Three civilians killed in Afghan roadside bomb blast Afghanistan supplies over ninety percent of opium

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1 The Afghanistan News, 1 March 2008 Three civilians killed in Afghan roadside bomb blast Three people including a woman were killed and five were wounded when their vehicle was blown up by a remote-controlled device in south-eastern Afghanistan, police said on Saturday. The group, who were members of the same family, were travelling on Saturday morning in Alisher district of Khost province when the tractor in which they were riding was blown up, Mohammad Ayoub, provincial police chief told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.taliban militants and their associates in the al-qaeda terrorist network are mainly entrenched in restive tribal areas on the porous border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The militants have intensified their attacks in Pakistan territory as well. The Afghanistan News, 1 March 2008 Afghanistan supplies over ninety percent of opium According to the US State Department, Afghanistan is responsible for the supply of ninety three percent of opium to world markets.a new report has been issued which urges the government of Afghanistan to take action against growers who are supplying more opium than ever before.the state department report says the drugs trade is detering progress towards a stable, economically independent democracy in Afghanistan.It said that hardline Taliban insurgents have been benefiting most, with growers and traffickers exchanging money and guns for Taliban protection. The Afghanistan News, 2 March 2008 Bush calls for more NATO troops in Afghanistan US President George W. Bush and Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen have said that NATO countries should send more troops to Afghanistan.Bush, at his Texas ranch with Rasmussen, said Saturday that he expected NATO allies to make greater contributions in the fight against Al Qaeda and the Taliban in southern AfghanistaThe US and other NATO countries have been frustrated by reluctance of some allies to contribute more troops or lift restrictions that limit them to relatively safe peacekeeping and training missions in northern parts of the country.gates has ordered an additional 3,200 Marines to Afghanistan to help fill the gap, which would bring the total US presence to 29,000 soldiers, about half of them under NATO command. There are about 44,000 total NATO forces in Afghanistan. NATO has requested a 7,500 more soldiers to fend off the Taliban. The Afghanistan News, 2 March 2008 Three civilians killed in Afghan roadside bomb blast Three people including a woman were killed and five were wounded when their vehicle was blown up by a remote-controlled device in south-eastern Afghanistan, police said on Saturday. The group, who were members of the same family, were travelling on Saturday morning in Alisher district of Khost province when the tractor in which they were riding was blown up, Mohammad Ayoub, provincial police chief told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa. In similar attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday at least seven people were killed in the same province, which has a long border with neighbouring Pakistan, and wounded several others. The Afghanistan News, 3 March 2008

2 Prince Harry to use Afghan experience to train soldiers in war techniques British royal Prince Harry is getting set to train soldiers in war techniques he learned during his 10-weeks in Afghanistan.Harry, who called in air strikes, carried out surveillance of Taliban fighters, gave final clearance for attacks on Taliban targets and also guided in some bombing runs while in the war torn region in his role as a Forward Air Controller (JTAC), will now help train soldiers from the Household Cavalry before they begin their stint in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Afghanistan News, 3 March 2008 Afghan Intel Chief Says Only 5% of Territory Is Lawless Afghanistan controls all but 5% of its territory, insisted its intelligence chief today'contradicting a far more pessimistic US assessment that last week said the Afghan government controls just 30% of its territory, the Taliban holds 10%, and tribal leaders are in charge of the rest. Western governments have chimed in against the US assessment. While in America, an administration fully backed by tribal chiefs or dominated by tribal chiefs may be seen as liability, here we see it as a very strong asset, said Afghanistan's intelligence chief. The Afghanistan News, 5 March 2008 Bangladesh Government Announces Independence Award 2008 Afghan legislators demonstrated outside Parliament Tuesday, some chanting death to the enemies of Islam, to condemn Danish cartoons and a Dutch film that insult the Prophet Mohammad. About 300 MPs, accounting for most members of both houses, also demanded President Hamid Karzai summon the ambassadors in Kabul of Denmark and the Netherlands to issue a formal protest. Several Danish dailies last month reprinted a cartoon featuring the Prophet Mohammad's head with a turban that looked like a bomb with a lit fuse. The move was followed by others in Britain and America, including The Wall Street Journal. The first printing in early 2006 caused protests worldwide. The MPs read out a statement urging the UN and the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the world's largest pan-islamic group, to prevent acts that could trigger dangerous confrontation. The Parliament expresses its disgust toward those acting against our religion. The Afghanistan News, 5 March 2008 AFGHAN JOURNALIST DECLARED ENEMY COMBATANT An Afghan journalist working for a Canadian television network who has been held for four months without charge has been designated an unlawful enemy combatant by the U.S. military, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and news reports. CPJ says that although the Pentagon has made a very serious allegation, Ahmad has not been charged with any criminal offence, nor have the allegations or evidence against him been disclosed. According to news reports, it is common for journalists in the country to have contact with Taliban insurgents so they can seek their comments for stories. The Afghanistan News, 6 March 2008 Taliban vows to continue war in Afghanistan Taliban militants fighting Afghan government and international troops stationed in

3 Afghanistan vowed Wednesday to continue fighting until the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country. In a statement read out to media outlets in south Afghanistan through cellular phone, outfit's purported spokesman Qari Yusuf Ahmadi stressed that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (former name of the outfit's ousted hierarchy) would continue war against the United States and its allies in the post-taliban nation. It also termed the U.S. forces as an occupation one and called on Afghans to join the militants in fight against the United States and allies in Afghanistan. In the statement, the militants also condemned the recently adopted UN Security Council resolution against Iran and Israel's attacks against Palestine in Gaza stripe. The Afghanistan News, 6 March 2008 Canadian soldier killed by roadside bomb in S Afghanistan A Canadian soldier was killed by a roadside bomb on Sunday during a patrol in Afghanistan's Kandahar province, Canadian Defense Ministry said.the soldier was hit when an improvised explosive device went off as he was traveling in a convoy through the region of Mushan, 45 km west of Kandahar City, Defense Minister Peter MacKay said in a statement.canada has 2,500 soldiers deployed in southern Afghanistan. Since 2002 when Canadian troops first entered the country, 79 soldiers have died there. The Afghanistan News, 9 March 2008 Norwegian named as new U.N. envoy to Afghanistan U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon named Norwegian diplomat Kai Eide on Thursday as his new envoy for Afghanistan, an appointment the West hopes will beef up the international presence in the war-torn country.diplomats said Eide was expected to take a more prominent role in coordinating international efforts to guide reconstruction of Afghanistan in the face of a growing Taliban insurgency.the United States and other nations have for months sought to appoint a heavyweight diplomat to boost coordination of the international community's reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan, where NATO is fighting a Taliban insurgency seven years after the militant Islamic group was ousted from power. The Afghanistan News, 9 March 2008 Anti-cartoon, film protests in Afghanistan About 15,000 people protested in Afghanistan yesterday to condemn the reprinting of a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in Danish newspapers and a film on the Holy Quran by a Dutch politician.protesters burned Danish and Dutch flags and chanted anti- Western slogans. In the western city of Herat, scene of the largest of the protests, demonstrators smashed the windows of a police vehicle, while a grenade was hurled at police close to government buildings before the demonstrators dispersed.the cartoon-one of 12 that prompted riots in many Muslim countries in was republished by a number of Danish papers last month to show solidarity with the cartoonist after three men were arrested on suspicion of plotting to kill him. Muslims consider any depiction of the Prophet (PBUH) as offensive. The Afghanistan News, 10 March 2008 Britain pledges new funding for Afghanistan

4 Britain has promised three million pounds (around $5.9 million) in new funding to Afghanistan to help meet the country's growing food shortages.the UN and Afghan government had jointly appealed to the international community for 40 million pounds in food aid to alleviate malnutrition among pregnant and breastfeeding women.a UN report said poor Afghans are struggling to buy food because of the rising wheat prices and in Kabul it is estimated that people spend 60 percent of their income on bread alone.the 3 million pounds pledged by Britain, brings the total amount of the country's humanitarian aid to Afghanistan to 124 million pounds since The Afghanistan News, 10 March 2008 Afghan police kill 2 Taliban insurgents, wounds 3 Two Taliban insurgents were killed and three others sustained injuries as they came in contact with police in northwest Afghanistan's Badghis province, a press release of Afghan Interior Ministry issued here Sunday said. The ministry further said that Afghan police also captured one more rebel during the clash.the Taliban, fighting Afghan government and foreign troops since fall from power in 2001, have not made comment.more than 200 people mostly civilians have been killed in militancy-related violence this year in Afghanistan. The Afghanistan News, 11 March 2008 Troop Depression in Afghanistan Rises U.S. troop morale improved in Iraq last year, but soldiers fighting in Afghanistan suffered more depression as violence there worsened, an Army mental health report says.officials said they found rates of mental health problems such as anxiety, depression and postcombat stress were similar to those found the previous year in Iraq, when nearly 30 percent of troops on repeat tours said they suffered a problem. The percentage reporting depression in Afghanistan was higher than that in Iraq, and mental health problems in general were higher than they had previously been in Afghanistan. The Afghanistan News, 11 March 2008 UN reports serious challenges in Afghanistan's political transition UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday that the political transition in Afghanistan continues to face serious challenges two years after the adoption of the Afghanistan Compact, which was launched in 2006 at the London Conference on Afghanistan and aimed at garnering international support for the Central Asian country.thirty-six out of 376 districts, including most districts in the east, south-east and south, remain largely inaccessible to Afghan officials and aid workers, he said. Poor governance and limited development efforts, particularly at the provincial and district levels, continue to result in political alienation that both directly and indirectly sustains anti-government elements, he added. The Afghanistan News, 11 March 2008 UN reports serious challenges in Afghanistan's political transition UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday that the political transition in Afghanistan continues to face serious challenges two years after the adoption of the Afghanistan Compact, which was launched in 2006 at the London Conference on

5 Afghanistan and aimed at garnering international support for the Central Asian country.thirty-six out of 376 districts, including most districts in the east, south-east and south, remain largely inaccessible to Afghan officials and aid workers, he said. Poor governance and limited development efforts, particularly at the provincial and district levels, continue to result in political alienation that both directly and indirectly sustains anti-government elements, he added. The Afghanistan News, 12 March 2008 Nato soldier killed in Afghanistan A road-side bomb similar to those used by Taliban insurgents hit a Nato-led patrol in eastern Afghanistan yesterday, killing one soldier and injuring another one, the alliance force said. The names and nationalities of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) soldiers were not provided, but most troopers deployed in the restive region near the Pakistan border are Americans. More than 60,000 troops serving with the UNmandated ISAF and a separate US-led coalition force are based in Afghanistan to fight back the Islamic rebels, who were ousted in a US-led invasion in late The Afghanistan News, 14 March 2008 Suicide bomber targets NATO troops in Afghanistan A suicide car bomber has killed eight Afghan civilians in an attack on American soldiers near the airport. NATO officials say Taliban insurgents have threatened to step up suicide attacks on Kabul, to discourage NATO and encourage foreign troops to leave.the Taliban claimed responsibility and said they would step up suicide and guerrilla attacks in the coming summer.the Afghan government and foreign forces have been preparing for an escalation in fighting after the harsh winter. The Afghanistan News, 14 March 2008 India committed to aiding Afghan reconstruction India is committed to the reconstruction and development effort in Afghanistan, India's ambassador to the United Nations Nirupam Sen stated in the United Nations Security Council here.'india's assistance programme has now exceeded $750 million, and it spans the gamut of requirements, ranging from developing capacity to infrastructure and reconstruction,' he said during a debate on the situation in Afghanistan Wednesday.Sen said that while the international community aims to assist Afghanistan re-emerge as a modern democratic country on the path to sustainable economic development after decades of war and civil strife, the process should be 'Afghanised' at a pace and in a manner that is acceptable to the Afghan people and their government. The Afghanistan News, 17 March 2008 Suicide bombing kills 6 civilians Afghanistan A suicide car bomber struck a convoy carrying U.S. troops near the Kabul airport today, killing six Afghan civilians, officials said.none of the four American troops traveling in a two-vehicle convoy were badly wounded, said Lt. Col. David Johnson, a spokesman for U.S. forces. The troops were traveling in one SUV and one truck, he said.the fiery hull of the bomber's car burned on the main airport road long after the attack. Several other vehicles were damaged in the explosion.

6 The Afghanistan News, 18 March 2008 Suicide attack kills 5 in Afghanistan The Danish army says two of its soldiers were killed in an attack in southern Afghanistan that also killed three Afghan civilians.the army says its soldiers were killed Monday in the Gereshk district of Helmand province.the provincial police chief, Mohammad Hussein Andiwal, says three Afghans were killed and seven wounded when a suicide car bomb exploded near international troops.most troops in Helmand are British, but small teams of U.S. Special Forces soldiers also operate there. The Afghanistan News, 18 March 2008 U.S. Launches Aggressive Training for Afghan Police The U.S. military has launched a plan to dramatically improve Afghanistan's national police force, amid persistent concerns over growing terrorism and crime. Many of the thousands of police officers across the country are recruited off the streets; many lack training, equipment and even uniforms. Low pay has led to widespread corruption among the ranks and shakedowns of the people they are supposed to serve.the program, called Focused District Development, targets police officers in areas key to commerce and security, mainly in the south and east. The Afghanistan News, 20 March 2008 Bomber Hits NATO Convoy In Afghanistan A suicide car bomber attacked international troops in southern Afghanistan on Monday, killing three Afghan civilians and two NATO soldiers, officials said. Provincial police chief Mohammad Hussein Andiwal said the strike also killed three Afghans and wounded seven. The suicide attack came a day after a Danish soldier was wounded while on a patrol in the same region. The Danish unit was attacked with handguns and rockets, the Danish Army Operational Command said. The Afghanistan News, 20 March 2008 US Raid Kills 6 in Afghanistan U.S. forces raided a village near the border with Pakistan early Wednesday and killed six people, including two children and a woman, villagers and a government official said.the raid came a day after NATO said it killed about 12 insurgents in an airstrike in southern Afghanistan, denying accusations from two Afghan lawmakers that civilians were among the dead.three men were also killed in Wednesday's raid, including one who used to work as a border policeman patrolling the region in between Afghanistan and Pakistan, said Mirza Gul, a villager from Hom in Khost province, where the violence took place. The Afghanistan News, 20 March 2008 US Raid Kills 6 in Afghanistan U.S. forces raided a village near the border with Pakistan early Wednesday and killed six people, including two children and a woman, villagers and a government official said.the raid came a day after NATO said it killed about 12 insurgents in an airstrike in southern Afghanistan, denying accusations from two Afghan lawmakers that civilians were among the dead.three men were also killed in Wednesday's raid, including one who used to

7 work as a border policeman patrolling the region in between Afghanistan and Pakistan, said Mirza Gul, a villager from Hom in Khost province, where the violence took place. The Afghanistan News, 21 March 2008 Council gives U.N. bigger role in Afghanistan The U.N. Security Council agreed on Thursday to give the United Nations a greater role in Afghanistan, where NATO-led forces are struggling to overcome a surprisingly fierce Taliban insurgency.western diplomats on the council said Eide would have to assume more responsibility than Koenigs did in coordinating international civilian and military activities and will have to cooperate more effectively with the Afghan governmentthe resolution calls for more coherent support by the international community to the Afghan government, an expanded U.N. presence in Afghanistan, and asks UNAMA to strengthen the cooperation with ISAF at all levels. The Afghanistan News, 21 March 2008 Bomb wounds four in Afghanistan, soldier killed A bomb has wounded four people in an Afghan city filled with people for New Year's celebrations while a NATO-led soldier was killed in a separate blast, officials have said.a soldier with the NATO-led force in Afghanistan that is helping the government deal with the insurgency died on Thursday after being struck by a bomb in the south, the alliance said.the death came as US Vice President Dick Cheney made a surprise visit to Afghanistan for talks with President Hamid Karzai on international efforts to fight the insurgency.both leaders called for NATO to sustain and even expand its work to crush the extremists and rebuild the war-torn country. The Afghanistan News, 22 March 2008 France to send 1,000 troops to Afghanistan, report says French President Nicolas Sarkozy will tell British officials next week that his country will send 1,000 additional troops to Afghanistan in a move that will help bolster Canada's mission in the region, a British newspaper reported Saturday.The Times of London said Sarkozy will discuss the troop deployment during a trip to Britain next week.canada has 2,500 troops participating in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, mostly around Kandahar province in the country's volatile south. The Afghanistan News, 24 March 2008 American troops hail Harry's extraordinary air attacks co- ordinating skills During his short stint in Afghanistan as a orward air controller, Prince Harry showed exemplary co-rdinating skills in launching jet attacks with the American orces, on the Taliban who were attacking Gurkhas on the utskirts of south Helmand town Garmsir.In the capacity of Household Cavalry officer, Harry killed as any as 30 Taliban by bringing in three air strikes.according to The Sun, they said the royal showed extraordinarily igh skill in coordinating jet attacks on Taliban positions. The Afghanistan News, 26 March 2008 Taliban vows to launch spring offensive in Afghanistan Taliban insurgents have vowed to launch spring offensive against Afghan and

8 international troops stationed in the country, a top commander of the outfit said Tuesday.It also called on Afghans to join the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (former name of Taliban hierarchy) in Jihad or holy war against the government of President Hamid Karzai and foreign troops serving in the country.taliban militants have issued several such statements since toppling from power by the US-led Coalition forces in late 2001 The Afghanistan News, 27 March ,300 police trainers needed for Afghanistan Around 2,300 police trainers are needed for Afghanistan to boost the police force and improve local governance, Maj. Gen. Robert W. Cone, a senior US military officer, who is heading the initiative in that country, said.the police trainers are needed for a new initiative to further reform the Afghan police. The initiative, called Focused District Development, aims at reforming the police, improve local governance, public works and the rule of law.currently, the Afghan army has 51,000 soldiers, while another 10,000 soldiers are receiving training. The total strength could reach 80,000 by March 2009, said Cone, commander of the Combined Security Transition Command. The Afghanistan News, 30 March 2008 Eight Taliban militants killed in Afghanistan At least eight Taliban insurgents have been killed in a gunfight with the government troops in Afghanistan's southern province of Zabul, provincial police said Sunday.The militants attacked an international troop's convoy outside the provincial capital Qalat Saturday. Eight Taliban insurgents were killed in the gunfight and four were captured, Farid Zadran, the province's police chief, told Xinhua.There were no casualties on the side of the Afghan and International security forces, he said. The Afghanistan News, 30 March 2008 U.S. military suspends Afghanistan ammunition deal A Florida company hired by the Pentagon to supply ammunition to Afghan soldiers sent the troops Chinese gun cartridges that were more than 40 years old, the U.S. military said in documents obtained by Reuters.The U.S. Army has suspended the contractor, AEY Inc. of Miami Beach, from all federal contracting work. The U.S. government also has started an investigation into privately held AEY, its president and the ammunition contract.according to Army documents, AEY and its president, Efraim Diveroli, 22, appear to have knowingly misled the military when they said last year the ammunition supplied was manufactured in Hungary between 1965 and The Afghanistan News, 31 March 2008 Explosion in power plant kills 2 in S Afghanistan A huge explosion Saturday morning hit a power plant in southern Afghan province of Helmand, killing two and injuring eight others, provincial police chief Mohammad Hussian Andiwal said. Conflicts and Taliban-related violence have left more than 300 people dead so far this year in war-torn Afghanistan, where Taliban militants recently have vowed to launch the Spring offensive to intensify their guerrilla-style attacks on national army and foreign troops.

9 The Afghanistan News, 31 March 2008 Afghan-Pakistan border region 'clear and present danger' The CIA director is warning that al-qaida has been able to dig itself into the region between Afghanistan and Pakistan, establishing a safe haven it has not enjoyed before.on NBC's Meet the Press, Michael Hayden said the area presents a clear and present danger to the West and that the U.S. is turning every effort to capture or kill that leadership from the top to the bottom.he says al-qaida is recruiting operatives there who could go through the customs line at Dulles airport near Washington, D.C., who look Western and would not attract attention.