NATO soldiers downed in Afghanistan fighting Eight Taliban killed in southern Afghanistan: Police Bush urges troop boost for Afghanistan

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1 The Afghanistan News, 1 April 2008 NATO soldiers downed in Afghanistan fighting NATO soldiers and Afghan security guards have been killed in separate attacks in volatile southern Afghanistan.The British Defence Ministry has said in a statement that two NATO-led British soldiers were killed in a roadside explosion while conducting a patrol in the southern province of Helmand. The Afghan defence ministry claimed in a statement that their forces backed by international troops killed at least 10 suspected Taliban militants including their local commander, Mullah Qaseem, in Zabul province on the weekend. The Afghanistan News, 1 April 2008 Eight Taliban killed in southern Afghanistan: Police Eight Taliban fighters were killed in an operation by Afghan and Western troops after the rebels ambushed a civilian supply convoy in troubled southern Afghanistan, police said on Sunday. The rebels were killed on Saturday in a raid launched after militants had ambushed the trucks ferrying supplies to foreign military bases in Zabul province, a police official said.around 70,000 international troops, mainly from Western countries, are based in Afghanistan, fighting back the insurgency and helping the Kabul government to rebuild the country from the destruction of decades of conflict. The Afghanistan News, 2 April 2008 Bush urges troop boost for Afghanistan US President George W Bush has called for NATO members to step up troop contributions in Afghanistan, citing Osama bin Laden's latest threats to Europe.The president says that if the alliance does not stay on the offensive in Afghanistan, Taliban and al-qaeda extremists will use the country to launch more attacks on the West like those on September 11, 2001.Our alliance must maintain its resolve and finish the fight, Bush said. The Afghanistan News, 2 April 2008 Eight Taliban killed in southern Afghanistan: Police Eight Taliban fighters were killed in an operation by Afghan and Western troops after the rebels ambushed a civilian supply convoy in troubled southern Afghanistan, police said on Sunday. The rebels were killed on Saturday in a raid launched after militants had ambushed the trucks ferrying supplies to foreign military bases in Zabul province, a police official said.around 70,000 international troops, mainly from Western countries, are based in Afghanistan, fighting back the insurgency and helping the Kabul government to rebuild the country from the destruction of decades of conflict. The Afghanistan News, 4 April 2008 NATO chief wants Afghan talks with new Pakistan govt NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said Wednesday he wanted direct talks between his military alliance in Afghanistan and the new government in Pakistan. With rows over troop numbers and deployments, and worries over the state of the porous Afghan-Pakistan border, Scheffer also dropped a broad hint he would soon head to Islamabad himself. NATO's Afghanistan commitment has seen attention increasingly

2 turn to neighbouring north-western Pakistan, from where the Taliban is directing its Afghan insurgency across the porous border. The Afghanistan News, 4 April 2008 New French force for Afghanistan France has offered to send a battalion of troops to eastern Afghanistan, a Nato spokesman at the alliance's summit in Bucharest has confirmed. The US says the French move will free up some of its troops to move to southern Afghanistan, where Canada had demanded Nato reinforcements be sent.the spokesman also said there was agreement at the summit that Albania and Croatia be invited to join Nato. But he said he did not expect speedy moves to admit Ukraine and Georgia. The Afghanistan News, 5 April 2008 Afghan govt orders ban on Indian serials Afghanistan government has ordered private TV stations in the war-ravaged country to stop broadcasting popular Indian soap operas by April 15, a move that apparently reflected the growing influence of hardliners who criticised the serials as being ''un- Islamic''.Afghan Information and Culture Minister Abdul Karim Khurram has said the action will be taken against TV channels that do not stop airing the Indian serials by April 15.Afghanistan's Parliament recently passed a resolution seeking to bar TV programmes from showing dancing and other practices that are ''un-islamic''. The Afghanistan News, 5 April 2008 Nato meets Canada's troop demands Canada will continue its frontline role in southern Afghanistan after the February 2009 deadline it has set. It had asked for a further commitment of troops from its Nato allies during a summit in Romania. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said that although that commitment was not enough overall, it was a vital step in the right direction. Of the demand for reinforcements, Mr Harper said: We have satisfied those conditions. The Afghanistan News, 6 April 2008 Afghan police commander killed in blast A SUICIDE bomber in southern Afghanistan today attacked and killed a police commander who oversaw the arrest this week of a mid-level Taliban leader Two other policemen and a civilian were killed in the blast in the capital of Helmand province, Lashkar Gah, police said.the latest violence in Afghanistan came hours after NATO leaders meeting in Bucharest confirmed their firm and shared long-term commitment to Afghanistan.Naqibullah had twice escaped from prison, and the Interior Ministry said in February he had been killed in a clash. The Afghanistan News, 6 April 2008 US-led troops, Afghan forces kill militants US-led troops and Afghan security forces on Sunday killed a significant number of militants during a battle in eastern Afghanistan, the coalition said, without giving the exact toll. A local MP said the battle in Nuristan province, in which coalition warplanes were also used, left 20 people dead including some civilians. A statement by the US-led

3 coalition said the combined force repelled the attack with accurate small-arms fire and crew-served weapons. During the long battle, the insurgents reinforced their positions in several compounds with large groups of fighters. The Afghanistan News, 7 April 2008 Insurgents suffer in Afghan battle Heavy casualties have been suffered by insurgents in a battle in the eastern province of Nuristan in Afghanistan.An operation to clear insurgents from villages in the remote province near the Pakistani border erupted into heavy fighting, culminating in air strikes from US bombers.the US military said several insurgents had been killed in the fighting and one Afghan soldier had been killed. The Afghanistan News, 7 April 2008 US Democrats urge Bush to shift anti-terror focus US Senate Democrats have sent a letter to President George W. Bush urging him to shift anti-terror efforts from Iraq to Afghanistan and Pakistan.In the letter Sunday, Harry Reid, the majority leader, and other Democratic senators, said the White House has committed too much of US resources to Iraq while neglecting 'terror-havens' of Afghanistan and Pakistan.The letter, among other things, is setting the stage for the upcoming fresh round of debate on Iraq policy as top US commander in Iraq David Petraeus and US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker are scheduled to testify at the Capitol Hill early next week on the situation in Iraq. The Afghanistan News, 9 April 2008 UN envoy says international efforts in Afghanistan 'too fragmented' New United Nations envoy to Afghanistan Kai Eide said Wednesday that international efforts in the country were too fragmented, and vowed to create a new sense of urgency. The Norwegian diplomat, in his first address to media since taking the new post of Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General to Afghanistan, said more coordination was needed among the international communities. More than six years since the fall of the Taliban, Afghanistan still faces insecurity caused by Taliban resurgence, corruption and unemployment that has pushed so many Afghans towards Taliban's ranks. The Afghanistan News, 9 April 2008 Afghanistan to hold separate presidential, parliamentary elections despite cost Afghanistan's election commission said Wednesday that the country will hold separate presidential and parliamentary elections in the next two years despite the high costs. The Independent Election Commission had recommended the elections be combined to save money.afghan officials had been debating a proposal for Karzai to extend his term by six months and parliament to cut theirs by six months, so that one election could be held in the middle. But Afghan officials decided that would be unconstitutional. Plus, members of parliament didn't want to cut their terms short, observers said. The Afghanistan News, 11 April 2008 Iran surveys offer for proposal of Afghan woman as UN Human Rights Commissioner

4 Iran's Embassy in Kabul issued a communique here Friday announcing Iran is surveying Afghan Government's proposal for nomination of Sima Samar a candidate for UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. According to IRNA office in Kabul, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan invited the foreign countries' ambassadors and charge d'affaires in Kabul to introduce Sima Samar, the US Special Reporter on Human Rights in Darfur, Sudan, and the Head of Afghanistan's Human Rights Commission, as nominee for UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. The Afghanistan News, 11 April 2008 U.S. troops top 32,000 in Afghanistan The 101st Airborne Division took command of American forces in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, helping to boost U.S. troop levels in the country to their highest number since the 2001 invasion.marching in step, paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne retired the unit's flag during a ceremony under a light rain beside the main runway at Bagram Air Field. Then 101st paratroopers unfurled their flag, officially marking the start of their 15-month tour.the top American commander in Afghanistan has requested three more brigades?? about 7,500 more troops?? and the Pentagon has promised that more troops will be sent next year. The Afghanistan News, 13 April 2008 Indians killed in Afghan suicide attack Two personnel of Border Roads Organisation (BRO) were killed and several others injured on Saturday when a suicide bomber blew himself up near a convoy of Indian road construction workers in south-west Afghanistan.The victims were on way to a construction site when the suicide bomber struck in Herat, official sources said in New Delhi.Taliban has been opposed to India's engagement in development and reconstruction work in Afghanistan and have been issuing threats from time to time. The Afghanistan News, 13 April 2008 Blast kills Afghan civilians Eight Afghan civilians have been killed by a suicide car bomb attack on a Nato convoy in the city of Kandahar.Kandahar police chief Sayed Aqa Saqib said there were no casualties among the Nato soldiers because the convoy had passed when the bomber detonated his explosives.despite the presence of about 60,000 foreign soldiers led by Nato and the American military, as well as around 140,000 Afghan troops, Taliban militants have made a comeback in the past two years and more than 11,000 people have been killed in violence. The Afghanistan News, 15 April 2008 Afghan blast victim's family mourn in Tamil Nadu The family of C. Govindasamy, an Indian engineer who was killed in a suicide bomb blast in Afghanistan on Saturday, is in a state of mourning in Tamil Nadu's Krishnagiri District. Forty-five year old Govindasamy had been working in Afghanistan for the past year and is survived by his wife Sivagami, three daughters and a son. Earlier, the Indian Government had confirmed the death of the two Indian Border Roads Organisation (BRO) engineers in a blast in southwest Afghanistan.

5 The Afghanistan News, 15 April police killed in separate attacks in southern Afghanistan Militants launched two attacks against Afghanistan's vulnerable police, killing eight officers, including four who were destroying a field of opium poppies, officials said Sunday. The attack is at least the third time militants have targeted such teams in the last several weeks and comes one week after fighters killed seven officers who were eradicating poppies.saqib has said police would increase the teams' protection. Around 100 officers on the country's poppy eradication force were killed in the line of duty over the last year, the Interior Ministry has said. The Afghanistan News, 16 April 2008 Iran accuses US of invading Afghanistan, Iraq ranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Wednesday accused the US of invading Afghanistan and Iraq on the pretext of Sep 11 terror attacks, repeating his doubts over the veracity of the incident.addressing a large gathering Wednesday in the central city of Qom, Ahmadinejad said over one million people have so far been killed in occupied Iraq and tens of thousands of civilians have been massacred in Afghanistan after US forces invaded the two countries, reported the Iranian news agency IRNA.Relations between the two countries have deteriorated in recent years due to Tehran's controversial nuclear programme, which the US describes as a cover for Iran's secret weapons programme. The Afghanistan News, 17 April AFGHAN POLICEMEN KILLED IN TALIBAN ATTACK ELEVEN AFGHAN POLICEMAN WERE KILLED IN AN ATTACK BY TALIBAN GUNMEN ON A CHECKPOINT IN THE SOUTHERN PROVINCE OF KANDAHAR.THE DEPUTY POLICE CHIEF AT THE PROVINCE AMAN ALLAH KHAN SAID THAT THE GUNMEN OPENED FIRE AT THE POLICE EARLY TODAY IN ARGHANDAB DISTRICT OF KANDAHAR PROVINCE. MEANWHILE, A SECURITY OFFICIAL SAID THAT THE INVOLVEMENT OF A SECURITY PERSONNEL WAS SUSPECTED CONSIDERING THE ACCURACY OF THE ATTACK WHICH TOOK PLACE WHILE THE FORCE WAS ASLEEP. AROUND 900 AFGHAN POLICEMEN WERE KILLED LAST YEAR. THEY MADE AN EASIER TARGET AS THEY ARE LESS ARMED THAN TROOPS OF THE AFGHAN ARMY AND THE ALLIANCE FORCES. The Afghanistan News, 17 April 2008 Iran accuses US of invading Afghanistan, Iraq Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Wednesday accused the US of invading Afghanistan and Iraq on the pretext of Sep 11 terror attacks, repeating his doubts over the veracity of the incident.addressing a large gathering Wednesday in the central city of Qom, Ahmadinejad said over one million people have so far been killed in occupied Iraq and tens of thousands of civilians have been massacred in Afghanistan after US forces invaded the two countries, reported the Iranian news agency IRNA.he Iranian president also said that over one billion people throughout the globe are living in abject poverty and more than 100 million people have been killed in the course of conflicts instigated by

6 'the arrogant power'. The Afghanistan News, 18 April people killed in suicide attack in Afghanistan A suicide attack in front of a mosque in southwestern Afghanistan killed 16 people and wounded more than 30 others on Thursday, a provincial governor said. The attack took place as men were getting ready for the evening prayer at the central mosque in Zaranj, the capital of Nimroz province, Gov. Ghulam Dastagir Azad said. Azad said there may have been more than one bomber. The Afghanistan News, 18 April 2008 Germany pledges more training officers, aid to Afghanistan Germany Thursday pledged more security training staff members and civilian assistance to Afghanistan.The number of German police training officers would be increased to 45 from the current 30, Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung said here after meeting with UN special envoy Kai Eide.Jung also announced that Germany would increase its contributions to civilian reconstruction in Afghanistan to 140 million euros (220 million U.S. dollars) from 80 million euros (127 million U.S. dollars) previously. By 2010, total contributions are expected to hit 900 million euros (1,431 million U.S. dollars). The Afghanistan News, 19 April 2008 Afghan troops detain 68 Pakistanis Afghan troops have detained at least 68 Pakistani nationals in the country's southern Kandahar province, a press release of the Afghan defence ministry said Saturday.'Personnel of the Afghanistan National Army (ANA) arrested 68 Pakistanis, all of them unarmed, from Pul-e-Arghestan in Spinboldak district of Kandahar province Friday,' the press release said.the Pakistani nationals were travelling in two vehicles and six horses when the troops captured them. All the detainees have been handed over to relevant department for interrogation, the statement said. The Afghanistan News, 19 April 2008 Pakistani envoy claims Taliban kidnapped him Pakistan's ambassador to Afghanistan appeared on a video aired Saturday by an Arab satellite channel, saying he was kidnapped by Taliban militants more than two months ago.ambassador Tariq Azizuddin, flanked by his driver and his bodyguard, was shown sitting on the ground amid green brush in front of three masked men wearing traditional robes and holding automatic weapons.it was the first word from Azizuddin since he disappeared Feb. 11 near Pakistan's volatile border with Afghanistan. The Afghanistan News, 21 April 2008 Dutch support for ISAF mission in Afghanistan declining More than 60 per cent of the Dutch think their country should withdraw troops from Afghanistan if the Dutch death toll there hits 25. The findings published on Monday came from an internet survey of the Dutch MSN website in which 11,000 people participated. However, 25 per cent of Dutch think the number of Dutch military killed in Afghanistan is not relevant in the decision on whether or not to continue the Dutch

7 contribution to NATO's International Security and Assistance Forces (ISAF) in Afghanistan. Some 1,600 Dutch troops are stationed in the southern province of Uruzghan as part of the NATO mission. The Netherlands has committed itself to remain in Afghanistan until August The Afghanistan News, 22 April 2008 Afghan TV station pulls 'un-islamic' Indian soap An Afghan television station has pulled an Indian soap opera from the airwaves on the orders of the government.kumkum had already raised the ire of conservative clerics in the country, who had called it un-islamic.under pressure from the Ministry of Information and Culture, we had to stop running one of our famous shows, an Indian drama, Abdul Qadir Mirzai, chief news editor for leading private station, Ariana, said Sunday.The culture ministry, headed by conservative Abdul Karim Khurram, has called upon TV stations to yank soap serials Tulsi and Kasauti Zindagi Kay. The Afghanistan News, 22 April 2008 Indian, Nepalese workers feared kidnapped in western Afghanistan Two road construction workers - an Indian and a Nepalese - went missing in western Afghanistan and a police official in the area said Tuesday he feared the two were kidnapped by an unknown group. The workers, with a road construction company in the western province of Herat, went missing on the way between Herat city and Adraskan district of the province on Monday evening, said Noor Khan Nikzad, a spokesman for the provincial police chief.ndian diplomatic sources in Kabul confirmed that one Indian worker had gone missing and said that the other missing man was a Nepalese.The Indian mission in Afghanistan said Afghan authorities had started a search operation for the missing workers. The Afghanistan News, 25 April 2008 Militants intruding into Afghanistan from Pak side A top US general in Afghanistan has said that a large number of insurgents were still pouring into Afghanistan from Pakistan, as a result of which insurgent violence in Afghanistan could reach record levels this year.maj-gen Jeffrey J Schloesser, who commands US forces in Afghanistan, also said that most of the recent violence was targeted at innocent Afghani people or security forces protecting the development projects.schloesser also said a large number of Taliban and other militants, including foreign fighters, were crossing from Pakistan into Afghanistan to fight against US-led coalition and Afghan troops. The Afghanistan News, 26 April 2008 Three policemen, 15 Taliban militants killed in Afghan attacks Three policemen were killed in roadside bomb blasts in the latest Taliban-led attacks, while 15 insurgents were killed in an airstrike conducted by international forces in eastern region, officials said on Saturday. Two policemen were killed and four others were wounded when their vehicle was blown up by a remote-controlled mine in Waghaz district of the southern Ghazni province on Saturday morning, Haji Mohammad Zaman, deputy provincial police chief said. In eastern Paktika province, a provincial spokesman

8 said on Saturday that at least 15 suspected Taliban militants were killed in a NATO-led airstrike on Friday evening The Afghanistan News, 27 April 2008 Assassination attempt on Afghan president Three Taliban fighters have been shot after an assassination attempt on Afghani president, Hamid Karzai.Mr Karzai was bustled away after the attempt, which occurred at an official celebration in the capital of Kabul.Automatic gunfire broke out at a ceremony marking the defeat of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, forcing Karzai and Cabinet members and foreign diplomats to take cover.explosions and gunfire sent the thousands of troops and dignitaries assembled for the celebration scattering. The Afghanistan News, 28 April Taliban rebels surrender in Afghanistan As many as 24 Taliban militants, including a so-called group commander, have surrendered to the authorities in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar, an official said Sunday.The insurgents laid down arms Saturday in Shah Wali Kot district of Kandahar, known as the birthplace of the Taliban movement, district chief Abidullah told Xinhua.The Karzai administration has been calling on the militants to lay down arms and join the government's efforts to restore peace and reconstruct the war-torn country. The Afghanistan News, 29 April 2008 Eastern Afghanistan blast kills 15, wounds 14 A suspected suicide bomber killed 15 Afghans and wounded 14 more in eastern Afghanistan, close to the border with Pakistan on Tuesday, a NATO spokesman said.amrullah Saleh told Parliament the plot to kill Karzai was hatched last month and the gunmen had rented the hotel room they opened fire from 45 days before the attack. The Afghanistan News, 29 April 2008 UN condemns Taliban attack on Afghanistan's victory parade The UN Security Council issued a condemnation Monday of the Taliban-led attack against a victory parade in Kabul attended by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who escaped unhurt.one person was killed and 11 others injured when Taliban forces opened fire on a parade marking the end of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in February 1989, by Afghan freedom fighters known as mujahideen. The Afghanistan News, 30 April 2008 Security forces kill five militants in Afghanistan Security forces early Wednesday raided a hideout of militants in the Afghan capital and killed five people, witnesses and officials said.an intelligence official, who declined to be named, told Xinhua that the operation was completed and five militants were killed. The forces arrested one militant, he added.a resident of the area who witnessed the attack said the militants moved to the house about a week ago and that seven or eight men and one woman were living there. The Afghanistan News, 30 April 2008

9 Bush sees progress in Afghanistan despite setbacks US President George W Bush said Tuesday that he sees progress in defeating the Taliban in Afghanistan despite a rise in violence and an assassination attempt against Afghan President Hamid Karzai over the weekend. So what I'm going to tell you now is we are making progress in Afghanistan, but there's tough fighting. I'm under no illusions that this isn't tough. I know full well we are dealing with a determined enemy, Bush told reporters at a press conference in the White House.Bush again stressed the need to go after extremists and said he was pleased with the country's advances in infrastructure, the Afghan Army's involvement in the fight against the Taliban and opening up schools to girls.