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32 Taliban killed in Afghan clashes
Wed Sep 3, 4:23 AM ET
KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghan officials say 32 Taliban fighters have been killed in two separate clashes with Afghan and foreign troops in southern Afghanistan.
Afghans accept U.S. probe offer on civilian deaths
Wed Sep 3, 3:58 AM ET
KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan has accepted a U.S. proposal for a tripartite investigation into civilian casualties in a coalition air strike in western Herat province last month, a foreign ministry official said on Wednesday.
Nine Australian soldiers wounded in Afghanistan: military
by Madeleine Coorey Wed Sep 3, 4:31 AM ET
SYDNEY (AFP) - Nine Australian special forces troops were wounded in a Taliban ambush in Afghanistan, the nation's worst combat casualty toll in a single incident since Vietnam, the military said Wednesday.
U.S., Afghan Troops Kill 20 in Pakistan
By Candace Rondeaux Washington Post Foreign Service Wednesday, September 3, 2008; 10:16 AM
ISLAMABAD, Sept. 3 -- At least 20 people were killed in northwest Pakistan on Wednesday after U.S. and Afghan troops crossed from Afghanistan to pursue Taliban insurgents in an early morning attack
Pakistan accuses foreign troops in civilian deaths
Associated Press
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistan's government says a cross-border raid involving U.S.-led or NATO forces killed several civilians in a village near the Afghan border.
Taliban Threaten To Kill All French Afghanistan Troops-Report
PARIS (AFP)--The Taliban commando behind an ambush that left 10 French soldiers dead last month has threatened to kill all French troops unless they leave Afghanistan, a French news weekly reported.
German defence minister meets with Afghan president
Deutsche Welle
German Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung has met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and United Nations special envoy Kai Eide in Kabul. Following the talks, Jung praised the UN's reconstruction work
German army pays compensation for Afghan shooting
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's army has paid compensation to the family of an Afghan woman shot dead at a checkpoint in northern Afghanistan last week, the defence ministry said on Wednesday.
Karzai meets British actor Jude Law
KABUL (AFP) — Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai met British actor Jude Law and flimmaker Jeremy Gilley and praised their efforts to promote peace in his war-torn country, the president's office said Wednesday.
Porter going to Afghanistan, Pakistan
By STEVE TETREAULT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU Las Vegas Review-Journal - Sep 03 2:14 AM
WASHINGTON -- As Republicans are gathered this week in Minnesota for their national convention, Rep. Jon Porter is heading in another direction.
"Leo" rules in gung-ho Afghanistan challenge
03 Sep 2008 10:47:29 GMT By Luke Baker
CAMP BASTION, Afghanistan, Sept 3 (Reuters) - The challenge is simple enough -- run away as quickly as possible.
'US troops are committing war crimes'
www.quqnoos.com Written by Parwiz Shamal Tuesday, 02 September 2008
Afghan rights group accuses foreign troops of deliberately killing civilians
AN AFGHAN human rights organisation has accused the United States army of committing war crimes in Afghanistan.
Civilian death raid 'foiled Kabul bomb plot'
www.quqnoos.com Written by Abdullah Anwari Tuesday, 02 September 2008
Secret service says raid that killed four civilians stopped 'large bomb' attack
THE SECRET service has launched an investigation into the alleged killing of a couple and their two children by foreign troops in Kabul.
Gunmen shoot dead female doctor
www.quqnoos.com Written by Abdullah Anwari Tuesday, 02 September 2008
Police clueless about murder of female doctor in troubled south
UNKNOWN gunmen have shot dead a female doctor in the southern province of Kandahar, a health official said.
Security round-up: police seize suicide bomb
www.quqnoos.com Written by Noorullah Rahmani Tuesday, 02 September 2008
Car packed full of bullets and explosives is captured by police, official says
POLICE have discovered a car packed full of explosives in the provincial capital of Paktia, an official said.
Police arrest drug smugglers during clashes
www.quqnoos.com Written by Abdullah Anwari Tuesday, 02 September 2008
One counter-narcotics officer wounded and two vehicles damaged, police say
POLICE have arrested two men for smuggling 175kg of narcotics out of the country, an official said.
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32 Taliban killed in Afghan clashes
Wed Sep 3, 4:23 AM ET
KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghan officials say 32 Taliban fighters have been killed in two separate clashes with Afghan and foreign troops in southern Afghanistan.
Ghulam Jailani Khan, police chief of Zabul province, says 22 Taliban were killed in a clash in the province's Naw Bahar district on Tuesday.
Khan says seven Arab fighters were among the dead.
Mohammad Hussein Andiwal, the police chief of Helmand province, says another 10 militants died in clashes with Afghan and foreign troops in Nad Ali district. The clash happened on Tuesday evening.
Southern Afghanistan is the center of the Taliban-led insurgency.
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Afghans accept U.S. probe offer on civilian deaths
Wed Sep 3, 3:58 AM ET
KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan has accepted a U.S. proposal for a tripartite investigation into civilian casualties in a coalition air strike in western Herat province last month, a foreign ministry official said on Wednesday.
The U.S. military has disputed the toll of 96 civilians the Afghan government and the United Nations said were killed in the raid, which has stoked widespread anger. "The government has agreed to take part in the investigations involving the government, international forces and the U.N," Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Sultan Ahmad Baheen said.
(Reporting by Sayed Salahuddin; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
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Nine Australian soldiers wounded in Afghanistan: military
by Madeleine Coorey Wed Sep 3, 4:31 AM ET
SYDNEY (AFP) - Nine Australian special forces troops were wounded in a Taliban ambush in Afghanistan, the nation's worst combat casualty toll in a single incident since Vietnam, the military said Wednesday.
One soldier was fighting for his life and several militants died in the exchanges in Uruzgan province, a former Taliban stronghold in Afghanistan's south, officials said.
"Australian forces serving in Afghanistan have been engaged again in heavy fighting against the Taliban," Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said during a ceremony at the War Memorial in Canberra.
"This fighting has seen nine Australian troops injured, some seriously."
The Defence Department said five other soldiers had serious injuries and another three were slightly wounded.
"Since Vietnam, it's the greatest number of combat casualties sustained in a single combat incident," a spokeswoman for the Australian Defence Force told AFP.
The military said the soldiers were attacked with rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire in an attack on their vehicles as they returned from an operation.
Defence force chief Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston said he was unable to provide further details because the mission was continuing, but he described the Taliban as "a very determined adversary."
"It is a very dangerous place and we were involved in an activity with other forces. I guess we were ambushed and this is what happens," Houston told reporters.
"As always, our people are doing a great job and they have been very successful in recent times. Unfortunately, from time to time, we will have casualties."
Taliban militants, who were ousted from power in a US-led invasion in late 2001, have dramatically intensified attacks this year.
Last month, 10 French NATO soldiers were killed in the deadliest ground attack on foreign troops in Afghanistan since the war began.
Australian officials have not ruled out more clashes, despite the onset of the Afghan winter which generally curtails fighting in the rugged mountain country.
"With winter approaching, Taliban extremists are stepping up their activities across the country before the snow falls and the poor weather limits further operations," defence spokesman Brigadier Brian Dawson said.
He said the Taliban fighters were being pursued in their "heartland areas," including some regions where foreign soldiers had never been before.
"I think we can expect more heavy fighting," he said.
Speaking in parliament, Prime Minister Rudd said the mission underscored Canberra's resolve to ensure the "bastion of terror" under the Taliban's reign never returned.
"The Taliban can never again be allowed to use Afghanistan as a training ground, a hiding place, or a launching pad for terrorist operations around the world," he said.
Rudd noted that Australia was not alone in the fight in Afghanistan, praising the commitment of the French government and its other allies in the region.
"The Australian government remains committed to assisting the people of Afghanistan and their democratically elected government to achieve a measure of the stability and prosperity that we take for granted in our country," Rudd said.
So far, six Australian soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan, where Australia has about 1,000 troops, up to 300 of whom are special forces stationed in Uruzgan.
There are about 70,000 international forces in the country helping the Afghan government to fight the rebels.
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U.S., Afghan Troops Kill 20 in Pakistan
By Candace Rondeaux Washington Post Foreign Service Wednesday, September 3, 2008; 10:16 AM
ISLAMABAD, Sept. 3 -- At least 20 people were killed in northwest Pakistan on Wednesday after U.S. and Afghan troops crossed from Afghanistan to pursue Taliban insurgents in an early morning attack that marked the first known instance in which U.S. forces conducted an operation on Pakistani soil since the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan began, according to witnesses and a Pakistani official.
The United States has conducted occasional air and artillery strikes against insurgents lodged across the border in Pakistani territory, and "hot pursuit" rules provide some room for U.S. troops to maneuver in the midst of battle. But the arrival of three U.S. helicopters in the village of Musa Nika, clearly inside the Pakistani border, drew a sharp response from Pakistani officials.
"We strongly object to the incursion of ISAF troops on Pakistani territory," said Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, chief spokesman for the Pakistani military, referring to the International Security Assistance Force, the coalition of U.S. and other NATO troops that has been battling the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan since 2001.
A U.S. military spokesman in Afghanistan referred requests for comment on the incident to U.S. Central Command headquarters in Tampa. A CENTCOM spokesman reached by phone in Tampa on Wednesday declined to comment.
Many details of the incident remain unclear, including the number of ground troops and helicopters involved, and whether U.S. troops were among those that left the helicopters and conducted a ground operation in the village. Pakistani military officials said two helicopters landed at Musa Nika, while villagers said there were three.
According to Pakistani military and other sources, the attack began a little after 3 a.m. when three U.S. army helicopters carrying American and Afghan troops landed in Musa Nika in the Pakistani tribal area of South Waziristan. According to a Pakistani security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak publicly on the incident, several of the troops then left the helicopters and launched a ground assault on three houses where Taliban fighters were believed to be hiding.
One of the homes belonged to a villager named Pao Jan Ahmedzai Wazir, a local tribesman, said Anwar Shah, a resident of a neighboring village. Several women and children who were inside Wazir's house and two other homes nearby were killed when U.S. and Afghan troops opened fire on the buildings. "The situation there is very terrible. People are trying to take out the dead bodies," Shah said.
Maj. Murad Khan, a spokesman for the Pakistani military, said Pakistani authorities have verified that an attack took place in South Waziristan a little before 4 a.m. But he could not confirm whether U.S. troops were involved until an investigation into the incident is complete.
Khan said that coalition troops in Afghanistan are generally barred from crossing into Pakistan's tribal areas. "We don't allow foreign troops to operate in our area. Our troops are quite capable of handling the militants on our side," Khan said.
The attack in Musa Nika comes amid debate over the rules of operation along the area between Afghanistan and Pakistan. In recent months, U.S. officials have intensified pressure on Pakistan to clamp down on Taliban insurgents and al-Qaeda fighters sheltering in areas along the 1,500-mile-long border.
Owais Ghani, governor of Pakistan's North-West Frontier province, immediately condemned the attack in Musa Nika, saying that several women and children had been killed in the skirmish. Ghani called the cross-border incursion a "direct assault on Pakistan's sovereignty" and demanded a response from Pakistan's military.
The Pakistani military appears to have acceded recently to U.S. pressures to step up attacks on extremists in its border areas, launching major offensives on Taliban and al-Qaeda strongholds in two of the country's Federally Administered Tribal Areas within the past two months.
Yet analysts here in Pakistan's capital say the incursion into South Waziristan could augur a new strategic turn aimed at cutting off an insurgency that threatens to engulf large swaths of Pakistan and reverse any gains made by U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.
Last week, Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, held a secret meeting with Pakistani Gen. Ashfaq Kayani aboard a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Indian Ocean in the wake of several devastating setbacks for Western and Afghan forces in Afghanistan.
U.S. and Pakistani officials have released few details about discussions at the high-level meeting, which was also attended by Gen. David D. McKiernan, NATO's top commander in Afghanistan. But a senior Pakistani military official with knowledge of the meeting said that talks between Mullen and Kayani focused in large part on the threat to coalition forces in Afghanistan emanating from insurgents operating inside Pakistan's borders. The Pakistani military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, said the meeting touched on a possible agreement to allow U.S. Special Forces to begin ground operations in Pakistan's tribal areas.
Abbas denied reports of any agreement for U.S. troops to operate inside Pakistani territory.
A NATO spokesman in Afghanistan said foreign forces are generally prohibited from mounting cross border attacks into Pakistan. The spokesman, who only gave his name as Sgt. Yates, said NATO forces occasionally employ artillery or aerial missiles to target insurgents who attack coalition troops from Pakistani territory, but the rules of engagement are very carefully proscribed. "Our area of operations stops at the border. We don't go over the border period," Yates said.
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Pakistan accuses foreign troops in civilian deaths
Associated Press
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistan's government says a cross-border raid involving U.S.-led or NATO forces killed several civilians in a village near the Afghan border.
A statement from the Foreign Ministry described the raid in the South Waziristan region as a ground attack supported by air assets based in Afghanistan.
It said the attack caused "immense loss of civilian life" and called it a "gross violation" of Pakistani territory.
The statement said such strikes undermine joint efforts to fight terrorism.
South Waziristan is considered a militant stronghold, and the U.S. has pushed Pakistan to crackdown on insurgents who use it as a base to stage attacks inside Afghanistan.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (AP) — Women and children were among 15 people killed in an attack Wednesday involving U.S.-led forces in a Pakistani village near the border with Afghanistan, officials and a resident said.
1st Lt. Nathan Perry, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan, said it had "no information to give" about the alleged operation, while a spokesman for NATO troops there denied any involvement.
The United States and Pakistan, allies in the war on terror, have had tensions over cross-border attacks, including a series of suspected American missile strikes which have killed two senior al-Qaida operatives in Pakistani territory this year.
Officials gave differing accounts of the pre-dawn raid in the South Waziristan region, part of the tribal belt where officials suspect Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri are hiding. It was unclear whether any militant leaders had been killed or captured.
The governor of North West Frontier Province, the chief administrator for the tribal belt, said three coalition helicopter gunships and commandos carried out an "outrageous" attack on a village.
"At least 20 innocent civilians of Pakistan including women and children were martyred," Gov. Owais Ahmed Ghani said in a statement.
However, Defense Minister Ahmad Mukhtar told reporters in Lahore that homes near the border had been attacked by NATO aircraft and made no mention of ground forces.
Pakistan army spokesman Maj. Murad Khan said it also had reports that 15 people, including women and children, died in the attack near Angoor Ada, a town in South Waziristan.
Officials said both the army and the Foreign Ministry were investigating.
Habib Khan Wazir, an area resident, said the incident occurred in a village called Musa Nikow. Wazir said he heard the sound of helicopters and then an exchange of fire between the assailants and other residents.
"Later, I saw 15 bodies inside and outside two homes. They had been shot in the head," Wazir told an AP reporter by telephone.
He said the dead included women and children and that all were civilians. He claimed that the attackers were American and Afghan troops, and didn't know if any of them had been wounded.
"There was darkness at the time when the Americans came and killed our innocent people," Wazir said. "We would have not allowed them to go back alive if they had come to our village in daylight."
He said the funerals of the slain people would be held in the village later Wednesday.
The U.S. embassy in Islamabad declined to comment.
American officials say Pakistan's tribal regions along the Afghan border have turned into havens for al-Qaida and Taliban-linked militants involved in attacks on U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan. South Waziristan is the base for Pakistan's top Taliban leader, Baitullah Mehsud.
The U.S. has pushed Pakistan to crack down on the militancy inside its territory, and there have been debates in Washington over how far the U.S. can go in carrying out its own strikes.
AP reported last year that U.S. rules of engagement allowed ground forces to go a little over six miles into Pakistan when in hot pursuit, and when forces were targeted or fired on by the enemy. U.S. rules allow aircraft to go 10 miles into Pakistan air space.
Pakistani officials protest that cross-border strikes are a violation of their sovereignty. They plead with U.S. and NATO commanders to share intelligence and allow Pakistani troops to carry out all raids on their territory.
Relations took a hit earlier this year when Pakistan said coalition aircraft bombed one of its border posts, killing 11 troops.
However, the civilian government has also taken a tough line against militants, and sought to persuade a skeptical public that security forces are fighting Islamic extremists for Pakistan's sake, not for Washington.
Ghani, who was appointed governor under ousted ex-President Pervez Musharraf and is expected to be replaced shortly, said Wednesday's incident was a "direct assault" on Pakistan.
"The people of Pakistan expect that the armed forces of Pakistan would rise to defend the sovereignty of the country and give a befitting reply," he said in a statement.
___
Associated Press writers Munir Ahmad in Islamabad and Fisnik Abrashi in Kabul contributed to this report.
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Taliban Threaten To Kill All French Afghanistan Troops-Report
PARIS (AFP)--The Taliban commando behind an ambush that left 10 French soldiers dead last month has threatened to kill all French troops unless they leave Afghanistan, a French news weekly reported.
Paris Match magazine Thursday publishes an interview with the leader of a group of 28 Taliban fighters in the eastern Laghman province, named Commander Faruki, who says he led the Aug. 18 attack.
"These men died because of (U.S. President George W.) Bush and your president. We did not want to kill your husbands or your children. We have nothing against the French. If they leave, all will be well," Faruki said.
"So long as you stay in our land, we will kill you. All."
The weekly published photographs of the fighters, their faces masked, one of whom wore a French army uniform, another a French bulletproof vest and helmet, while two others carried Famas assault rifles used by the French forces.
The Taliban leader said his forces acted in "legitimate self-defense" against the French troops.
He denied planning an ambush, but said the Taliban had been "warned slightly before the attack of the presence of foreign soldiers" and had positioned "140 well-trained fighters" to combat them.
The ambush, and fierce fighting that followed, left 10 French soldiers dead and 21 wounded.
Details of the clash, the deadliest ground battle for foreign forces since the fall of the Taliban in 2001 and the worst French military loss in 25 years, have remained unclear.
The attack prompted a public outcry in France, with some calling for an immediate pullout of the 3,000 French troops serving in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization-led International Security Assistance Force.
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German defence minister meets with Afghan president
Deutsche Welle
German Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung has met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and United Nations special envoy Kai Eide in Kabul. Following the talks, Jung praised the UN's reconstruction work in Afghanistan. Earlier, Jung visited Mazar-i-Sharif, home to the biggest German military base in Afghanistan. His visit comes just days after a Bundeswehr soldier was killed in an insurgent attack. Jung also used his meeting with Karzai to convey Germany's condolences over the deaths of an Afghan woman and two children, who were shot, allegedly by Bundeswehr soldiers, at a checkpoint near Kunduz. Germany has more than 3,000 troops stationed in northern Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force.
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German army pays compensation for Afghan shooting
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's army has paid compensation to the family of an Afghan woman shot dead at a checkpoint in northern Afghanistan last week, the defence ministry said on Wednesday.
The woman and two children were killed when security forces, including German troops, opened fire on a vehicle at the checkpoint near Kunduz.
"The family in question and another member of the tribe had threatened revenge," a spokesman for the ministry said. Officials had talked to a brother of the dead woman and arranged the payment, he said, declining to reveal the amount.
"This payment is no admission of guilt," he said.
Germany said on Tuesday prosecutors were investigating a German soldier on suspicion of manslaughter after the incident.
The defence ministry has said two civilian vehicles had stopped at the checkpoint but the forces fired warning shots when one of the vehicles started moving.
About 3,500 German troops are deployed in Afghanistan under a NATO mission which is unpopular with German voters. Twelve German soldiers have been killed in attacks and another 16 have died in accidents or from other causes.
NATO forces have been fighting a fierce insurgency by Taliban militants and Berlin is under pressure from its allies to boost its troop levels and transfer soldiers to the more dangerous south of the country.
(Reporting by Hans-Edzard Busemann, writing by Kerstin Gehmlich, editing by Mark Trevelyan)
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Karzai meets British actor Jude Law
KABUL (AFP) — Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai met British actor Jude Law and flimmaker Jeremy Gilley and praised their efforts to promote peace in his war-torn country, the president's office said Wednesday.
Law, ambassador for Gilley's Peace One Day project, are in Afghanistan to promote a global ceasefire and activities pushing for non-violence on September 21, the UN-adopted Peace Day.
The pair met Karzai in his palace late Tuesday, Karzai's office said in a statement.
"Karzai praised their efforts and said, 'Afghanistan, too, hopes and makes lots of efforts for the establishment of peace in Afghanistan, the region and the world," it added.
This year events are planned across the globe, ranging from football games and concerts to screenings of Gilley's new documentary "The Day After Peace."
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Porter going to Afghanistan, Pakistan
By STEVE TETREAULT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU Las Vegas Review-Journal - Sep 03 2:14 AM
WASHINGTON -- As Republicans are gathered this week in Minnesota for their national convention, Rep. Jon Porter is heading in another direction.
Porter, R-Nev., departs from Washington today for an official trip to Afghanistan and Pakistan, he confirmed Tuesday.
Six House members led by Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Calif., will return on Monday, he said. The trip is being paid for by the House Armed Services Committee.
The group will travel to the Afghan capital of Kabul and to Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan.
Porter declined to provide a detailed itinerary, citing security reasons.
He said generally the lawmakers will meet with U.S. diplomatic and military officials and with representatives of the overseas governments.
It would be Porter's second trip to Central Asia, following a visit in December 2005.
The U.S. visitors on the latest trip plan to gather information in Afghanistan about the resurgent Taliban, how U.S. and NATO soldiers are responding, and whether more forces are needed, he said.
"There has been an increase in the frequency of attacks and the use of suicide bombings in the last two months," Porter said Tuesday. "We are seeing insurgents have better training, and they are adapting their techniques. We want to find out what we should be expecting."
Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., traveled to Afghanistan in early August as head of a Senate delegation. Afterward he said the military situation had improved but that U.S. generals need more resources.
The House trip was in the works when Porter announced early in August he would not be attending the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., this week. Aide Matthew Leffingwell said Tuesday that Porter did not mention it at the time because he was uncertain what he could disclose.
Running for re-election in Nevada's 3rd Congressional District, Porter faces Democrat state Sen. Dina Titus in one of the most closely watched races in the nation.
"Our troops in the Middle East are serving admirably, and I hope the delegation will convey our support and gratitude for their bravery in service to our nation," Titus said in a statement Tuesday.
Porter said Tuesday he will not use video footage or photos from the trip in campaign materials later in the fall to bolster his standing as the incumbent.
"You will not see those in a campaign piece," he said.
Tauscher is chairwoman of a House Armed Services subcommittee. Others on the trip are Democrats Nancy Boyda of Kansas and Jim Cooper of Tennessee, and Republicans Tom Petri of Wisconsin and Dave Reichert of Washington state.
Like Porter, Reichert is involved in a tight re-election campaign.
Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760.
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"Leo" rules in gung-ho Afghanistan challenge
03 Sep 2008 10:47:29 GMT By Luke Baker
CAMP BASTION, Afghanistan, Sept 3 (Reuters) - The challenge is simple enough -- run away as quickly as possible.
The only problem is, there's a highly trained, gnashing dog chasing after you and he wants to chew you to bits.
It may not sound like the most attractive proposition, especially as you have to pay to have a go, but it's turned into a popular sport for gung-ho soldiers serving in Afghanistan.
And in the process it's raised thousands of dollars for war veterans cared for by the British charity Help For Heroes.
The game is called "Beat the dog", which contrary to what the name suggests does not involve taking a stick to the hound but seeing if you can outrun a snarling, lean German shepherd, one of the dogs the army uses to track down the Taliban.
A volunteer pays $5 and is trussed up in a heavily padded suit, complete with face mask and big protective gloves.
On a command, the challenger has to run from a hideout to a mound of rocks, turn around the rocks and then run away. At the same time the German shepherd, called Leo, is walked to a mound of rocks about 25 metres away and then unleashed.
In one recent showdown, Lance Corporal Logan Wilson, a hefty U.S. Marine, suited up and made a mad dash for it.
Just past the rocks he stumbled over his own feet and fell forwards. He got up as Leo was bearing down on him at full tilt.
He took several more strides before the dog leapt in the air and hit him powerfully in the back, knocking him to the floor.
Once on the ground, Leo grabbed hold of Wilson's arm and attempted to tear it off. Were it not for the padded suit, the dog might well have succeeded. Wilson did not beat the dog.
"He hit me real hard right from behind and there was no way I was going to get back up," said Wilson, a 19-year-old from the state of Wyoming. "It wasn't so bad because of the padding, but that dog is real strong."
Leo weighs about 40 kilos (88 pounds) and can run at around 25 kph (15 mph) at full speed, his trainer said, meaning that he can land a hefty blow when he flings himself at you full pelt.
In the months that the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, which handles bomb sniffing and protection dogs in Afghanistan, has been running the challenge, no one has yet beaten the dog by reaching a wall about 50 metres from the rocks.
Some have managed to sprint around 25 metres, but most have been brought down within less than 10 as Leo and the other close protection dogs that get to play quickly run down their victims.
Not only has the challenge raised approximately $5,000 for charity, but it also helps to keep the dogs trim.
Without volunteers, Leo wouldn't get a chance to sink his teeth into much other than his lunch, so the game allows him to keep in training. There's every sign that the dogs take it extremely seriously too.
It took some effort for the trainer to get Leo to "drop" Wilson. He eventually pulled the dog up in the air by a leash until its front legs were suspended, and Leo then reluctantly withdrew his teeth from the thick padding of the suit.
"Good boy," said the trainer, Corporal Harry McKnight, as Leo ran his tongue over his huge front teeth and snarled.
Asked if there wasn't a reward for Leo after his hard work, McKnight shook his head. "For him, the bite's the reward. He just wants to sink his teeth in there and never let go." (Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
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'US troops are committing war crimes'
www.quqnoos.com Written by Parwiz Shamal Tuesday, 02 September 2008
Afghan rights group accuses foreign troops of deliberately killing civilians
AN AFGHAN human rights organisation has accused the United States army of committing war crimes in Afghanistan.
The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) said on Tuesday that, according to their own investigations, civilians are killed in most operations conducted by US forces.
AIHRC expressed strong concern about the death of innocent Afghans during military operations and urged those responsible for the killings to face trial.
"According to our investigations, 98% of civilian casualties caused by the coalition forces in Afghanistan are intentional," the head of the AIHRC, Lal Gul, said.
"The actions of the coalition forces, especially the American forces, are not only against the human rights laws, but are considered war crimes. Therefore, these forces have committed war crimes in Afghanistan," he said.
Foreign forces maintain that they try their best to minimise civilian casualties in their operations.
They also accuse the Taliban of using civilians as human shields by taking shelter in residential homes and areas.
A spokesman for the AIHRC, Nadir Nadiri, said: "Whenever a military force, or one of the two sides in a war, kill innocent people intentionally, it has broken the international human rights law, and according to the human rights law, such people must be tried."
NATO and the US-led coalition have come under fire from Afghan politicians, ordinary people and the local media for killing innocent civilians in recent weeks.
On Monday, residents accused foreign troops of killing four members of the same family during a midnight raid in Kabul, a claim the international troops strongly deny.
On August 22, a coalition raid on a village in the western province of Herat killed as many as 90 civilians, 60 of them children, a United Nations investigation into the ground and air operation revealed.
Karzai, who has also chided western generals for their failure to minimise civilian casualties, says the death of innocent Afghans only plays into the hands of the Taliban, who use the killings to turn people against the government.
More than 500 civilians have been killed during operations led by foreign and Afghan forces against militants this year, according to the Afghan government and some aid groups.
The UN says the civilian death-toll has increased "sharply" this year on last.
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Civilian death raid 'foiled Kabul bomb plot'
www.quqnoos.com Written by Abdullah Anwari Tuesday, 02 September 2008
Secret service says raid that killed four civilians stopped 'large bomb' attack
THE SECRET service has launched an investigation into the alleged killing of a couple and their two children by foreign troops in Kabul.
Eye-witnesses said on Monday that foreign troops entered a family home in the Hot Khil area of the capital and opened fire on the family, killing one child as young as eight-months-old, before arresting three other family members.
An investigation was already underway hours after residents took to the streets to the four deaths, the National Directorate of Security (NDS) said. A spokesman for the NDS, Sayid Ansari, said the raid had foiled a plot to detonate a "large bomb" in Kabul.
NATO and the US-led coalition, who have come under fire from Afghan politicians, ordinary people and local media for killing innocent civilians in recent weeks, denied any involvement in the attack.
On August 22, a coalition raid on a village in the western province of Herat killed as many as 90 civilians, 60 of them children, a United Nations investigation into the ground and air operation revealed.
The US army claimed only five civilians and 25 militants were killed.
The civilian death allegations, one of the worst since the US-led invasion in 2001, sparked violent demonstrations against the presence of some 70,000 foreign soldiers stationed in Afghanistan and forced President Karzai to order a review of their mission. A preliminary report released on Monday quoted an Afghan general as saying coalition troops were fired on first, but the preliminary report failed to say who the gunmen were.
Karzai, who has also chided western generals for their failure to minimise civilian casualties, says the death of innocent Afghans only plays into the hands of the Taliban, who use the killings to turn people against the government.
More than 500 civilians have been killed during operations led by foreign and Afghan forces against militants this year, according to the Afghan government and some aid groups.
The UN says the civilian death-toll has increased "sharply" this year on last.
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Gunmen shoot dead female doctor
www.quqnoos.com Written by Abdullah Anwari Tuesday, 02 September 2008
Police clueless about murder of female doctor in troubled south
UNKNOWN gunmen have shot dead a female doctor in the southern province of Kandahar, a health official said.
The murder happened in the Zerai district on Monday, the head of the province’s public health team, Adul Qayoom Pukhla, said.
The doctor, Zerghoona, was working in the Howz-e-Madad Clinic.
No one has claimed responsibility for the murder so far and police do not know why the doctor was killed.
Earlier this year, thousands of doctors in Herat went on strike after kidnappers abducted a number of colleagues and demanded large sums of money for their release.
Doctors in the western province urged the government to clamp down on kidnappings, which many health workers said were carried out with police help.
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Security round-up: police seize suicide bomb
www.quqnoos.com Written by Noorullah Rahmani Tuesday, 02 September 2008
Car packed full of bullets and explosives is captured by police, official says
POLICE have discovered a car packed full of explosives in the provincial capital of Paktia, an official said.
Militants wanted to use the car, full of bullets, gas cylinders and explosives, to carry out a suicide bomb attack in Gardez, the province’s capital, the governor's spokesman, Roohullah Samoon, said on Monday.
No one has been arrested in connection with the bomb, he said.
In south-eastern Paktika province, NATO forces killed three children on Monday, injuring seven other civilians after the foreign troops responded to a Taliban ambush by firing artillery shells.
One of the shells hit a residential house and killed three children, the NATO-led ISAF said in a statement.
In Maidan Wardak, Taliban killed three policemen during clashes in the Syed Abad district of the province on Monday, the governor’ spokesman, Adam Khan Seerat, said.
Four police vehicles were also destroyed in the attack, he said.
On Tuesday, separate bomb blasts along the border with Pakistan killed one civilian and injured two more, police said.
The first bomb hit a goat truck, wounding no one, but the second blast targeted a private security company’s car, killing one guard and wounding two others, police said.
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Police arrest drug smugglers during clashes
www.quqnoos.com Written by Abdullah Anwari Tuesday, 02 September 2008
One counter-narcotics officer wounded and two vehicles damaged, police say
POLICE have arrested two men for smuggling 175kg of narcotics out of the country, an official said.
Counter-narcotics teams arrested the two men during clashes between foreign troops and Taliban militants in the Kishk Rebat Sangi district of Herat on Monday, a spokesman for the province’s police force, Noor Khan Nikzad, said.
One policemen was injured and two police vehicles were partially damaged during the arrests, he said.
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