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Gen. Dawood Killed in Suicide Attack
May 29, 2011
KABUL - Four people including two top Afghan police officials were killed in a suicide attack in northern Takhar province on Saturday, local officials said.
Local official said that Gen. Dawood Dawood, commander of 303rd Pamir Zone in northern Afghanistan and another unnamed police official have been killed in the attack.
The incident happened while Gen. Dawood was having a meeting with other officials in governor's compound.
"Gen. Dawood, commander of 303rd ...
Turkmens Lend Afghanistan Economic Support
May 29, 2011
ASHGABAT - President Hamid Karzai traveled to neighboring energy-rich Turkmenistan on Saturday on a trip aimed at drumming up regional support for his struggling nation's economic future.
Talks with Turkmen President Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov concluded with a tentative agreement to construct a railway linking the two...
NATO Should Stop Night Raids: Karzai
May 29, 2011
KABUL – President Hamid Karzai ordered on Saturday that only Afghan forces may carry out special operations and night raids, and not NATO troops — an effort meant to stymie popular anger over the international troops' nighttime assaults that he said kill civilians.
President Karzai's announcement also said the international...
Afghan Forces to Get Warplanes, Armored Vehicles
May 29, 2011
KABUL - Under recent agreements, Afghanistan will receive 79 helicopters, aircraft and nearly 500 armored vehicles in the near future, the defense minister said on Saturday.
Russia has signed a contract with the US Army to deliver 21 MI-17 helicopters to Afghanistan, Gen. Abdul Rahim Wardak told the Wolesi Jirga, or lower house of the Parliament.
Flanked by Minister of Interior Bismillah Mohammadi and intelligence
Russia Voices Concerns Over Situation in Afghanistan
May 28, 2011
MOSCOW - The situation in Afghanistan may be aggravated by the withdrawal of the international coalition from the country, a Russian diplomat said Thursday. "The beginning of the transfer of control from NATO forces to Afghan authorities will step up tensions, and the situation is degrading constantly," Zamir Kabulov, the special presidential envoy to Afghanistan told reporters.
He said that Afghan forces have not been prepared to assume responsibility for the country's...
Reconciliation Process Should Be Afghan-Led, Afghan-Owned: Gilani
May 28, 2011
ISLAMABAD – Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on Friday said the reconciliation process should be Afghan-led and Afghan-owned to usher lasting peace in Afghanistan. He observed that the only way forward in Afghanistan is through building of Afghan institutions which will bring stability on the long term basis. The...
India, Afghanistan Ink Culture Pact
May 28, 2011
NEW DEHLI - India and Afghanistan have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to promote the arts and cultural heritage of Afghanistan.
The MOU was signed here by India's Culture Minister Kumari Selja and Afghanistan's Information and Culture Minister Sayed Makhdoom Raheen, the culture ministry said in a statement Friday. The tentative areas of...
Pakistan Offers Scholarships to Hundreds of Afghans
May 28, 2011
>KABUL - Hundreds of Afghan students would be leaving for Pakistan between July and December on fully-funded scholarships for graduate and post-graduate studies, the Pakistani ambassador said on Friday.
As many as 729 Afghans have been offered scholarships in the fields of medicine, engineering, information technology, business...
Pakistan Key to Diminishing Insurgency in Afghanistan: Kerry
May 26, 2011
KABUL - Pakistan could play a crucial role to decrease insurgency in Afghanistan, Senator John Kerry said during a hearing on regional security on Tuesday. While chairing a hearing to examine the current threat posed by al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan Senator John Kerry, Chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has said it requires a persistent diplomacy "to convince the Pakistani military leaders that the real threat to their sovereignty comes not from its eastern border...
Afghan Power Transition to Be Completed By 2014: Obama
May 26, 2011
LONDON - International forces in Afghanistan are ‘preparing to turn a corner’ towards transition and an eventual political settlement, US President Barack Obama said in London Wednesday. He and British Prime Minister David Cameron agreed on the importance of ‘beginning the transition to an Afghan lead for security this year and completing that...
Taliban Hiring Women Attacks: Gen. Blotz
May 24, 2011
out suicide attacks in Afghanistan, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said on Monday.
On May 17, a combined Afghan and coalition security force killed four insurgents, including two armed women, during a security operation in Taloqan, the capital of northern Takhar province. The operation was conducted in pursuit of an Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan facilitator, who acquires, constructs and moves weapons and...
Police Collecting Opium Tax in Uruzgan
May 24, 2011
TIRINKOT - Some policemen are collecting the opium tax from farmers while others are smuggling the drug in Deh Raud district of central Uruzgan province, residents alleged on Monday.
Checkpoint commanders charge the tax from opium growers in different areas of the district, a member of Deh Raud District Council told...
India to Help Afghanistan in Field of Broadcasting
May 24, 2011
NEW DELHI - India, which is playing an active role in the reconstruction of Afghanistan, will now also help the war-torn country in capacity building in the field of broadcasting and institutional development.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in this regard will be signed on...
Indian Company Seeks Partner for Big Afghan Project
May 24, 2011
KABUL - A prominent Indian steel company is looking for a strategic partner for a big mine project to step up a three-million ton steel plant in Afghanistan.
Steel Authority of India known as SAIL is interested to team up with other Indian companies to win the project for the Hajigak iron ore mines that have been open for bidding.
"We are keeping our options open on possible partners for the...
Taliban Chief’s Killing Can’t Be Verified: NDS
May 24, 2011
KABUL - Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar has been missing for the last four days, but his death could neither be confirmed nor repudiated, a spokesman for the Afghan spy service said on Monday.
Earlier in the day, a National Directorate of Security (NDS) source said Taliban's reclusive chief had been killed in a joint operation by...
Mullah Omar “Safe and Sound”: Taliban
May 24, 2011
KABUL - The Afghan Taliban rejected as "propaganda" on Monday unsourced media reports that their leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, had been killed in Pakistan, saying he was alive and in Afghanistan and vowing to continue their insurgency.
Security officials in Pakistan and diplomats, U.S. military...
74% Surge in Civilian Deaths: MoI
May 23, 2011
KABUL - There has been a 74-percent increase in civilian casualties caused by Taliban-led violence over the past one week, a senior official in Minister of Interior Affairs said on Sunday.
At a press conference Interior Ministry Spokesman Zemarai Bashari told reporters that 120 terrorist attacks occurred last week in Afghanistan, a total of 82 civilians were killed and 108 others were hurt. Gains achieved by police forces last week were also significant and there was a 14-percent rise in militant casualties last...
Afghan-Turkish Trade Fair Begins
May 23, 2011
KABUL - In a bid to find market for local products, Afghan and Turkish traders on Sunday arranged a joint exhibition, showcasing wood and plastic products in Kabul.
A joint venture of Afghan and Turkish businessmen, the show is supported by the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI).
ACCI chief Mohammad Qurban Haqjo, who inaugurated the exhibition,...
NATO Upgrades ANP Training
May 23, 2011
KABUL - NATO will extend the length of its police training course across Afghanistan from October as it takes aim at staggeringly low literacy rates and corruption among the force before all security is handed over to the Afghans by the end of 2014.
The NATO-led alliance has been training members of the 126,000 strong Afghan National Police since 2009. Afghan police had long been...
MPs Briefed on Economic Challenges
May 23, 2011
KABUL - There has been economic development in the country over the past few years, with poverty declining by six percent last year, a minister told Parliament on Sunday. Commerce and Industry Minister Anwarul Haq Ahadi, Minister of Finance Dr. Omar Zakhilwal and Chamber of Commerce and Industries chief, Mohammad Qurban Haqjo, were summoned to the Wolesi Jirga to brief lawmakers on the economic situation and...
6 Killed, 36 Hurt in Military Hospital Suicide Attack
May 22, 2011
KABUL - At least 6 people were killed and 36 others hurt in a suicide attack in Afghan National Army's 400-bed hospital in Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul city on Saturday, Defence Ministry said.
An Afghan official in Ministry of Defense told Tolonews that 6 people have been killed and 36 have been hurt in the attack.
The hospital is mostly frequented by Afghan security forces, and many ANA personnel wounded in the counterinsurgency...
Tajikistan-US Discuss Reconstruction of Afghanistan
May 22, 2011
DUSHANBE – Tajikistan's President Emomali Rahmon received visiting U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Ambassador Marc Grossman.
According to the presidential press service, state and prospects of further expansion of bilateral cooperation between Tajikistan and the United State were discussed during the meeting. President Rahmon, in...
Wardak Voices Concern Over Security Threats
May 22, 2011
KABUL - Defense Minister on Saturday expressed concern about security threats amid dramatic rise in Taliban-led violence in the country.
Afghanistan because of its geographical location in the region bears the worst security threats in the world, Defense Minister Gen. Abdul Rahim Wardak said while speaking in defense affairs and territorial...
Shiberghan to Provide Gas to Mazar Fertilizer Plant
May 22, 2011
>KABUL - For the first time, Mazar-e-Sharif power and fertilizer plant will be provided with gas from the northern city of Shiberghan through a new gas pipeline, officials said on Saturday. Officials in Afghan Ministry of Mines said the construction gas pipeline will cost $53 million and this is the first biggest investment in gas delivery in...
Peace Talks, Not Comprehensive: Marc Grossman
May 21, 2011
ISLAMABAD - A top US envoy said Thursday that not all insurgent factions in Afghanistan will agree to enter the peace process, meaning that force will be necessary to subdue the holdouts.
The envoy, Marc Grossman, was in the region to try to patch up ties with Pakistan, whose cooperation is considered key to bringing the Afghan war to an end. Grossman’s comments underscored the complexity of reconciliation efforts...
Pakistan Humiliated, Its Army’s Image: Gates
May 21, 2011
WASHINGTON - The US has humiliated Pakistan by carrying out the May 2 operation with impunity to kill Osama bin Laden in his Abbottabad compound, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said.
At the same time, Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the image of the Pakistani military has been tarnished as a result of this successful US...
Neighbors Try to Weaken Afghan Army: MoD
May 21, 2011
KABUL - A senior military official in Afghan Defense Ministry has said Afghan neighbors don't want Afghanistan to have a robust and strong army.
Deputy Defense Minister Inayatullah Nazari said neighboring countries harm Afghan national army and refuse to let the forces grow strong enough to defend their country.
Mr. Nazari said Afghan army has significantly increased in recent...
Taliban Kill 35 Road Workers
May 21, 2011
GARDEZ - Armed Taliban insurgents attacked a private construction company office in southeastern Paktia province on Thursday, killing 35 people, including laborers, security guards and engineers, officials said.
Another 24 people were injured when a group of militants attacked guards of the company, The Galaxy Sky Company, responsible for...
Afghan Forces Able to Take Lead: NATO
May 21, 2011
KABUL - Afghan forces have the potential to take security lead by the end of 2014, NATO officials said on Friday.
NAT officials in Kabul said Afghan security forces will have the necessary potential to take full security lead after 2014.
Afghan military officials have said efforts to train and equip Afghan...
Spanta Terms Taliban ‘Terrorist’
May 21, 2011
>KABUL - President Karzai's National Security Advisor Dr Rangin Dadfar Spanta, in an exclusive interview with Tolo news, said the Taliban should be referred to as terrorists.
Karzai's National Security Advisor said that freedom of the media, women's rights and democracy that are the main gains of the Afghan government over a decade, should be seriously considered in peace...
700 Militants Killed in Two Months: Azimi
May 19, 2011
KABUL- As many as 700 militants and 100 Afghan security personnel have been killed in violence-related incidents across the country over the past two months, the Ministry of Defence said on Wednesday.
While, at least 1,820 civilians were killed and wounded as a result of 4,360 bomb blasts over the past four months, the ministry spokesman, Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi, told a news conference in...
11 Dead, 85 Injured at Protest in Takhar
Thursday May 19
TALOQAN - Nearly a dozen people were killed and 85 others wounded when a protest demonstration over the deaths of four people in a NATO raid turned violent in northern Takhar province on Wednesday, officials said.
Police opened fire at hundreds of people protesting against the killing of four people, including two women, in Gawmali area, three...
Al-Qaeda Divided Over Bin Laden Successor
May 19, 2011
KABUL - There is a huge difference of opinion within al-Qaeda network over the leadership of the network after the death of Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan, National Directorate of Security (NDS) said on Wednesday.
Afghan National Directorate of Security (NDS) said that Ayman al-Zawahiri or Saif al-Adel are the two options to fill the leadership...
No Change in Red Line for Talks with Taliban: Clinton
May 19, 2011
WSHINGTON - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asserted that there has been no dilution in the Red Line for peace talks with the Taliban, but hoped the death of Osama bin Laden would encourage its leaders to move towards reconciliation process.
“We have outlined our red lines for the Taliban: They must...
Karzai Asks ISAF to Probe Takhar Raid
May 19, 2011
KABUL - President Hamid Karzai on Wednesday strongly condemned a NATO airstrike that resulted in the deaths of four civilians, including two women, in northern Takhar province.
Karzai asked the western military alliance to investigate into the incident and provide him details, his office said in a statement.
Nearly a dozen people were killed and 86 others were wounded when...