Afghanistan
Taliban employs modern weapons in ‘war of words’
Taliban employs modern weapons in ‘war of words’
The Taliban commander targeted in the raid is linked to foreign fighters and suicide training camps in the northern province of Sar-i-Pul.
The Afghan High Peace Council, set up by President Hamid Karzai in 2010, reportedly wants to speak with four top Taliban commanders held at Guantanamo. All four allegedly had significant ties to al Qaeda prior to their detention.
General Kayani said today’s Predator strike in Datta Khel was a “senseless attack” that targeted “a jirga of peaceful citizens including elders of the area.” A senior Taliban commander and 10 fighters were among those killed.
The strike appears to have targeted a meeting between rival “militant” groups in North Waziristan, which was being hosted by tribal elders loyal to so-called “good Taliban” leader Hafiz Gul Bahadar.
Pressure mounts on all parties in Afghan war to begin talks
Taliban leaders divided – Afghan national security directorate
Pakistan has freed Raymond Davis, the CIA contractor who shot and killed two Pakistanis in Lahore, after the US agreed to pay “blood money” to the families of those killed. Reuters reports: A CIA contractor was acquitted of two murder charges and released by a Pakistani court on Wednesday after a deal to pay “blood […]
Datta Khel is a known safe haven for al Qaeda and allied terror groups. Today’s strike is the fifth in Pakistan’s tribal areas in six days.
Afghanistan – Senators want defence minister, Peace Council to go
Taliban bombing campaign hits Afghan north
Pentagon’s quiet shift on Afghanistan war: Maybe safe havens aren’t crucial
The strike is the third in Pakistan’s tribal areas in two days, and the second in an area controlled by the Haqqani Network.
The Taliban claimed the attack, which killed at least 37 people, including four children.
Pakistan – Anti-Taliban militias under threat
The strike near Miramshah in North Waziristan is the second today. Six “militants” were reported killed.
Mined Afghan village liberated by British bomb disposal experts
Four “rebels” escaped after the first volley of missiles missed their target. Three of the last six Predator strikes have taken place in South Waziristan.
A shooting in Pakistan reveals fraying alliance
UN culture agency and Afghan government oppose reconstruction of giant Buddhas at this time
Afghanistan: Attack on civilians: new tactics of insurgents
The Hizb-i Islami Khalis helped Osama bin Laden enter Afghanistan in 1996, and aided in his escape to Pakistan during the Battle of Tora Bora. ISAF has not mentioned HIK by name in its press releases prior to today.
After a lull in raids against the al Qaeda-linked Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan in the Afghan north, ISAF has stepped up operations there over the past several days. ISAF and Afghan special operations forces launched another raid against the IMU, again in the Burkah district in Baghlan: Afghan and coalition security forces targeted an Islamic […]
Predators fired a second round of missiles at a car, indicating that an important terrorist leader or operative was the target of the strike.
Gates faults US allies on Afghan war
Yesterday The Associated Press reported that the Afghan government will announce that its security forces will take over control of six areas: Lashkar Gah in Helmand province, Mazar-e-Sharif in Balkh province, Kabul province (with the exception of Surobi), and Herat, Bamiyan, and Panshir provinces: Afghan forces will soon replace NATO-led troops in charge of security […]
ISAF and Afghan forces captured another commander from the Hizb-i-Islami Gulbuddin, this time during a raid in the eastern province of Nangarhar on March 8. Note that the HIG commander works for both al Qaeda and the Taliban. [Also note: The original press release erroneously stated in the first sentence that it was a Haqqani […]
Taliban fighters moving back into former Afghanistan stronghold
Report lists Afghan civilian deaths
General Abdul Rahman Sayedkhili and four of his bodyguards were killed in an attack at a bazaar. Just six weeks ago, Sayedkhili said Kunduz was cleared of the Taliban.