Articles found 27 July 2006
Cdn. soldiers' remains to arrive home Thursday
Updated Thu. Jul. 27 2006 10:44 AM ET CTV.ca News Staff
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060718/soldiers_repatriation_060726/20060727?hub=Canada
The bodies of two Canadian soldiers killed by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan will arrive back on Canadian soil Thursday.
Francisco Gomez, 44, based in Edmonton, and Cpl. Jason Patrick Warren, 29, based in Montreal, were killed on July 22 when their coalition convoy was rammed by a suicide bomber near Kandahar City.
Afghanistan's hidden war
Thursday, 27 July 2006, 14:31 GMT 15:31 UK BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5220514.stm
The scale of the fighting in southern Afghanistan has dramatically increased over the past few months.
But there is another war going on at a much more local level, targeting government infrastructure across the country. Local politicians, police chiefs and judges are being assassinated, and schools are being closed due to intimidation or being burned to the ground, as Alastair Leithead reports.
The notes were left at night, pinned to trees outside the school - they were addressed to the head teacher.
"We know who you are," they said.
"We know you are involved in girls' education. Unless you stop we will kill your daughters and we will kill your family."
The principal had received many of these warnings, but it didn't stop him keeping the school open.
He pinned up his reply on the same trees: "Do whatever you have to do and we will do what we have to do," it read.
A few days later the school was hit by three rockets, and explosives were planted around the outside of the building.
This happened a few weeks ago - in Wardak, a province neighbouring Kabul.
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Pace Visits Afghanistan, Calls Taliban 'Tactical Problem'
By Jim Garamone American Forces Press Service KABUL, Afghanistan, July 27, 2006
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jul2006/20060727_5770.html
The Taliban is a tactical problem for the coalition in Afghanistan, but the coalition is a strategic problem for the Taliban, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said here today.
Marine Gen. Peter Pace is in Afghanistan to meet with Afghan, coalition and NATO officials.
Fighting in Afghanistan is concentrated in the country's south, the area the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force is due to take over in the next few days. More Taliban are "presenting themselves on the battlefield then there have been," Pace told reporters traveling with him. But Afghan and coalition forces have dealt the Taliban some heavy blows, he added.
The Taliban has not reconstituted since being routed by U.S.-led coalition forces following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. However, coalition officials in Kabul said, the group has "more robust" command and control and more weapons than in the recent past.
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Eight other Canadian soldiers were wounded in the strike.
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Ready and raring to go - 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines prepare for Afghanistan (AUDIO)
26 Jul 06 - Australian Defence News
http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/ReadyAndRaringToGo3CommandoBrigadeRoyalMarinesPrepareForAfghanistanaudio.htm
Deploying to Afghanistan in September 2006, 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines were joined at Salisbury plain on Tuesday 25 July 2006 by the Minister of the Armed Forces, Adam Ingram to watch their final preparations.
3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines will replace 16 Air Assault Brigade in Afghanistan as they end their six month deployment.
The deployment will add to existing military contributions from the UK and 35 other nations as part of a NATO drive to create safe space for reconstruction following decades of war in the country.
As part of their Final Mission Rehearsal Exercise the Brigade also worked with other Government Departments and Afghan Nationals. This tested all aspects of the future deployment from internal security to the role of the Provincial Reconstruction teams and the Operational Mentoring and Liaison teams.
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Two Dutch die as helicopter crashes in Afghanistan
27 July 2006 AMSTERDAM
http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=19&story_id=31834&name=Two+Dutch+die+as+helicopter+crashes+in+Afghanistan
The Netherlands has suffered its first casualties in Afghanistan days before its military mission officially becomes active.
Afghan border police found several bodies at the scene of the crash in a mountainous area in the eastern province of Paktia, a senior police officer said on Thursday.
The Russian-made civilian Mi-8 helicopter, operated by a logistics firm, Tryco, crashed between 22 and 25 miles north-east of Khost city on Wednesday. It is believed 16 people were on board. A search for the crash site was called off late on Wednesday due to the poor weather conditions and failing light.
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Coalition Forces Respond to Afghan Helicopter Crash
American Forces Press Service - BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, July 27, 2006
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jul2006/20060727_5764.html
Coalition forces from Combined Joint Task Force 76 responded to a helicopter crash that killed at least a dozen people yesterday in the rugged mountains of Afghanistan's Paktia province, military officials here reported.
A Russian-made Mi 8 helicopter, owned by the Afghan government, crashed in the Qalandar Mountains near the Khost border. Initial reports indicate between 12 and 16 people were killed, officials said.
A logistics company ferrying supplies and fuel from Kabul to Khost airport operated the helicopter.
The coalition first sent an aviation search-and-rescue team to find the crash and offer recovery assistance, but extreme weather conditions prevented the crew from landing. A ground-force quick-reaction team then hiked up the mountain, led by an Afghan guide.
"We made every effort to quickly reach the downed aircraft with hopes of saving some or all of the passengers and crew," said Maj. Gen. Benjamin C. Freakley, CJTF 76 commander. "Unfortunately, there were no survivors. Our condolences go out to the friends and families of the victims."
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Unmanned Aircraft Give Military Added Capability
By Steven Donald Smith American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, July 26, 2006
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jul2006/20060726_5762.html
The instant feedback of information supplied by unmanned aerial vehicles is bringing immediate "value added" to U.S. military operations, the Joint Staff's director for strategic plans and policy explained yesterday.
"UAVs have become such an important tool for our decision makers -- operational battlefield decision makers and strategic decision makers," Air Force Lt. Gen. Victor E. "Gene" Renuart Jr. said in a Pentagon Channel interview. "They have become an accepted part of our inventory."
Unmanned aerial vehicles are remotely piloted or self-piloted aircraft that can carry cameras, sensors and communications equipment that provide an integrated system of intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance. The vehicles also provide valuable battle-damage assessment and are used to track high-value targets. Some even carry weapons.
The Predator and Global Hawk are the two most prominent UAV systems.
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UNSC reaffirms support for Afghanistan
[ 27 Jul, 2006 1137hrs ISTPTI ] RSS Feeds
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1818559.cms
UNITED NATIONS: Expressing concern over the worsening violence in Afghanistan, the United Nations Security Council has reaffirmed its support for the Government and the armed forces of the war-ravaged country as they battle an 'insurgency' that seeks to restore life under the Taliban.
In a statement, the UNSC also expressed its support for the work of the International Security Assistance Force and Operation Enduring Freedom troops in working alongside Afghan forces.
"They (the members) recognize once again the inter-connected nature of the challenges in Afghanistan and reaffirm that sustainable progress on security, governance and development, as well as on the cross-cutting issue of counter-narcotics is mutually reinforcing and welcome the continuing effort of the Afghan Government and international community to address these challenges," the statement said.
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AFGHANISTAN: Drug abuse on the rise in Helmand
27 Jul 2006 10:35:36 GMT Source: IRIN
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/9cf1b2a62066169c226cd19077f467bc.htm
LASHKAR GAH, 27 July (IRIN) - Halima's drug addiction started with a toothache. "Some of my relatives told me to put a piece of opium in my mouth to relieve the pain. After a while I soon became addicted to this evil," the 30-year-old mother-of-four said as she sat in a long queue of women waiting for treatment at a drug addiction clinic in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Afghanistan's southern province of Helmand.
Helmand, the largest opium-producing province in a country that produces nearly 90 percent of the world's illicit opium, has seen a steady increase in addiction.
"It [opium] made me so weak and sluggish," mother-of-six Jamila, 35, said. "Even my children have become fed up with me so I decided to end this misery and seek treatment at this clinic. The doctors here are so kind and helpful and their medicine has changed my whole perspective on life."
The 20-bed clinic, founded in June by the Welfare Association for Development of Afghanistan (WADAN), an NGO in Lashkar Gah, is struggling to cope with the demand. And with beds reserved for male addicts, the centre has no choice but to treat the growing number of female addicts in their homes.
"We treat patients here for one month and after that we provide them with vocational training such as tailoring and carpentry to enable them to support their families," Dr Raoudatullah Zia, provincial head of the WADAN clinic, told IRIN.
Lying in his bed at the clinic, Hazrat Mohammad, 23, an opium addict for 10 years, blamed unemployment for his addiction.
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ANALYSIS-Pakistan haunted by Taliban question as NATO deploys
27 Jul 2006 09:12:21 GMT Source: Reuters
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SP41202.htm
By Simon Cameron-Moore
ISLAMABAD, July 27 (Reuters) - Almost five years after thousands of Taliban fighters fled Afghanistan to escape a U.S.-led invasion, Pakistan is still unable to shake off suspicions that it is allowing them to operate from its soil.
Just as India is losing patience with Pakistan's failure to act more forcefully against numerous anti-Indian Islamic militant groups, Afghanistan, the United States and other NATO powers have been telling Islamabad to get tougher with the Taliban.
"There is little doubt that top Taliban commanders find sanctuary within Pakistan and opportunity to plan and launch operations," Marvin G. Weinbaum, a former analyst with the State Department's intelligence bureau, wrote in a study published by the United States Institute of Peace last month.
"Islamabad's efforts to check extremism and prevent the infiltration of anti-(Afghan) regime insurgents are accurately described as inconsistent, incomplete and at times insincere."
The deployment of NATO forces in southern Afghanistan during the worst phase of the Taliban insurgency, with 1,700 killed so far this year, has once again put Pakistan's role under scrutiny.
Whenever President Pervez Musharraf comes under pressure over the Taliban he points to three things; difficult terrain on the long frontier, inadequate attempts to control the insurgency on the Afghan side, and the hundreds of casualties the Pakistan army has suffered since deploying 80,000 troops in the border areas
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Pakistan urged to probe 7 reporters' deaths
27 Jul 2006 10:18:22 GMT Source: Reuters
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/ISL10321.htm
ISLAMABAD, July 27 (Reuters)- An international press freedom group on Thursday asked Pakistan to investigate the deaths of seven Pakistani journalists as vigorously as it did the slaying of U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002.
Officials of the New York based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) made the demand during a visit to Pakistan in the wake of the execution-style killing last month of a Pakistani journalist, Hayatullah Khan, in North Waziristan.
"This case deserves as full an investigation as the Pakistani government was able to put together for an American journalist," said Bob Dietz, CPJ's Asia Programme Coordinator at a press conference.
Pakistan moved swiftly, under intense U.S. pressure, to catch militants involved in Pearl's murder in Karachi while he was on assignment on a story on al Qaeda for the Asian Wall Street Journal.
The CPJ believes the deaths of seven Pakistani journalists since 2002 have received less attention than they deserve, while the case of Pearl, whose beheading was videotaped by his killers, became a cause celebre in the international media.
Pearl's story is being turned into a movie, titled "A Mighty Heart" based on a book written by his widow. The film, produced by Brad Pitt, will star Angelina Jolie.
Hayatullah Khan was abducted last year after reporting that an al-Qaeda commander, Abu Hamza Rabia, had been killed by a U.S missile strike, contradicting the Pakistan government's account that Rabia died in a blast caused by explosives stored in the house he was hiding in.
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Lewisburg native dies in battle in Afghanistan
By AILENE TORRES Staff Writer Thursday, 07/27/06
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060727/NEWS01/607270408/1006/NEWS01
Soldier wanted to join FBI after military
In a final e-mail to a female friend, David Hierholzer, a Lewisburg native, offered his life's philosophy:
"Life is a fatal adventure; it can only have one ending. So why not make it as far-ranging and as free as possible?"
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NI troops bound for Afghanistan
Thursday, 27 July 2006, 05:42 GMT 06:42 UK - BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/5218874.stm
About 60 soldiers from the first battalion of the Royal Irish Regiment are being sent to Afghanistan this week.
The latest deployment brings the total number of Royal Irish soldiers serving in Afghanistan to 100.
The soldiers are set to travel to the Helmand province on Friday.
They will serve with the Parachute Regiment, as part of the 16 Air Assault Brigade. The reinforcement follows the deaths of six soldiers in Afghanistan.
The soldiers' commanding officer, Colonel Michael McGovern, said he was under no illusions about the dangers his men would face.
The RIR battalion is one of the most experienced units in the British army, having recently toured Iraq, Kosovo and Sierra Leone.
Earlier this month, two platoons of the Royal Irish Regiment were among 900 extra troops to be sent to Afghanistan.
The detachment of RIR soldiers will provide additional protection at the British HQ of Camp Bastion in Helmand
End
Prodi Government's Survival Could Hinge on Afghanistan Vote
Jul 27 11:15 Bloomberg.com
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=aJ7WgcM0pBzg&refer=home
July 27 (Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Romano Prodi may stake the survival of his two-month old government on a vote in the Senate today to extend funding for Italy's soldiers in Afghanistan.
Prodi has authorized the use of a confidence vote, which means his government collapses if he loses, as a way of pressuring dissenting allies to support the measure. Prodi has just a two-vote majority, without accounting for as many as seven votes from honorary life senators. The debate started at 9 a.m. and a final decision on imposing a confidence vote will be taken at 11 a.m., news agency Ansa reported.
Prodi's narrow win in the April elections and tensions within his eight-party coalition, which includes both communists and Christian Democrats, pose a constant threat to the survival of his government. Provided today's vote goes his way, Prodi will face an even tougher fight after August, when he tries to pass as much as 20 billion euros ($26 billion) in deficit- reduction measures as part of the 2007 budget.
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Taliban forces suffering big losses in Afghanistan
AFP AND THE GUARDIAN , KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN AND LONDON Thursday, Jul 27, 2006,Page 5
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2006/07/27/2003320612
Gunmen shot dead a road worker subcontracted to a US project in southern Afghanistan yesterday, police said, while coalition troops killed eight attackers in separate incidents.
Three other road builders were wounded when their vehicle came under fire in southern Zabul Province as they were driving to work, the provincial police chief said.
He blamed the attack on "enemies of Afghanistan" -- a term used by the government to refer to remnants of the Taliban regime toppled from power in 2001 and now waging a deadly insurgency.
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22 Taliban killed in Afghanistan fighting
July 26, 2006, 10:09PM By MATTHEW PENNINGTON Associated Press Writer
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/4075000.html
KABUL, Afghanistan — Fighting in southern Afghanistan killed 22 suspected Taliban militants, officials said Wednesday, as NATO nations approved expanding the alliance's peacekeeping force into the region.
The top U.N. envoy in Afghanistan, Tom Koenigs, said a Taliban insurgency in five provinces of southern Afghanistan is being fueled by international terrorist networks, foreign money and a porous border which the Pakistani government does not control
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Canada 'right' to be in Afghanistan, says Bill Clinton
CanWest News Service Published: Wednesday, July 26, 2006
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=6206ceb5-d3f8-46fe-b8e9-bc1f5a4817a1&k=16355
Halifax — Canada is "absolutely" right to be fighting in Afghanistan, and the consequence of abandoning the war against the Taliban will turn out to be far more serious than the continued loss of Canadian lives if we stay, says Bill Clinton, the former United States President.
"I think your people have done an astounding job there," he said during a speech Wednesday night inside a hockey stadium in downtown Halifax.
Clinton acknowledged the war in Afghanistan is "becoming less popular" in Canada, partly because of the stream of dead and injured Canadian soldiers coming home from Kandahar. "But you can’t go there without casualties," he said.
If Canada and other NATO nations pull their armies out, he said, "the price we’ll pay in the long run — including the lives of our military personnel —would be greater. As awful as this is, it’s not nearly as awful as things would become if we left."
Clinton was brought to Halifax Wednesday by Frank McKenna, the former New Brunswick premier and former Canadian ambassador to Washington.
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Afghanistan: Security Council voices fear on violence as UN envoy talks of insurgency
UN News Service 26 July 2006
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=19316&Cr=afghan&Cr1=
26 July 2006 – Expressing concern over the worsening violence in Afghanistan, the Security Council today reaffirmed its support for the Government and the armed forces as they battle what the top United Nations envoy to the impoverished nation called an “insurgency” that seeks to restore life under the Taliban.
The Council also expressed its support for the work of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Operation Enduring Freedom troops in working alongside Afghan forces, according to a statement read to the press by Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sablière of France, its President for July.
“They recognise once again the inter-connected nature of the challenges in Afghanistan and reaffirm that sustainable progress on security, governance and development, as well as on the cross-cutting issue of counter-narcotics is mutually reinforcing, and welcome the continuing effort of the Afghan Government and international community to address these challenges,” the statement said.
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Photo gallery:
On patrol in Afghanistan
Text and photos by Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes Mideast edition, Thursday, July 27, 2006
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=38921
FORWARD OPERATING BASE LARZAB, Afghanistan — Even if it’s dirty and hot and hard to get to, it’s still home for U.S. troops.
Troops in the 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry’s 3rd Platoon have been stationed at this remote base for more than a week, patrolling the rugged mountainsides and sweating under the hot Afghanistan sun.
They say they’ve grown rather fond of the region, despite the toll even a short walk up and down the hilly terrain takes on them.
The area has been problematic for coalition and Afghan forces. On July 16, a U.S. soldier was killed in a firefight a few miles from the base, and Taliban are still known to be operating in the nearby mountains.
But U.S. officials say they have made progress in the area, where Taliban militants once roamed freely.
Caption for Picture at bottom of page
INTERVIEW-Afghanistan needs more troops, says envoy to U.S.
26 Jul 2006 23:43:36 GMT Source: Reuters
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N26192319.htm
By Michelle Nichols
NEW YORK, July 26 (Reuters) - Afghanistan needs more mobile foreign troops as it suffers its bloodiest phase in nearly five years, with militants gearing up to test NATO-led forces, the country's ambassador to the United States said on Wednesday.
Said T. Jawad said Afghanistan had come a long way since it became the front line for the war on terrorism when U.S.-led forces ousted the ruling Taliban and began to root out Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda group, blamed for the Sept. 11 attacks.
"But we are not out of the woods," Jawad told Reuters ahead of a speech to New York's Afghan community on Thursday. "We are facing challenges. Afghan people are determined to win this war, but we are facing some serious bumps on the road."
"What we need is to have more mobile and agile international forces to respond very quickly to the daily attacks of terrorists," he said, adding that more investment was also needed in the reconstruction of the country.
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Coalition Forces Kill Extremists in Afghanistan
American Forces Press Service - WASHINGTON, July 27, 2006
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jul2006/20060727_5767.html
Coalition forces killed 10 insurgents in separate operations in Afghanistan July 25 and today, U.S. military officials in Afghanistan reported.
Coalition forces killed three extremists today following a failed ambush on a civilian convoy in the Zhari district of Kandahar province. The extremists attacked from a compound as the convoy moved west on Highway 1 near the Zhari District Center at around 8:30 a.m. Intelligence sources confirmed the location of the enemy compound, and coalition forces killed three enemy fighters with artillery fire.
"The coalition is working with our Afghan partners to drive Taliban extremists from southern Afghanistan and create a safe and secure environment to facilitate reconstruction and extend the reach of the central government," Army Col. Thomas Collins, a coalition spokesman, said.
Elsewhere, a coalition patrol killed seven extremists July 25 after the enemy fighters attacked coalition forces in the Garmser district of Helmand province. There were no coalition casualties in the fight. The coalition unit received small-arms, rocket-propelled grenade, machine gun and sniper fire from a group of extremists. The coalition force returned fire, killing five insurgents.
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20 Taliban militants killed in S. Afghanistan
July 27, 2006 People's Daily Online
http://english.people.com.cn/200607/27/eng20060727_287068.html
Twenty Taliban insurgents were killed in the southern Helmand province of Afghanistan in the past two days, officials told Xinhua Wednesday.
Ten Taliban militants were killed in Garmser district as they attacked a police convoy at 6:00 a.m. Wednesday, said Mohammad Rasoul, district police chief.
Another three Taliban fighters were injured in the fire exchange, he added.
Mohammad Nabi Mullahkhil, Helmand provincial police chief, said 10 Taliban insurgents were killed in Musa Qala district by Afghan and coalition troops on Tuesday.
Another 15 insurgents were injured in the conflict, he said, adding there were no casualties of Afghan and coalition forces.
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Cdn. soldiers' remains to arrive home Thursday
Updated Thu. Jul. 27 2006 10:44 AM ET CTV.ca News Staff
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060718/soldiers_repatriation_060726/20060727?hub=Canada
The bodies of two Canadian soldiers killed by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan will arrive back on Canadian soil Thursday.
Francisco Gomez, 44, based in Edmonton, and Cpl. Jason Patrick Warren, 29, based in Montreal, were killed on July 22 when their coalition convoy was rammed by a suicide bomber near Kandahar City.
Afghanistan's hidden war
Thursday, 27 July 2006, 14:31 GMT 15:31 UK BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5220514.stm
The scale of the fighting in southern Afghanistan has dramatically increased over the past few months.
But there is another war going on at a much more local level, targeting government infrastructure across the country. Local politicians, police chiefs and judges are being assassinated, and schools are being closed due to intimidation or being burned to the ground, as Alastair Leithead reports.
The notes were left at night, pinned to trees outside the school - they were addressed to the head teacher.
"We know who you are," they said.
"We know you are involved in girls' education. Unless you stop we will kill your daughters and we will kill your family."
The principal had received many of these warnings, but it didn't stop him keeping the school open.
He pinned up his reply on the same trees: "Do whatever you have to do and we will do what we have to do," it read.
A few days later the school was hit by three rockets, and explosives were planted around the outside of the building.
This happened a few weeks ago - in Wardak, a province neighbouring Kabul.
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Pace Visits Afghanistan, Calls Taliban 'Tactical Problem'
By Jim Garamone American Forces Press Service KABUL, Afghanistan, July 27, 2006
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jul2006/20060727_5770.html
The Taliban is a tactical problem for the coalition in Afghanistan, but the coalition is a strategic problem for the Taliban, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said here today.
Marine Gen. Peter Pace is in Afghanistan to meet with Afghan, coalition and NATO officials.
Fighting in Afghanistan is concentrated in the country's south, the area the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force is due to take over in the next few days. More Taliban are "presenting themselves on the battlefield then there have been," Pace told reporters traveling with him. But Afghan and coalition forces have dealt the Taliban some heavy blows, he added.
The Taliban has not reconstituted since being routed by U.S.-led coalition forces following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. However, coalition officials in Kabul said, the group has "more robust" command and control and more weapons than in the recent past.
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Eight other Canadian soldiers were wounded in the strike.
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Ready and raring to go - 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines prepare for Afghanistan (AUDIO)
26 Jul 06 - Australian Defence News
http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/ReadyAndRaringToGo3CommandoBrigadeRoyalMarinesPrepareForAfghanistanaudio.htm
Deploying to Afghanistan in September 2006, 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines were joined at Salisbury plain on Tuesday 25 July 2006 by the Minister of the Armed Forces, Adam Ingram to watch their final preparations.
3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines will replace 16 Air Assault Brigade in Afghanistan as they end their six month deployment.
The deployment will add to existing military contributions from the UK and 35 other nations as part of a NATO drive to create safe space for reconstruction following decades of war in the country.
As part of their Final Mission Rehearsal Exercise the Brigade also worked with other Government Departments and Afghan Nationals. This tested all aspects of the future deployment from internal security to the role of the Provincial Reconstruction teams and the Operational Mentoring and Liaison teams.
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Two Dutch die as helicopter crashes in Afghanistan
27 July 2006 AMSTERDAM
http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=19&story_id=31834&name=Two+Dutch+die+as+helicopter+crashes+in+Afghanistan
The Netherlands has suffered its first casualties in Afghanistan days before its military mission officially becomes active.
Afghan border police found several bodies at the scene of the crash in a mountainous area in the eastern province of Paktia, a senior police officer said on Thursday.
The Russian-made civilian Mi-8 helicopter, operated by a logistics firm, Tryco, crashed between 22 and 25 miles north-east of Khost city on Wednesday. It is believed 16 people were on board. A search for the crash site was called off late on Wednesday due to the poor weather conditions and failing light.
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Coalition Forces Respond to Afghan Helicopter Crash
American Forces Press Service - BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, July 27, 2006
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jul2006/20060727_5764.html
Coalition forces from Combined Joint Task Force 76 responded to a helicopter crash that killed at least a dozen people yesterday in the rugged mountains of Afghanistan's Paktia province, military officials here reported.
A Russian-made Mi 8 helicopter, owned by the Afghan government, crashed in the Qalandar Mountains near the Khost border. Initial reports indicate between 12 and 16 people were killed, officials said.
A logistics company ferrying supplies and fuel from Kabul to Khost airport operated the helicopter.
The coalition first sent an aviation search-and-rescue team to find the crash and offer recovery assistance, but extreme weather conditions prevented the crew from landing. A ground-force quick-reaction team then hiked up the mountain, led by an Afghan guide.
"We made every effort to quickly reach the downed aircraft with hopes of saving some or all of the passengers and crew," said Maj. Gen. Benjamin C. Freakley, CJTF 76 commander. "Unfortunately, there were no survivors. Our condolences go out to the friends and families of the victims."
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Unmanned Aircraft Give Military Added Capability
By Steven Donald Smith American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, July 26, 2006
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jul2006/20060726_5762.html
The instant feedback of information supplied by unmanned aerial vehicles is bringing immediate "value added" to U.S. military operations, the Joint Staff's director for strategic plans and policy explained yesterday.
"UAVs have become such an important tool for our decision makers -- operational battlefield decision makers and strategic decision makers," Air Force Lt. Gen. Victor E. "Gene" Renuart Jr. said in a Pentagon Channel interview. "They have become an accepted part of our inventory."
Unmanned aerial vehicles are remotely piloted or self-piloted aircraft that can carry cameras, sensors and communications equipment that provide an integrated system of intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance. The vehicles also provide valuable battle-damage assessment and are used to track high-value targets. Some even carry weapons.
The Predator and Global Hawk are the two most prominent UAV systems.
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UNSC reaffirms support for Afghanistan
[ 27 Jul, 2006 1137hrs ISTPTI ] RSS Feeds
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1818559.cms
UNITED NATIONS: Expressing concern over the worsening violence in Afghanistan, the United Nations Security Council has reaffirmed its support for the Government and the armed forces of the war-ravaged country as they battle an 'insurgency' that seeks to restore life under the Taliban.
In a statement, the UNSC also expressed its support for the work of the International Security Assistance Force and Operation Enduring Freedom troops in working alongside Afghan forces.
"They (the members) recognize once again the inter-connected nature of the challenges in Afghanistan and reaffirm that sustainable progress on security, governance and development, as well as on the cross-cutting issue of counter-narcotics is mutually reinforcing and welcome the continuing effort of the Afghan Government and international community to address these challenges," the statement said.
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AFGHANISTAN: Drug abuse on the rise in Helmand
27 Jul 2006 10:35:36 GMT Source: IRIN
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/9cf1b2a62066169c226cd19077f467bc.htm
LASHKAR GAH, 27 July (IRIN) - Halima's drug addiction started with a toothache. "Some of my relatives told me to put a piece of opium in my mouth to relieve the pain. After a while I soon became addicted to this evil," the 30-year-old mother-of-four said as she sat in a long queue of women waiting for treatment at a drug addiction clinic in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Afghanistan's southern province of Helmand.
Helmand, the largest opium-producing province in a country that produces nearly 90 percent of the world's illicit opium, has seen a steady increase in addiction.
"It [opium] made me so weak and sluggish," mother-of-six Jamila, 35, said. "Even my children have become fed up with me so I decided to end this misery and seek treatment at this clinic. The doctors here are so kind and helpful and their medicine has changed my whole perspective on life."
The 20-bed clinic, founded in June by the Welfare Association for Development of Afghanistan (WADAN), an NGO in Lashkar Gah, is struggling to cope with the demand. And with beds reserved for male addicts, the centre has no choice but to treat the growing number of female addicts in their homes.
"We treat patients here for one month and after that we provide them with vocational training such as tailoring and carpentry to enable them to support their families," Dr Raoudatullah Zia, provincial head of the WADAN clinic, told IRIN.
Lying in his bed at the clinic, Hazrat Mohammad, 23, an opium addict for 10 years, blamed unemployment for his addiction.
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ANALYSIS-Pakistan haunted by Taliban question as NATO deploys
27 Jul 2006 09:12:21 GMT Source: Reuters
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SP41202.htm
By Simon Cameron-Moore
ISLAMABAD, July 27 (Reuters) - Almost five years after thousands of Taliban fighters fled Afghanistan to escape a U.S.-led invasion, Pakistan is still unable to shake off suspicions that it is allowing them to operate from its soil.
Just as India is losing patience with Pakistan's failure to act more forcefully against numerous anti-Indian Islamic militant groups, Afghanistan, the United States and other NATO powers have been telling Islamabad to get tougher with the Taliban.
"There is little doubt that top Taliban commanders find sanctuary within Pakistan and opportunity to plan and launch operations," Marvin G. Weinbaum, a former analyst with the State Department's intelligence bureau, wrote in a study published by the United States Institute of Peace last month.
"Islamabad's efforts to check extremism and prevent the infiltration of anti-(Afghan) regime insurgents are accurately described as inconsistent, incomplete and at times insincere."
The deployment of NATO forces in southern Afghanistan during the worst phase of the Taliban insurgency, with 1,700 killed so far this year, has once again put Pakistan's role under scrutiny.
Whenever President Pervez Musharraf comes under pressure over the Taliban he points to three things; difficult terrain on the long frontier, inadequate attempts to control the insurgency on the Afghan side, and the hundreds of casualties the Pakistan army has suffered since deploying 80,000 troops in the border areas
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Pakistan urged to probe 7 reporters' deaths
27 Jul 2006 10:18:22 GMT Source: Reuters
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/ISL10321.htm
ISLAMABAD, July 27 (Reuters)- An international press freedom group on Thursday asked Pakistan to investigate the deaths of seven Pakistani journalists as vigorously as it did the slaying of U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002.
Officials of the New York based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) made the demand during a visit to Pakistan in the wake of the execution-style killing last month of a Pakistani journalist, Hayatullah Khan, in North Waziristan.
"This case deserves as full an investigation as the Pakistani government was able to put together for an American journalist," said Bob Dietz, CPJ's Asia Programme Coordinator at a press conference.
Pakistan moved swiftly, under intense U.S. pressure, to catch militants involved in Pearl's murder in Karachi while he was on assignment on a story on al Qaeda for the Asian Wall Street Journal.
The CPJ believes the deaths of seven Pakistani journalists since 2002 have received less attention than they deserve, while the case of Pearl, whose beheading was videotaped by his killers, became a cause celebre in the international media.
Pearl's story is being turned into a movie, titled "A Mighty Heart" based on a book written by his widow. The film, produced by Brad Pitt, will star Angelina Jolie.
Hayatullah Khan was abducted last year after reporting that an al-Qaeda commander, Abu Hamza Rabia, had been killed by a U.S missile strike, contradicting the Pakistan government's account that Rabia died in a blast caused by explosives stored in the house he was hiding in.
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Lewisburg native dies in battle in Afghanistan
By AILENE TORRES Staff Writer Thursday, 07/27/06
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060727/NEWS01/607270408/1006/NEWS01
Soldier wanted to join FBI after military
In a final e-mail to a female friend, David Hierholzer, a Lewisburg native, offered his life's philosophy:
"Life is a fatal adventure; it can only have one ending. So why not make it as far-ranging and as free as possible?"
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NI troops bound for Afghanistan
Thursday, 27 July 2006, 05:42 GMT 06:42 UK - BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/5218874.stm
About 60 soldiers from the first battalion of the Royal Irish Regiment are being sent to Afghanistan this week.
The latest deployment brings the total number of Royal Irish soldiers serving in Afghanistan to 100.
The soldiers are set to travel to the Helmand province on Friday.
They will serve with the Parachute Regiment, as part of the 16 Air Assault Brigade. The reinforcement follows the deaths of six soldiers in Afghanistan.
The soldiers' commanding officer, Colonel Michael McGovern, said he was under no illusions about the dangers his men would face.
The RIR battalion is one of the most experienced units in the British army, having recently toured Iraq, Kosovo and Sierra Leone.
Earlier this month, two platoons of the Royal Irish Regiment were among 900 extra troops to be sent to Afghanistan.
The detachment of RIR soldiers will provide additional protection at the British HQ of Camp Bastion in Helmand
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Prodi Government's Survival Could Hinge on Afghanistan Vote
Jul 27 11:15 Bloomberg.com
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=aJ7WgcM0pBzg&refer=home
July 27 (Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Romano Prodi may stake the survival of his two-month old government on a vote in the Senate today to extend funding for Italy's soldiers in Afghanistan.
Prodi has authorized the use of a confidence vote, which means his government collapses if he loses, as a way of pressuring dissenting allies to support the measure. Prodi has just a two-vote majority, without accounting for as many as seven votes from honorary life senators. The debate started at 9 a.m. and a final decision on imposing a confidence vote will be taken at 11 a.m., news agency Ansa reported.
Prodi's narrow win in the April elections and tensions within his eight-party coalition, which includes both communists and Christian Democrats, pose a constant threat to the survival of his government. Provided today's vote goes his way, Prodi will face an even tougher fight after August, when he tries to pass as much as 20 billion euros ($26 billion) in deficit- reduction measures as part of the 2007 budget.
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Taliban forces suffering big losses in Afghanistan
AFP AND THE GUARDIAN , KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN AND LONDON Thursday, Jul 27, 2006,Page 5
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2006/07/27/2003320612
Gunmen shot dead a road worker subcontracted to a US project in southern Afghanistan yesterday, police said, while coalition troops killed eight attackers in separate incidents.
Three other road builders were wounded when their vehicle came under fire in southern Zabul Province as they were driving to work, the provincial police chief said.
He blamed the attack on "enemies of Afghanistan" -- a term used by the government to refer to remnants of the Taliban regime toppled from power in 2001 and now waging a deadly insurgency.
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22 Taliban killed in Afghanistan fighting
July 26, 2006, 10:09PM By MATTHEW PENNINGTON Associated Press Writer
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/4075000.html
KABUL, Afghanistan — Fighting in southern Afghanistan killed 22 suspected Taliban militants, officials said Wednesday, as NATO nations approved expanding the alliance's peacekeeping force into the region.
The top U.N. envoy in Afghanistan, Tom Koenigs, said a Taliban insurgency in five provinces of southern Afghanistan is being fueled by international terrorist networks, foreign money and a porous border which the Pakistani government does not control
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Canada 'right' to be in Afghanistan, says Bill Clinton
CanWest News Service Published: Wednesday, July 26, 2006
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=6206ceb5-d3f8-46fe-b8e9-bc1f5a4817a1&k=16355
Halifax — Canada is "absolutely" right to be fighting in Afghanistan, and the consequence of abandoning the war against the Taliban will turn out to be far more serious than the continued loss of Canadian lives if we stay, says Bill Clinton, the former United States President.
"I think your people have done an astounding job there," he said during a speech Wednesday night inside a hockey stadium in downtown Halifax.
Clinton acknowledged the war in Afghanistan is "becoming less popular" in Canada, partly because of the stream of dead and injured Canadian soldiers coming home from Kandahar. "But you can’t go there without casualties," he said.
If Canada and other NATO nations pull their armies out, he said, "the price we’ll pay in the long run — including the lives of our military personnel —would be greater. As awful as this is, it’s not nearly as awful as things would become if we left."
Clinton was brought to Halifax Wednesday by Frank McKenna, the former New Brunswick premier and former Canadian ambassador to Washington.
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Afghanistan: Security Council voices fear on violence as UN envoy talks of insurgency
UN News Service 26 July 2006
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=19316&Cr=afghan&Cr1=
26 July 2006 – Expressing concern over the worsening violence in Afghanistan, the Security Council today reaffirmed its support for the Government and the armed forces as they battle what the top United Nations envoy to the impoverished nation called an “insurgency” that seeks to restore life under the Taliban.
The Council also expressed its support for the work of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Operation Enduring Freedom troops in working alongside Afghan forces, according to a statement read to the press by Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sablière of France, its President for July.
“They recognise once again the inter-connected nature of the challenges in Afghanistan and reaffirm that sustainable progress on security, governance and development, as well as on the cross-cutting issue of counter-narcotics is mutually reinforcing, and welcome the continuing effort of the Afghan Government and international community to address these challenges,” the statement said.
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Photo gallery:
On patrol in Afghanistan
Text and photos by Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes Mideast edition, Thursday, July 27, 2006
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=38921
FORWARD OPERATING BASE LARZAB, Afghanistan — Even if it’s dirty and hot and hard to get to, it’s still home for U.S. troops.
Troops in the 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry’s 3rd Platoon have been stationed at this remote base for more than a week, patrolling the rugged mountainsides and sweating under the hot Afghanistan sun.
They say they’ve grown rather fond of the region, despite the toll even a short walk up and down the hilly terrain takes on them.
The area has been problematic for coalition and Afghan forces. On July 16, a U.S. soldier was killed in a firefight a few miles from the base, and Taliban are still known to be operating in the nearby mountains.
But U.S. officials say they have made progress in the area, where Taliban militants once roamed freely.
Caption for Picture at bottom of page
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INTERVIEW-Afghanistan needs more troops, says envoy to U.S.
26 Jul 2006 23:43:36 GMT Source: Reuters
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N26192319.htm
By Michelle Nichols
NEW YORK, July 26 (Reuters) - Afghanistan needs more mobile foreign troops as it suffers its bloodiest phase in nearly five years, with militants gearing up to test NATO-led forces, the country's ambassador to the United States said on Wednesday.
Said T. Jawad said Afghanistan had come a long way since it became the front line for the war on terrorism when U.S.-led forces ousted the ruling Taliban and began to root out Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda group, blamed for the Sept. 11 attacks.
"But we are not out of the woods," Jawad told Reuters ahead of a speech to New York's Afghan community on Thursday. "We are facing challenges. Afghan people are determined to win this war, but we are facing some serious bumps on the road."
"What we need is to have more mobile and agile international forces to respond very quickly to the daily attacks of terrorists," he said, adding that more investment was also needed in the reconstruction of the country.
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Coalition Forces Kill Extremists in Afghanistan
American Forces Press Service - WASHINGTON, July 27, 2006
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jul2006/20060727_5767.html
Coalition forces killed 10 insurgents in separate operations in Afghanistan July 25 and today, U.S. military officials in Afghanistan reported.
Coalition forces killed three extremists today following a failed ambush on a civilian convoy in the Zhari district of Kandahar province. The extremists attacked from a compound as the convoy moved west on Highway 1 near the Zhari District Center at around 8:30 a.m. Intelligence sources confirmed the location of the enemy compound, and coalition forces killed three enemy fighters with artillery fire.
"The coalition is working with our Afghan partners to drive Taliban extremists from southern Afghanistan and create a safe and secure environment to facilitate reconstruction and extend the reach of the central government," Army Col. Thomas Collins, a coalition spokesman, said.
Elsewhere, a coalition patrol killed seven extremists July 25 after the enemy fighters attacked coalition forces in the Garmser district of Helmand province. There were no coalition casualties in the fight. The coalition unit received small-arms, rocket-propelled grenade, machine gun and sniper fire from a group of extremists. The coalition force returned fire, killing five insurgents.
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20 Taliban militants killed in S. Afghanistan
July 27, 2006 People's Daily Online
http://english.people.com.cn/200607/27/eng20060727_287068.html
Twenty Taliban insurgents were killed in the southern Helmand province of Afghanistan in the past two days, officials told Xinhua Wednesday.
Ten Taliban militants were killed in Garmser district as they attacked a police convoy at 6:00 a.m. Wednesday, said Mohammad Rasoul, district police chief.
Another three Taliban fighters were injured in the fire exchange, he added.
Mohammad Nabi Mullahkhil, Helmand provincial police chief, said 10 Taliban insurgents were killed in Musa Qala district by Afghan and coalition troops on Tuesday.
Another 15 insurgents were injured in the conflict, he said, adding there were no casualties of Afghan and coalition forces.
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