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March 24, 2007 


Taliban attack Afghan police: nine dead
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFP) - Taliban fighters attacked police posts in southern  Afghanistan provincial capitals overnight, sparking battles that left seven rebels and two policemen dead, police said Saturday.

The attacks occurred late Friday, the same day a commander announced Taliban fighters had ambushed a convoy ferrying supplies to foreign troops, killing at least 14 guards and drivers in one of the biggest incidents of its kind.

Insurgents stormed a police post near the Uruzgan capital Tirin Kot, touching off a battle that lasted hours, provincial police chief General Mohammad Qasim told AFP.

"Five Taliban and two police were killed and another 10 Taliban and four police were wounded," he said.

Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi said the movement was responsible.

In a separate incident, the Islamist militants attacked a police post on the Kabul-Kandahar highway in Qalat, capital of Zabul province, police detection commander Mohammad Asif told AFP.

"Two Taliban were killed and six wounded. Luckily there were no casualties to police forces."

Taliban militants have stepped up their attacks in the past weeks although military officials reject the rebels' talk of a "spring offensive" as propaganda.

The ambush on the supply convoy Friday was the biggest of such attacks, which occur regularly but usually result in few or no deaths or trucks being set alight.

Police said Saturday that 10 private Afghan security guards and four drivers were killed. The commander of the pro-government militia that had been guarding the convoy told AFP Friday 15 guards and and two drivers were killed.

Six trucks were burned to the ground and one taken by the militants.

Afghan security forces have also stepped up their action against the militants. They said they killed 69 in Helmand province on Thursday in their first operation without foreign forces.
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Marine unit ordered out of Afghanistan
By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer Fri Mar 23, 9:25 PM ET
WASHINGTON - Marines accused of shooting and killing civilians after a suicide bombing in  Afghanistan are under U.S. investigation, and their entire unit has been ordered to leave the country, officials said Friday.

Army Maj. Gen. Francis H. Kearney III, head of Special Operations Command Central, ordered the unit of about 120 Marines out of Afghanistan and initiated an investigation into the March 4 incident, said Lt. Col. Lou Leto, spokesman at Kearney's command headquarters in Tampa, Fla.

It is highly unusual for any combat unit, either special operations or conventional, to have its mission cut short.

A spokesman for the Marine unit, Maj. Cliff Gilmore, said it is in the process of leaving Afghanistan, but he declined to provide details on the timing and new location, citing a need for security.

In the March 4 incident in Nangahar province, an explosives-rigged minivan crashed into a convoy of Marines that U.S. officials said also came under fire from gunmen. As many as 10 Afghans were killed and 34 wounded as the convoy made an escape. Injured Afghans said the Americans fired on civilian cars and pedestrians as they sped away.

U.S. military officials said militant gunmen shot at Marines and may have caused some of the civilian casualties.

President Hamid Karzai condemned the incident, which was one among several involving U.S. forces in which civilians were killed and injured.

Leto, the spokesman at Special Operations Command Central headquarters, said the Marines, after being ambushed, responded in a way that created "perceptions (that) have really damaged the relationship between the local population and this unit."

Therefore, he said, "the general felt it was best to move them out of that area."

Gilmore said the Marine company would complete its overseas deployment with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which is the larger unit it sailed with from Camp Lejeune, N.C., in January, but it will no longer operate in Afghanistan.

Of the four Marine Special Operations Command companies that have been established since the command was created in February 2006, the one ordered out of Afghanistan was the first to deploy abroad, Gilmore said. By September 2008 there are to be nine companies operating as part of two special operations battalions, he said.

For years the Marines resisted creating special operations units, arguing that would run counter to their philosophy of viewing all Marines as elite fighters and not singling out elements as special. But former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld pressed them to establish a separate command — the Marine Special Operations Command — to train and equip forces for the multi-service Special Operations Command.

There are about 25,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, mostly conventional combat forces and support units.
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Security Council extends UN mission in Afghanistan one year
Sat Mar 24, 3:26 AM ET
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - The UN Security Council unanimously extended the mandate of the UN assistance mission in  Afghanistan (UNAMA) by a year and hailed its expanded presence in the provinces.

The 15-member body endorsed a resolution that also stressed UNAMA's role in promoting "a more coherent international engagement" in support of Afghanistan, which is facing mounting insecurity due to a resurgent Taliban-led insurgency.

The Council extended the mission's mandate through March 23, 2008, and welcomed UNAMA's "expanded presence in the provinces, through regional and provincial offices, which support efforts to coordinate and implement the country's economic reconstruction blueprint."

The resolution also urged Afghan parties and groups to engage constructively in an inclusive political dialogue and welcomed the successful conclusion of the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration process as well as the launch of the program of disbandment of illegal armed groups.

It stressed the importance of meeting the blueprint's benchmarks and timelines for progress on issues of "security, governance and development as well as the cross-cutting issue of counter-narcotics."

Earlier this month, the  United Nations warned that, in a new blow to eradication efforts, Afghanistan's opium crop was likely to increase again this year after a record 50 percent jump in 2006.

A United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime report also pointed out clear links between the spiralling Taliban insurgency and the drugs trade in Afghanistan, which accounts for 90 percent of the world's heroin.

UN officials also say that insecurity in Afghanistan is restricting the delivery of assistance to needy people and undermining successes in building the post-Taliban country.
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Afghan journalists under threat in the south
by Sylvie Briand Sat Mar 24, 2:25 AM ET
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFP) - Threatened by the Taliban and corrupt police, regarded with suspicion and in danger of capture, Afghan journalists say they risk their lives working in the lawless south.

In the city of Kandahar, reporters installed in a "press centre" in a local hotel spend much of their time rushing to the scenes of bombings and counting the dead and wounded in front of the ripped-up body of a suicide attacker.

This small group of men, many of them freelancers for foreign media, say security has deteriorated over the past year, pointing to an ambush that included rocket-propelled grenade fire in the city and several assassinations.

Now, they say, the risks are even higher, with the freeing March 19 of an Italian journalist in exchange for five Taliban prisoners -- a deal widely condemned as setting a dangerous precedent.

"The freeing on Monday of the Italian journalist was a victory for the Taliban," says Fazal Rahman, president of a journalists' union in Kandahar.

"They (the Taliban) know now that they can get what they want by kidnapping a journalist. It is difficult to feel secure in that context."

Militants seized Italian Daniele Mastrogiacomo in Helmand, a flashpoint of the Taliban insurgency, neighbouring Kandahar. They beheaded his Afghan driver and have not yet released his Afghan translator.

Moving outside of Kandahar city has long been difficult because of Taliban, corrupt police and bandits operating on some roads, says journalist Salih Mohammad Salih. But now it "must be 10 times more dangerous."

The arrival of an Afghan "asking strange questions" and in a tribal area that is not under government control can arouse suspicion, says the young man, one of a few journalists who regularly visit Helmand.

"I originally come from that province. They know my tribe, my family, but despite that, I do not say I am a journalist," says the reporter for Azadi radio, the Pashtun service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

"It is sometimes difficult to know who you are dealing with," he says.

"I know if the Taliban arrest me, it is the end for me. I work for 'infidel' media. And my government will never help me," he says.

In parts of the south like Helmand, where military officials acknowledge that remote areas are in militant control, even those representing the government can encounter problems.

"On one side is the Taliban who threaten us because we report on what  NATO is doing and on the other the local authorities who don't want us to talk to the Taliban," Salih says.

"It is an area without law where the Taliban, like the security forces, are a threat."

Abdullah Shahood, a reporter with the Al-Jazeera network, says the high rate of illiteracy in the south is also a problem.

"People do not know what the job of a journalist is," he says.

The insurgency, that started after the Taliban was removed from government in late 2001, makes heavy use of propaganda as all sides try to persuade ordinary Afghans they are right.

Top Taliban commander Mullah Dadullah, the man who held the Italian journalist, -- and accused him at first of being a spy -- last year threatened those who spread "lies" for the foreign forces.

He has also said that the killing of journalists working for "infidels" was allowed by Islamic Sharia law.

Foreign reporters who embed with NATO troops in Kandahar are reminded of the threat when they arrive.

"Journalists have become targets of great value for the Taliban," says John Nethercott, a spokesman for Canadian troops.
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Taliban plan more kidnappings after Italian deal
Declan Walsh Friday March 23, 2007 The Guardian
The Taliban commander Mullah Dadullah yesterday vowed to continue kidnapping foreign reporters following the release of his brother and four other senior militants in exchange for a kidnapped Italian journalist.
Dadullah, the Taliban's top operations commander, made the claim to a Pakistani journalist shortly after the Afghan government traded the five militants for Daniele Mastrogiacomo of La Repubblica.

"He said he felt so happy that he would take a rest and let his brother take the reins for a while," said Rahimullah Yusufzai, a veteran reporter from Peshawar, who interviewed Dadullah by phone. "He said that any western journalist who does not seek permission is going to be arrested."

The deal has triggered a heated debate across Europe. Italian opposition politicians and some newspapers accused the prime minister, Romano Prodi, of caving in to terrorists. In London, a Foreign Office spokeswoman said the swap sent "the wrong signal to prospective hostage-takers".

The Taliban beheaded Mastrogiacomo's driver, Syed Agha, in an apparent ploy to accelerate negotiations. There is still no sign of his translator, Ajmal Naskhbandi, a Kabul-based journalist.
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Pentagon to blame 9 officers in Tillman case: CBS
Fri Mar 23, 10:08 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon's inspector general will blame nine U.S. Army officers, including up to four generals, for missteps after the April 2004 death in  Afghanistan by friendly fire of former NFL star Pat Tillman, the "CBS Evening News" reported on Friday.

It said the  Pentagon would release its findings on Monday, showing the officers failed to follow regulations and used poor judgment in keeping the truth of the cause of Tillman's death from his family for more than a month.

The Army first told Tillman's family he was killed by enemy fire. Only after a nationally televised memorial service for the Army Ranger and former Arizona Cardinals football player were his wife and parents told he was in fact shot by fellow soldiers.

There was no information about what disciplinary action the nine officers might face. The inspector general's report was the fifth inquiry into Tillman's death, CBS said.
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Taliban kills 15 pro-gov't militias, two drivers in Afghanistan
People's Daily Online, China
Taliban militants ambushed a convoy transporting logistics for NATO troops in Afghanistan on Friday, killing 15 pro-government tribal militias and two truck drivers, a local commander said.

The militants attacked the convoy in Shahwalikok district of the southern Kandahar province, Abdul Manan said, adding the killed tribal militias were guarding the convoy.

Four tribal militias went missing after the conflict and six trucks were set on fire, Manan said.

Taliban insurgents have frequently attacked convoys transferring logistics for foreign troops in this country and killed drivers.

Due to rising Taliban-linked insurgency, over 500 persons have been killed in Afghanistan this year.
Source: Xinhua
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Afghan gov't hopeful to restore stability in Helmand 
KABUL, March 24 (Xinhua) -- While Taliban militants have been strengthening their grip over several districts in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan, the Afghan government is hopeful to restore stability there this year, a military official said Saturday.

"We have decided to stabilize security in Helmand province this year," Defense Ministry spokesman Zahir Azimi told newsmen here.

He made this remark amid ongoing conflicts between militants and the NATO-backed Afghan troops in the militancy-hit and poppy growing province bordering Pakistan.

Since Thursday, 69 militants and seven personnel of Afghan security forces were killed in clashes in Gereshk district of the province.

"The troops are better equipped and have the ability to evict enemies and establish government sovereignty in 24 hours but we want to avoid damaging civilians," he added.

To achieve the goal, he said the government wants to pursue negotiation through tribal elders and to convince insurgents to vacate the area.

To evict militants and restore government's authority across the province, NATO and Afghan forces launched a major offensive in the north of Helmand early this month.

Taliban commanders claimed 10,000 fighters including 2,000 suicide bombers were ready to target Afghan and foreign troops based in Afghanistan this year when the weather gets warm.

Militancy and conflicts have claimed the lives of more than 500people this year in Afghanistan.
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General says U.S. Army has lost 130 helicopters in Iraq and Afghanistan
The Associated Press Friday, March 23, 2007
WASHINGTON: The U.S. Army has lost 130 helicopters in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, about a third to shoot-downs, its aviation director said Friday. He complained that industry is not replacing them fast enough.

"While the military may be on a war footing, our nation's industry is not on a war footing," said Brig. Gen. Stephen Mundt.

He said it takes 24 months to get replacement aircraft built and delivered and that replacements for the early losses are just now arriving.

"The U.S. is not at war, the military is at war," he told a group of Defense Department reporters, also complaining about the timing of how money flows from the government to pay for the purchases. "Industry, you have got to get to the point of where you're producing ... faster."

Mundt did not have a further breakdown of the losses of aircraft except to say that in addition to shoot-downs, helicopters fall prey to dirt, dust and the rough terrain and conditions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The number of helicopter downings has dropped dramatically since a spate in Iraq in January and February, Mundt said.

There were at least eight incidents over a few weeks in which U.S. military and civilian helicopters were either shot down or landed under fire in Iraq.

Officials say militants are increasingly targeting choppers with an assortment of weapons, including machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. Asked if missiles were involved in any of the downings, he said officials would rather not reveal that.

"The answer is there is a multitude of weapons out there," Mundt said.

In response to the increased targeting of the aircraft, the military has been changing its procedures on when, where and how it flies.
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Taliban commanders negotiating Pakistan ceasefire
Wana (AFP) - Taliban commanders tried Thursday to negotiate an end to four days of battles between Pakistani tribesmen and foreign Al-Qaeda militants that have left at least 120 dead, officials said.

Army helicopter gunships hovered over the rugged South Waziristan tribal area bordering Afghanistan but did not intervene, as the tribes and their Uzbek opponents exchanged sporadic heavy weapons fire, witnesses said.

Four Uzbeks and two local supporters were killed Thursday when tribesmen fired at their pickup truck in a village near the regional capital Wana, tribal sources told AFP. They were buried together in a grave.
The Pakistani government, which is under pressure from the United States to clamp down on militancy, says the clashes show its efforts to get Taliban-sympathising tribesmen to expel foreign extremists are working.

However intelligence officials said that the "jirga" or tribal council overseeing the negotiations includes figures wanted by the government, notably Baitullah Mahsud, a Pakistani Taliban chief blamed for a string of suicide bombings in Pakistan.

Another member of the council is Sirajuddin Haqqani, son of Jalaluddin Haqqani, a former minister in Afghanistan's 1996-2001 Taliban regime, they said.

Officials said they were unable to confirm local media reports that Mullah Dadullah, a top Afghan Taliban commander behind the recent kidnapping of an Italian journalists, was also involved.

"Top Taliban commanders have assembled in Wana to negotiate a ceasefire between Uzbeks and local Taliban backed by the government," a local security source told AFP, adding that the tribesmen wanted the foreigners to surrender first. "There is still a tense stand-off between the rival factions with occasional firing."

Both sides agreed to a brief ceasefire late Wednesday to bury their dead. The fighting started Monday after ex-Taliban commander Mullah Nazir, whom the government says has defected to its side, ordered followers of Uzbek militant Tahir Yuldashev to disarm.

An intelligence official said Nazir had "refused to meet the jirga." Officials said Yuldashev, who leads a group called the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, was formerly a close confidant of Osama bin Laden.
Yuldashev and his men were among thousands of militants who fled the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001 and sought shelter with ethnic Pashtun tribesmen in Pakistan's lawless tribal belt along the border.

The tribesmen also raided a private jail used by the Uzbeks and found 188 Kalashnikov rifles, 175 rocket propelled grenades, 1,800 hand grenades and thousands of bullets, officials said.

Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao said the official toll given late Wednesday remained steady at 84 Uzbek militants and 30 local tribesmen, including nine civilians, had been killed. Another 83 Uzbeks were captured, he said.

Sherpao said the battles showed the "success of the policy the government pursued in the region for the betterment of tribal people."

Local sources say the government has covertly armed, financed and helped the tribesmen and helped former "jihadi" fighters linked to insurgences in Indian Kashmir and Afghanistan infiltrate the area. The government denies this.
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The fight to win Kajaki dam
JOE FRIESEN - From Thursday's Globe and Mail
KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN — The Kajaki dam sits near the head of the Great Helmand River, surrounded by picturesque mountains and the most fertile land in Afghanistan. It's one of the country's only strategic infrastructure sites and the centrepiece of Operation Achilles, the large-scale NATO offensive launched two weeks ago.

For several weeks, British Royal Marine commandos have waged a fierce campaign for control of the area around the dam. They aim to create a 10-kilometre safe zone that would allow engineers breathing space to begin work on the dam's refurbishment. But the battle for Kajaki has been slow and difficult.

Four British soldiers have died since the fighting began at the beginning of March, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization still has not achieved its goal and work on the dam has stalled.

NATO says British forces have won the high ground in the area, giving them a significant strategic advantage. They have been clearing Taliban positions, blowing up arms caches and slowly gaining ground, they say. Coalition forces have also encircled most of northern Helmand, with Canadians from the Royal Canadian Regiment on the eastern edge of that movement.

But the Sangin valley south of the dam remains a hotbed of Taliban activity. Until it is secured, construction on a road leading from the highway to the dam cannot begin, and without a safe road it's impossible to supply the operation.

The dam, which was built in 1953, currently generates 20 megawatts of power and provides electricity to about 380,000 people. But that power is sporadic.

Once it is fully operational, the dam could provide electricity to two million Afghans, double the amount of arable land in the south and, the Western powers hope, spur economic development. It's the symbol the coalition holds up as crucial to its hearts-and-minds campaign in the restive provinces of Helmand and Kandahar. In shuras, or councils of elders, throughout those districts, soldiers tell village elders eager to see the benefits of foreign occupation that Kajaki will soon bear fruit.

There will be thousands of jobs for local Afghans building the roads and other infrastructure to support the project, they say. It will also provide improved irrigation for agriculture.

If the land is more productive, said Tariq Ismati, regional manager for the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development in southern Afghanistan, farmers might be less likely to grow opium poppies, which thrive even in dry conditions. Others are less optimistic. But providing alternative livelihoods to farmers, and keeping those labourers who might be inclined to join the Taliban from doing so, are key planks of NATO's plan.

"Long ago, the famous businessmen of Afghanistan were from Kandahar," Mr. Ismati said. "We still have that potential, but lack of security, lack of education, lack of resources hurt development."

In Kandahar, the electricity comes and goes every few hours. Those who can afford it rely on generators, but it's not an attractive situation for entrepreneurs inclined to take their investment elsewhere.

"Having stable power will be a key to development in the southern provinces," Mr. Ismati said. "It is the highest priority project for the southern district."

It would be easy for insurgents to cut the electricity supply entirely by destroying power lines and transformers. NATO believes the Taliban are too shrewd to do anything that might alienate the local population. Besides, the insurgents are profiting from a protection racket that charges residents for not turning off the power.

But taking advantage of increased output from a refurbished dam will require doubling the capacity of the transmission lines. And the difficulty NATO has encountered in securing the exclusion zone pales in comparison with the task of protecting hundreds of kilometres of power lines.

NATO now describes its mission in Afghanistan as counterinsurgency and readily admits that success in such campaigns is rare. They cite the British defeat of Communist insurgents in Malaya in the 1950s, and the peace process in Northern Ireland.

Squadron Leader Dave Marsh, a NATO spokesman, said insurgencies are defeated in one of two ways: they are integrated into the political process or they are made irrelevant. Either option suggests a long, difficult war ahead.

TARGET: KAJAKI
Securing the area around the Kajaki dam is crucial to the completion of a number of projects in the region. They include:

- Providing a secure energy supply for 1.7-million people in the southern populated areas of Kajaki, Kandahar and Lashkar Gah;

- Increasing irrigation capacity to double the amount of arable land in the south;

- Constructing an 87-kilometre road from the Kandahar-Herat highway to Girishk to allow farming communities to transport their products to markets at a reduced cost.
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Govt satsified with reconstruction process
KABUL, Mar 22 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Despite the challenging obstacle of terrorism, which impedes reconstruction efforts in the country, in the past year there have been many great improvements made in reconstruction around the country, the annual report released by the President's Press Office said Saturday.

This information, compiled from various government organ reports, cited the reconstruction ventures completed or undertaken by different governmental organs in different provinces across the country.
According to the report the revenue from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs MOFA, reached 300 million afghanis, which signifies a 100% increase compared to 2005.

Vocational training for some 40,000 women in 28 provinces, aimed to support the women economically and the facilitation of educational facilities to another 15,000, were cited as the major achievements of the Women's Affairs ministry (WAM), in the past year. WAM  had also provided 25,000 women including disabled and widowed women, with employment opportunities, the report said.

Establishment of five regional zones for Police to ensure peace and stability, as well as the completion of administrative reforms among high ranking officials   in Interior ministry, were termed as significant achievements.

Interior ministry arrested 647 people for links into contraband including 20,000 kilograms of opium, 207 kilograms of heroin and 67 kilograms of morphine as well as a large number of other contraband goods, in the course of the previous year.

The Counter-Narcotics Ministry (CNM), however, destroyed 38,250 acres of poppy covered farms, reports said. Based on its livelihood alternative program, the CNM had distributed 46,200 metric tonnes of fertilizers and over 14 tonnes of seeds to farmers, and provided small loans to around 130,000 people in different provinces.

The completion of the Agriculture, Food and Livestock Ministry's Master Plan, was mentioned as a significant step, while Public Health ministry has extended its coverage to 82% during the last year in the country.

Public Health Ministry established 233 clinics last and year while construction works over 120 more health clinics was still going on.

During the last year Higher education ministry sent 534 students and 76 lecturers abroad for higher education.

Ministry of Hajj and virtue constructed 565 mosques and maddressas across the country in the last one year, the report said, adding that the Education Ministry built 538 school buildings throughout the country, while 192 schools have been destroyed in arson attacks by enemies in different provinces.

Agreements for provision of electricity from neighboring Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan were mentioned as important achievements by the ministry of Energy and Water.

Reports mentioned the achievements of the communication ministry which has earned millions of dollars, through the facilitation of mobile and telephone communication services to millions of people in the country.
Zubair Babakerkhil
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Computerised system at Herat airport
Herat city, Mar 22 (Pajhwok Afghan News): The first computerized machine for screening passenger luggage, was installed at Herat airport today, at a cost of $ 170,000, funded by Germany.

Sakhidad Ghaznawi, Chief of Herat airport expressed his pleasure over the installation of the new system.

Speaking to Pajhwok Afghan News, he said "we had problems controlling passenger luggage and those will be solved by the new system".

The Herat airport runway, 2.5km in length and 40m wide, was rebuilt in a joint project between Italy and Spain last year.

Colonel Noor Ahmad Saghari, Media Officer for the Border Police of the Western Zone, said the new system will help Border Police do their job more effeiciently and make travel safer for passengers.

According to the Bonn Agreement, Germany pledged to equip and train Afghan National Police, whose strength is expected to reach 62,000, with an additional supporting force of 20,000.

60.000 Afghan National Police have already been trained.

The Herat airport was built by the United State 48 years ago.
Ahmad Qureshi,
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Buzkashi, wrestling games held to mark Nawroz
KUNDUZ CITY, Mar 22 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Thousands of people, including local officials, attended national Buzkashi and wrestling games held in northern Konduz province, to mark the New Year festival.

This afternoon, with over hundreds of (Chapandazan) horsemen and wrestlers from six districts of the province, the Buzkashi and wrestling matches were attended by thousands of spectators, of all ages, in the Sardawra ground of the provincial capital.

Speaking on the occasion, the Provincial Governor, Engineer Muhammad Omer, described the large turnout of spectators as unprecedented.

He said the extraordinary festival held in this province was indicative of the historic cultural improvement, facilitated by the peaceful atmosphere in the area.

Abdul Latif, Deputy Head of the provincial Sports Department, told Pajhwok Afghan news that local businessmen granted between 1000 and 5000 afghanis to those (Chapandazan) who managed to get the goat carcass within the target circle in the game.

He said, winning wrestlers were also awarded similar cash prizes.

Buzkashi is a team game, in which the mighty Chapandazan on their powerful mounts, struggle to get the heavy goat carcass within a marked circle to score a goal (halal).

Taj Baig, one of the skilful horsemen who received a 5000 afghani award, told Pajhwok Afghan News, "It was a very raging and tough match today because there were many horsemen in this game".

Buzkashi games are mainly conducted in the Northern provinces of Kunduz, Takhar, Faryab, Jawzjan, Samangan and Balkh provinces.
Rohullah Arman
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Coalition claim arresting eight militants
Pajhwok Report
KABUL, Mar 22 (Pajhwok Afghan News): The US-led coalition forces said they had detained eight suspected militants in three separate operations in Kunar, Helmand and Khost provinces early Thursday morning.

Five terror suspects were held in Asadabad, capital of the eastern Kunar province, following an early morning operation jointly carried out by the coalition and Afghan forces, said a press release.

"The operation targeted extremist facilitators suspected of helping fighters enter Kunar province from Bajaur Agency in the neighbouring Pakistan," said the release.

The second such operation was conducted in Grishk district of the southern Helmand province. This was the latest in a string of "successful operations" by Afghan and coalition forces targeting known militant groups in the area, primarily members of the ousted Taliban regime, says a separate press release.

In yet another incident, the Afghan and coalition forces arrested one person during a raid at a compound in the southeastern Khost province early Thursday morning. A small weapons cache and "other contraband items" were also recovered during the action, said the release.

The combined force took one adult Afghan male into custody after discovering several Ak - 47 assault rifles and other firearms in addition to hand-grenades, rocket-propelled-grenades and materials used for detonating explosives, added the coalition's statement.

It says no shots were fired in all the three operations, conducted on the basis of "credible information" provided to the coalition forces. There were no injuries to civilians or Afghan and coalition troops, added the release.

Taliban reject claims

Taliban, on the other hand, rejected the coalition's claims regarding the arrest of their men in Kunar, Helmand and Khost provinces.

In a statement, appeared on Taliban web-site, the militants say the detainees are common citizens and have no links with them.
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