as having links to al-Qaeda. In 2003, Spain sought his extradition from Germany on charges of membership of al-Qaeda. The request was denied by Germany, on the grounds that he faced no charges there. The mosque, however, has been closed after Siddiqi’s arrest.

 

[yellow people]

NATO faces Afghan training shortfall and looks offshore


NATO faces Afghan training shortfall and looks offshore

By Patrick Markey KABUL | Sun Oct 31, 2010 8:53am EDT

KABUL (Reuters) - NATO still faces a shortage of specialist instructors to train Afghan forces and has begun sending hundreds to study outside Afghanistan as a stopgap solution, the head of NATO's training mission said on Sunday. With the Afghanistan war entering its tenth year, NATO wants to build up the local army and police to around 300,000 troops by October next year as Western governments start withdrawing their soldiers to allow Afghans to assume responsibility for security.

NATO training chief Lieutenant General William Caldwell said his mission was short of 900 instructors, mostly in the police, but also to train Afghans to become independent of NATO in areas such as logistics, maintenance, transport and medical services. "We do have a trainer shortfall, we don't have enough specialty trainers to do what we need to do to continue with the professionalisation of the police, the army and the air force," Caldwell told reporters.

Progress with Afghanistan's military will be high on the agenda when NATO countries meet in Lisbon next month to discuss the war and when the White House holds its own review of Afghanistan strategy a month later in Washington. U.S. President Barack Obama and his NATO allies have come under increasing pressure at home over the war as foreign casualties rise. Violence is at its worst since the war began in 2001 despite the presence of more than 150,000 foreign troops.

CRITICAL NEEDS

NATO officials say they have made progress since the training mission began a year ago to build up Afghan force numbers, and to tackle basics such as literacy, attrition and improving conditions for local troops and police. Trainers say of the 900 necessary positions, at least 440 are critical between now and June to ensure training advances, including posts for the national civil order police, aviation trainers, pilots, doctors and army communication specialists.

Caldwell said NATO was covering some shortages by sending Afghan troops for instruction outside Afghanistan, including recently to United Arab Emirates to train nearly 300 officers with French troops and soon to Turkey for police training. "We are willing to explore training opportunities outside of Afghanistan on a short-term basis with the understanding that we would always rather build the capacity and capability inside Afghanistan," he said.

Obama ordered 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan last December but said the first U.S. soldiers will return from July 2011 as training allowed Afghans to take over. Afghan President Hamid Karzai says he wants local military to take the lead from 2014.

(Reporting by Patrick Markey; Editing by Paul Tait)