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Uniformed attackers strike 3 times in Afghanistan, U.S. says
June 19, 2012| By the CNN Wire Staff
Afghans in government uniforms launched three attacks on U.S. and Afghan forces in a 24-hour period, including one that breached the perimeter of an American outpost near Kandahar, a Pentagon spokesman said Tuesday.
The strikes made for what Capt. John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman, called a "tough day" around the southern city of Kandahar. A U.S. soldier was killed and several others were wounded in a shooting by gunmen in Afghan police uniforms Monday, and other disguised insurgents killed three Afghan police officers and wounded seven more in Kandahar, local authorities said Tuesday.
Afghan insurgents strike U.S. outpost
The most recent attack wounded nine coalition troops at the American outpost dubbed Forward Operating Base Frontenac, in the Arghandab River valley, north of Kandahar. Kirby told reporters Tuesday that the attackers were dressed in the uniforms of the Afghan National Security Forces.
The attackers "were engaged very quickly by friendly forces inside," he said. "There as a quick response force from a nearby combat outpost that responded almost immediately, and most of the casualties were evacuated to Kandahar."
Two U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said at least eight insurgents carried out the attack. Seven of them were killed and the sole survivor was wounded, they said.
The area has been the scene of extensive insurgent activity in recent years. Neither official could explain how the breach occurred, but initial reports indicate officials believe the insurgents might have had help from Afghan security personnel.
In Afghanistan, mother bravely campaigns for president
Uniformed Afghans -- either insurgents in disguise or members of the country's police or military -- have been behind numerous killings of U.S. and NATO troops this year. The incidents have fueled mutual distrust between Afghan and allied forces in the now-decade-old conflict.
Tuesday's clash followed an incident Monday in which three gunmen in Afghan police uniforms fired on American troops in another location in southern Afghanistan, killing one and wounding several others. Kirby said that incident "appears to be what we consider a green-on-blue, an insider threat attack." U.S. forces launched a manhunt for the attackers late Monday, but they remained at large, he said.
And a gun battle erupted at a Kandahar police station early Tuesday morning when four insurgents wearing police uniforms tried to enter the facility, according to the office of the Kandahar governor. Police officers confronted them and a gun battle ensued, leaving the four attackers dead, the governor's office said.
All three strikes were located around Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban militia that once ruled most of Afghanistan. But beyond geography, "It's just too soon to say with any certainty the degree to which any of these are connected," Kirby said.
Two Charged Over Afghan Mosque Suicide Bombing
June 19, 2012 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Afghan authorities say two men have been charged in connection with a suicide bombing that killed dozens of worshippers last year outside a Shi’ite shrine in Kabul.
Attorney General Mohammed Ishaq Aloko said on June 19 that both men have confessed to the December 6 attack.
Aloko alleged that the plot was planned in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar by "regional spy agencies" and was aimed at "provoking sectarian violence."
He said one suspect came from Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar Province and was paid 10,000 Pakistani rupees ($100) to bring two suicide attackers to Kabul.
Shortly after the bombing, President Hamid Karzai blamed the Pakistani Al-Qaeda-linked militant group Lashkar-e Jhangvi for carrying out the attack.
Based on reporting by AFP and AP
Up to 60 killed in Afghan violence within two days
KABUL, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Up to 60 people have been killed in Taliban-led attacks and counter-attacks across the war-torn Afghanistan since Monday morning.
In the latest violent incidents, Taliban insurgents, who have been waging more than a decade-long insurgency, launched two attacks on two joint Afghan and NATO bases in southern Kandahar province early Tuesday morning, leaving 14 people including three Afghan policemen and 11 attackers dead, authorities said.
"Four militant wearing police uniform armed with suicide vests and weapons raided a joint check post of Afghan forces and international troops in Dand district, the outskirt area of provincial capital Kandahar city, at around 6 a.m. local time Tuesday," a spokesman for provincial government Jawid Faisal told Xinhua.
The Afghan policemen engaged the assailants shortly after the attack, killing all four attackers, he said, adding "three Afghan National Police members were also killed and seven other policemen were injured during the clash."
Hours earlier, seven Taliban insurgents were killed when they launched an attack on a NATO military camp in Kandahar's Shah Wali Kot district, police chief of the district Padshah Khan told Xinhua.
At least 10 soldiers with the NATO-led coalition were injured in the attack that occurred at around 3:30 a.m. local time, he said.
Taliban claimed responsibility for both attacks. Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, a Taliban purported spokesman, told local media that the outfit militants launched two attacks in Kandahar killing several Afghan and foreign soldiers on Tuesday morning.
Militancy has been on constant rise since the Taliban launched its spring offensive on May 3 this year.
A U.S. soldier with the NATO-led coalition forces was killed Monday when three men in Afghan police uniform opened fire in Kandahar's Zhari district, according to a statement issued by coalition.
In neighboring Helmand province, a total of eight civilians were killed and five other injured when their vehicle ran over a roadside bomb on Monday evening, the country's Interior Ministry confirmed on Tuesday morning.
"Eight innocent civilians were killed and five other injured when a vehicle touched off a roadside bomb at around 4:00 p.m. local time Monday in Capahasia area of Musa Qala district," the ministry said in a statement.
Women and children were among the killed and injured, the statement said without disclosing more details.
It blamed Taliban for placing the roadside bomb in the far- flanged district.
Taliban militants have been largely relying on roadside bombing and suicide attacks in fighting Afghan security force and NATO-led troops based in Afghanistan, often causing civilian casualties.
Earlier Tuesday, gunmen shot and killed two district officials in eastern Nangarhar province.
"Head of anti-criminal police and an official with the district administration were killed by armed men when they were traveling from home to office at around 8:00 a.m. today," a provincial spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai told Xinhua.
The Taliban insurgent group has warned the civilians to stay away from official gatherings, military convoys and centers regarded as the legitimate targets by militants besides warning people against supporting government and foreign troops.
Six people including two civilians and four Afghan Local Police (ALP) service members were killed when a bomb placed in a shop went off in a bazaar in Tagab district of eastern Kapisa province on Monday morning.
The blast also injured 17 other civilians and the likely target of the explosion might have been an ALP commander named Karimullah, who was killed in the blast along with his son and two other ALP policemen.
"I left home to buy dish washing liquid and cooking oil form the district marketplace but as I approached the bazaar I suddenly heard a big bang which sent a thick black smoke to the sky," a resident Mohammad Tahir told Xinhua.
Police vehicle rushed to the site and transported the injured to the district hospital shortly after the explosion, he said.
Meantime, the Afghan forces and NATO-led coalition continued to put pressure on militants across the country as a total of 27 Taliban insurgents have been killed and seven other detained in joint cleanup operations in different provinces.
"Afghan police, army and NATO-led coalition troops launched 10 clean-up operations in Kabul, Kunar, Nangarhar, Nuristan, Kunduz, Faryab, Badakhshan, Zabul, Paktika and Farah provinces, killing 27 armed Taliban insurgents and detaining seven other suspects over the past 24 hours," the Afghan Interior Ministry said in a statement Tuesday morning.
Records kept by Xinhua, based on figures released by Interior Ministry, reveal that around 630 insurgents have been killed, over 130 wounded and more than 560 other detained since May 1 by joint forces.
Afghanistan needs $7 billion aid after Western pullout
By Sanjeev Miglani | Reuters
KABUL (Reuters) - - Afghanistan will need $6-7 billion a year in aid over the next decade to help grow the economy, the head of the central bank said on Tuesday, on top of a $4.1 billion bill for security forces to keep the peace once foreign troops leave in 2014.
In the run-up to a conference with donors in Tokyo, the government repeated a long-standing call for foreign assistance to be routed through Afghan government entities rather than international organizations, governor Noorullah Delawari said.
That could complicate discussions with foreign backers who are worried about misuse of funds.
More than 90 percent of Afghanistan's $17.1 billion national budget comes from foreign donations but the economic crisis in Europe, shrinking budgets in the United States and voters weary of the nearly 11-year war, that assistance has looked in peril.
"I have heard from Afghan government ministers, somewhere from 6 to 9 billion assistance is required. I think, I see it at about $6-7 billion a year without military, it's just economic assistance, that should help us to go over, and continue our economic growth," Delawari said in an interview.
The World Bank last November warned that Afghanistan will suffer a recession in 2014 and beyond after foreign troops leave and aid is cut back substantially. It forecast a $7 billion deficit in the national budget each year through 2021.
Delawari said Afghanistan had made headway since 2001 and the economy was expected to expand 7.4 percent this year because of a good agriculture crop, but it was hard to see aid vanishing because the country was not yet out of the woods.
"I think the way it is, on the same basis Afghanistan received assistance during the past 10 years that will continue because the underlying problems have not been changed. Terrorism, those issues are still there."
Landlocked Afghanistan is hoping that its underground reserves of copper, iron ore and oil will help make up some of the shortfall, but Delawari said the revenues from the extractive industries were "five to 10 years away if not more".
STRUGGLING
At a NATO summit last month in Chicago where allied nations set an irreversible course out of Afghanistan, the United States failed to pin down commitments for the rapidly expanding Afghan security forces that are charged with the responsibility of ensuring the country does not slip into civil war once foreign forces leave.
Afghanistan's foreign backers are next meeting in Tokyo in July to secure firm commitments for financial, development and security assistance for the country beyond 2014.
Delawari said delegates will negotiate details of the funding including Afghanistan's demand that the money be given to government bodies instead of routing it through foreign aid organizations which Kabul says gives it more legitimacy.
Fraud and corruption have been a top concern and earlier this year Britain's aid watchdog called on the government in London to tighten its oversight of the aid program in Afghanistan.
In December, a survey by Berlin-based graft watchdog Transparency International rated Afghanistan one of the world's most corrupt countries, ranked equally with Myanmar, and only slightly cleaner than North Korea and Somalia.
"If we curb misuse of foreign aid or in other words effective use of foreign aid, that will keep the economy going," Delawari said.
(Editing by Jon Hemming)
14 killed in Taliban attacks in Afghan Kandahar province
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Three policemen and 11 Taliban insurgents were killed when militant carried out two attacks in southern Afghan province of Kandahar early Tuesday morning, officials said.
"Four militant wearing police uniform armed with suicide vests and weapons raided a joint checkpost of Afghan forces and international troops in Dand district, a surrounding area of provincial capital Kandahar city, at around 6 a.m. local time Tuesday," a spokesman for provincial government Jawid Faisal told Xinhua.
The Afghan policemen engaged the assailants shortly after they approached to the checkpost, killing four attackers, Faisal said, adding three policemen were killed and seven policemen were injured during clashes in the province, 450 km south of Kabul.
Earlier Tuesday, seven Taliban insurgents were killed when they launched an attack on a NATO military camp in neighboring Shah Wali Kot district, police chief of the district Padshah Khan told Xinhua.
At least 10 soldiers with the NATO-led coalition or International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) were injured in the attack at around 3:30 local time, he said.
Meanwhile, the ISAF press office in Kandahar city confirmed that one of the coalition's camp was attacked Tuesday morning but did not provide details.
Taliban insurgents have claimed responsibility for the attacks. Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, a Taliban purported spokesman, told local media that the outfit militants launched two attacks in Kandahar, killing several Afghan and foreign soldiers Tuesday morning.
Militancy has been on constant rise since Taliban launched its spring offensive on May 3 this year.
The insurgent group has warned civilians to stay away from official gatherings, military convoys and centers regarded as the legitimate targets by militants besides warning people against supporting government and foreign troops.
Kandahar, the birthplace of Taliban, has seen increasing militancy despite continued military operations there.
Pentagon Is Pressed on Afghan Inquiry
Wall Street Journal By MARIA ABI-HABIB June 18, 2012
KABUL - A congressional committee asked the Pentagon to investigate allegations by senior U.S. officers that an Army commander obstructed an inquiry into reports of abuses at Afghanistan's main military hospital because he feared the news would embarrass President Barack Obama before the 2010 elections.
The commander, Army Lt. Gen. William Caldwell, commanded the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Training Mission-Afghanistan, or NTM-A, from late 2009 until late 2011. He now leads U.S. Army North, the command responsible for U.S. homeland defense.
Gen. Caldwell said in an email he would need more time and coordination with the military's public affairs personnel to provide a response to these "very serious allegations."
Under Gen. Caldwell, NTM-A—which focuses on building up Afghan security forces—funded the Dawood National Military Hospital in Kabul and mentored its staff. Allegations of abuses at the hospital by Afghan staff, including depriving Afghan soldiers of basic care, in some cases starving them to death, were the subject of a Wall Street Journal article in September.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R., Utah), in a letter sent on Friday to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on behalf of the House Committee of Oversight and Government Reform, cited statements by several senior officers that Gen. Caldwell delayed a request by them and others to call in the Department of Defense inspector-general to investigate, so that news of alleged abuses at the hospital wouldn't surface before the 2010 midterm elections.
The witnesses interviewed by the committee include four colonels, among them U.S. Air Force Col. Schuyer Geller, former senior mentor to the Afghan military surgeon general.
According to a witness cited in the letter, Gen. Caldwell chastised officers under his command for calling in the inspector general "during an election cycle," allegedly explaining that President Obama "calls me Bill."
According to the letter, Gen. Caldwell withdrew the request for an inspector-general inquiry and tried to keep the investigation "in house" within NTM-A.
Gen. Caldwell told The Wall Street Journal last year that he withdrew the request to give the NTM-A more time to assess what they needed the Department of Defense inspector-general to investigate.
Gen. Caldwell's subordinates argued the NTM-A didn't have the expertise to investigate the hospital. The request was resubmitted to the Pentagon, eight days after the 2010 elections.
In testimony that Col. Geller wrote and submitted to the Pentagon and the congressional committee, Gen. Caldwell is alleged to have limited the scope of the Department of Defense inspector general's inquiry. The 25-page testimony was reviewed by Journal.
Gen. Caldwell's deputy at the time, Brig.-Gen. Gary Patton, also allegedly participated in attempts to suppress the inquiry, according to several officers cited in the letter.
"He indicated he would recommend to LTG Caldwell not to proceed until after the elections," Col. Geller wrote.
Gen. Patton has since been promoted to major general and is now the principal director for the office of the deputy assistant Secretary of Defense for military personnel policy.
Gen. Patton declined to comment, referring the issue to the spokeswoman for the Department of Defense's inspector general. The spokeswoman declined to comment.
The congressional committee will also look into whether Marine Gen. John Allen, who took over as commander of U.S.-led international forces in Afghanistan in July, knew of the allegations of political interference by Gen. Caldwell.
Rep. Chaffetz's letter cites email correspondence between the two generals on Sept. 3, 2011, the day the Journal published its article about the National Military Hospital.
Gen. Allen's spokesman, Navy Commander Brook DeWalt, said, "Although Gen. Allen wasn't able to comment on the aspects of an continuing investigation by the Department of Defense, he has and continues to support the continuing investigation on the part of the Afghan Government into the charges related to hospital corruption."
Write to Maria Abi-Habib at maria.habib@dowjones.com
Pakistan Top Court Disqualifies PM from Office
VOA News June 19, 2012
Pakistan's highest court has disqualified Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani from office, in a move likely to throw the country into a fresh round of political turmoil.
The Supreme Court announced its decision Tuesday based on its earlier ruling that Gilani was guilty of contempt for refusing to reopen a corruption investigation of President Asif Ali Zardari.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry ruled that Gilani ceased to be prime minister on the date of his conviction on April 26.
The court has instructed President Zardari to take steps for the election of a new prime minister.
Late Tuesday, Zardari's ruling party organized an urgent meeting to discuss its actions following the court ruling. The meeting was expected to last several hours.
Under the constitution, the president must summon a joint session of parliament that will elect a new prime minister.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.
Afghan expert blames French for Kapisa blasts
Examiner.com By Michael Hughes Afghanistan Headlines June 18, 2012
Six Afghans were killed in a blast on Monday in Kapisa province, the second lethal attack in less than two weeks, which Afghan specialist Joshua Foust attributed to France’s decision to expedite its withdrawal of troops.
After four French soldiers were killed by a suicide bomber on June 9th, French president Francois Hollande declared that the drawdown would begin next month – a decision which caused much consternation amongst NATO allies who have urged France to stay and fight until 2014.
Foust, who is also a correspondent for The Atlantic, warned in a PBS column last week that the “early French withdrawal from Kapisa will create a security vacuum just outside of Kabul.” The Afghan expert reminded readers of his prediction today in Registan.net in an article entitled, "How France Lost in Afghanistan."
The Los Angeles Times reported that insurgents have made a point of stepping up attacks in designated “transition” areas like Kapisa. The transfer of security to Afghan forces is a cornerstone of the Western exit strategy yet the Taliban and the affiliated Haqqani network seem bent on disrupting the handoff.
Foust also made clear that Kabul itself will face more violence because the “ring of steel” that surrounds the city “has been broken so many times that few have faith in the capital’s safety anymore.” There is no doubt he has more intelligence and a better understanding of Afghanistan than most, so attacks on Kabul just might be imminent.
Monday’s assault via a remote-controlled bomb came on the heels of U.S. military officials claiming the insurgency was divided and losing strength.
Some critics wonder if areas like Kapisa will ever be stable - with or without NATO. After over a decade of occupation the Taliban are stronger than ever in terms of both numbers and territorial control and, most importantly, have helped sabotage the international coalition’s efforts to win the “hearts and minds” of the Afghan population.
Meanwhile, according to Khaama Press, 42 Taliban militants were killed by Afghan security forces over the weekend within a 24-hour timeframe. Seven military operations were conducted in Nangarhar, Laghman, Balkh, Kandahar, Helmand, Khost and Ghazni provinces.
A Taliban spokesperson vehemently denied the estimates, which were released by Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry on Sunday.
Afghanistan Koran Burning: Investigators Recommend Administrative Punishments
By Luis Martinez | ABC OTUS News
Military investigators, called in after the burning of Korans at a U.S. base in Afghanistan earlier this year, have recommended that as many as seven U.S. military service members face administrative punishments for their role in the incident. They are not recommending criminal charges, according to several Defense officials.
A Defense official says as many as six Army soldiers and one sailor face administrative punishments that could range from letters of reprimand to reductions in pay.
Several Defense officials say the investigation's results have been forwarded to the Army and Navy secretaries. It will be up to them to determine if they will agree with the investigation's recommendations or decide if a tougher or lighter punishment is in order. A Defense official says the investigation's recommendations for disciplinary action are "pending review" and no decisions have been made.
In February, the burning of Korans in a garbage pit set off rioting in Afghanistan and was likely the reason for the subsequent killings of two Army officers. At the time Gen. John Allen, the top NATO commander in Afghanistan, apologized for the incident. Officials labeled it inadvertent.
In the wake of the incident, NATO instituted new training so troops in Afghanistan could learn about the proper handling of religious materials.
Lifter wants medal, sport for disabled Afghans
Reuters By Amie Ferris-Rotman Reuters June 18, 2012
KABUL - Limping on his prosthetic leg as he crosses a barren room scattered with a motley collection of weights, powerlifter Mohammad Fahim Rahimi laments the poverty and neglect preventing the large number of disabled Afghans from pursuing sport.
The 29-year-old is the only Afghan athlete to have qualified for this year's Paralympics in London, but there is hope that the Games will highlight the fate of Afghanistan's estimated two million disabled people.
"I want to make my country proud, to bring back a medal," said Rahimi, whose right leg was blown off above the knee by a Soviet landmine when he was 12 years old.
"But no money for the bus fare means my students often can't make it here, and I don't even train on a standard bench," he told Reuters, pointing to the mismatched weights on his dumbbell.
Poverty, conflict and, grimly, more powerful bombs mean Afghanistan has a large number of physically disabled people, most of whom are unemployed, victimized and face widespread discrimination in a country where they are seen as weak.
Afghanistan is now hoping the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) will offer four other athletes "wild cards" for the August Games meaning they can compete without qualifying on normal criteria.
Their injuries and inflictions reflect Afghanistan's violent history, from the Soviet invasion in 1979 to the NATO-led war against Taliban insurgents started just over a decade ago.
They include a shooting hopeful who lost both legs during a Taliban attack as the group swept to power in the 1990s to a swimmer whose legs were taken off above the knee by a landmine in the capital Kabul.
"Three decades of war have left so many Afghans disabled and we hope the Paralympics will encourage them," said Mohammad Sami Darayi, the head of Afghanistan's Paralympic Committee.
"But for this, we'll also need a proper budget," he added, echoing concerns voiced by Afghanistan's taekwondo athletes going to the Olympics.
WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL
Afghanistan was late to discover sport for the disabled. The first Afghan athletes to go to the Paralympics, a pair of cyclists, went to Atlanta in 1996.
Rahimi participated in Beijing in 2008, but did not manage to take any medals home.
"In recent years we did very little for the disabled as far as sports is concerned. This was a mistake," said Alberto Cairo, an Italian physiotherapist in charge of seven Red Cross orthopaedic centers across Afghanistan.
Cairo spoke to Reuters at the newly built basketball court on the grounds of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), where eight Afghan wheelchair teams had just competed in their first national competition.
Their legs strapped tight so they do not slip out of their wheelchairs as they deftly whiz about, the players could hardly contain their excitement.
"Playing basketball is so much more than just playing a sport. It's an opening of their lives," their trainer of the last two months, American Jess Markt, said of the sport founded shortly after World War Two by disabled U.S. veterans.
Ahmad Shaphur, the sprightly 18-year-old captain of the winning team from northern Faryab province, urged the government to pay attention to their plight.
"Some of us are thrown out of our homes because we can't work, we have no money and no way to get money," said Shaphur, who was unable to walk from birth. "If they would just give us a little attention, we would not accept defeat".
Markt, a professional wheelchair basketball player for the New York Rollin' Knicks, hopes Afghan teams can become good enough to compete internationally within two years.
He also hopes that in a decade the country could put in a bid for the Paralympics, where the sport is dominated by the United States, Canada, Australia and Britain.
Five years ago the IPC approached British charity Motivation, which provides low-cost wheelchairs to the disabled in developing countries, and asked them to produce a low-cost chair for basketball.
They came up with wheelchairs priced at $280 - a tenth of the cost of a custom-made one and plan to launch a low-cost racing chair at the Paralympics, said co-founder David Constantine.
(Reporting by Amie Ferris-Rotman; editing by Ken Ferris)
Afghan Authorities Stop Going Soft On Viagra
June 18, 2012 RFE/RL
Afghanistan's reputation as a haven for drug smugglers is well known.
But while it is normally opium and its derivative substances that grab all the headlines, it seems that a little blue pill is now causing the authorities serious concern.
Viagra, a well-known erectile dysfunction drug, has long been in demand in the country.
Such is its popularity the CIA has in the past been known to use the medicament as an enticement for tribal leaders to pass on information about Taliban movements.
Now, however, it seems the little love philter is so prevalent it has become a major headache for the government in Kabul.
The Afghan Health Ministry has recently issued warnings about the potentially dangerous nonprescription use of Viagra.
According to the BBC, up to 2 million pills can be legally imported into Afghanistan each year, but ministry officials believe at least 4 million pills are being consumed nationwide.
Indeed, given the notoriously porous nature of Afghanistan's borders, some believe that the number of tablets that are flooding into the country could be even higher.
As Afghanistan only has an estimated male population of 9 million, it seems that demand for Viagra is exceedingly high.
Why Afghan men appear to have such a pressing need for the aphrodisiac has been the source of some speculation.
One BBC correspondent suggested that 34 years of almost continuous war in the country could be one of the causes. It's well known that residing in conflict zones can give rise to a whole host of psychological problems, which can have a concomitant impact on sexual performance.
Some have also pointed to the fact that Afghan men can have as many as four, often younger, wives at any given time. It's little wonder, therefore, that the little blue diamonds might help maintain domestic harmony in many households.
Whatever the reasons for its popularity, it seems the Afghan Health Ministry's warnings about Viagra have so far fallen on deaf ears.
When a reporter from the BBC's Dari Service visited an open-air market in Kabul, he found that merchants were still doing a very brisk trade in the tablets.
www.afghanistannewscenter.com
June 19, 2012| By the CNN Wire Staff
Afghans in government uniforms launched three attacks on U.S. and Afghan forces in a 24-hour period, including one that breached the perimeter of an American outpost near Kandahar, a Pentagon spokesman said Tuesday.
The strikes made for what Capt. John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman, called a "tough day" around the southern city of Kandahar. A U.S. soldier was killed and several others were wounded in a shooting by gunmen in Afghan police uniforms Monday, and other disguised insurgents killed three Afghan police officers and wounded seven more in Kandahar, local authorities said Tuesday.
Afghan insurgents strike U.S. outpost
The most recent attack wounded nine coalition troops at the American outpost dubbed Forward Operating Base Frontenac, in the Arghandab River valley, north of Kandahar. Kirby told reporters Tuesday that the attackers were dressed in the uniforms of the Afghan National Security Forces.
The attackers "were engaged very quickly by friendly forces inside," he said. "There as a quick response force from a nearby combat outpost that responded almost immediately, and most of the casualties were evacuated to Kandahar."
Two U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said at least eight insurgents carried out the attack. Seven of them were killed and the sole survivor was wounded, they said.
The area has been the scene of extensive insurgent activity in recent years. Neither official could explain how the breach occurred, but initial reports indicate officials believe the insurgents might have had help from Afghan security personnel.
In Afghanistan, mother bravely campaigns for president
Uniformed Afghans -- either insurgents in disguise or members of the country's police or military -- have been behind numerous killings of U.S. and NATO troops this year. The incidents have fueled mutual distrust between Afghan and allied forces in the now-decade-old conflict.
Tuesday's clash followed an incident Monday in which three gunmen in Afghan police uniforms fired on American troops in another location in southern Afghanistan, killing one and wounding several others. Kirby said that incident "appears to be what we consider a green-on-blue, an insider threat attack." U.S. forces launched a manhunt for the attackers late Monday, but they remained at large, he said.
And a gun battle erupted at a Kandahar police station early Tuesday morning when four insurgents wearing police uniforms tried to enter the facility, according to the office of the Kandahar governor. Police officers confronted them and a gun battle ensued, leaving the four attackers dead, the governor's office said.
All three strikes were located around Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban militia that once ruled most of Afghanistan. But beyond geography, "It's just too soon to say with any certainty the degree to which any of these are connected," Kirby said.
Two Charged Over Afghan Mosque Suicide Bombing
June 19, 2012 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Afghan authorities say two men have been charged in connection with a suicide bombing that killed dozens of worshippers last year outside a Shi’ite shrine in Kabul.
Attorney General Mohammed Ishaq Aloko said on June 19 that both men have confessed to the December 6 attack.
Aloko alleged that the plot was planned in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar by "regional spy agencies" and was aimed at "provoking sectarian violence."
He said one suspect came from Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar Province and was paid 10,000 Pakistani rupees ($100) to bring two suicide attackers to Kabul.
Shortly after the bombing, President Hamid Karzai blamed the Pakistani Al-Qaeda-linked militant group Lashkar-e Jhangvi for carrying out the attack.
Based on reporting by AFP and AP
Up to 60 killed in Afghan violence within two days
KABUL, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Up to 60 people have been killed in Taliban-led attacks and counter-attacks across the war-torn Afghanistan since Monday morning.
In the latest violent incidents, Taliban insurgents, who have been waging more than a decade-long insurgency, launched two attacks on two joint Afghan and NATO bases in southern Kandahar province early Tuesday morning, leaving 14 people including three Afghan policemen and 11 attackers dead, authorities said.
"Four militant wearing police uniform armed with suicide vests and weapons raided a joint check post of Afghan forces and international troops in Dand district, the outskirt area of provincial capital Kandahar city, at around 6 a.m. local time Tuesday," a spokesman for provincial government Jawid Faisal told Xinhua.
The Afghan policemen engaged the assailants shortly after the attack, killing all four attackers, he said, adding "three Afghan National Police members were also killed and seven other policemen were injured during the clash."
Hours earlier, seven Taliban insurgents were killed when they launched an attack on a NATO military camp in Kandahar's Shah Wali Kot district, police chief of the district Padshah Khan told Xinhua.
At least 10 soldiers with the NATO-led coalition were injured in the attack that occurred at around 3:30 a.m. local time, he said.
Taliban claimed responsibility for both attacks. Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, a Taliban purported spokesman, told local media that the outfit militants launched two attacks in Kandahar killing several Afghan and foreign soldiers on Tuesday morning.
Militancy has been on constant rise since the Taliban launched its spring offensive on May 3 this year.
A U.S. soldier with the NATO-led coalition forces was killed Monday when three men in Afghan police uniform opened fire in Kandahar's Zhari district, according to a statement issued by coalition.
In neighboring Helmand province, a total of eight civilians were killed and five other injured when their vehicle ran over a roadside bomb on Monday evening, the country's Interior Ministry confirmed on Tuesday morning.
"Eight innocent civilians were killed and five other injured when a vehicle touched off a roadside bomb at around 4:00 p.m. local time Monday in Capahasia area of Musa Qala district," the ministry said in a statement.
Women and children were among the killed and injured, the statement said without disclosing more details.
It blamed Taliban for placing the roadside bomb in the far- flanged district.
Taliban militants have been largely relying on roadside bombing and suicide attacks in fighting Afghan security force and NATO-led troops based in Afghanistan, often causing civilian casualties.
Earlier Tuesday, gunmen shot and killed two district officials in eastern Nangarhar province.
"Head of anti-criminal police and an official with the district administration were killed by armed men when they were traveling from home to office at around 8:00 a.m. today," a provincial spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai told Xinhua.
The Taliban insurgent group has warned the civilians to stay away from official gatherings, military convoys and centers regarded as the legitimate targets by militants besides warning people against supporting government and foreign troops.
Six people including two civilians and four Afghan Local Police (ALP) service members were killed when a bomb placed in a shop went off in a bazaar in Tagab district of eastern Kapisa province on Monday morning.
The blast also injured 17 other civilians and the likely target of the explosion might have been an ALP commander named Karimullah, who was killed in the blast along with his son and two other ALP policemen.
"I left home to buy dish washing liquid and cooking oil form the district marketplace but as I approached the bazaar I suddenly heard a big bang which sent a thick black smoke to the sky," a resident Mohammad Tahir told Xinhua.
Police vehicle rushed to the site and transported the injured to the district hospital shortly after the explosion, he said.
Meantime, the Afghan forces and NATO-led coalition continued to put pressure on militants across the country as a total of 27 Taliban insurgents have been killed and seven other detained in joint cleanup operations in different provinces.
"Afghan police, army and NATO-led coalition troops launched 10 clean-up operations in Kabul, Kunar, Nangarhar, Nuristan, Kunduz, Faryab, Badakhshan, Zabul, Paktika and Farah provinces, killing 27 armed Taliban insurgents and detaining seven other suspects over the past 24 hours," the Afghan Interior Ministry said in a statement Tuesday morning.
Records kept by Xinhua, based on figures released by Interior Ministry, reveal that around 630 insurgents have been killed, over 130 wounded and more than 560 other detained since May 1 by joint forces.
Afghanistan needs $7 billion aid after Western pullout
By Sanjeev Miglani | Reuters
KABUL (Reuters) - - Afghanistan will need $6-7 billion a year in aid over the next decade to help grow the economy, the head of the central bank said on Tuesday, on top of a $4.1 billion bill for security forces to keep the peace once foreign troops leave in 2014.
In the run-up to a conference with donors in Tokyo, the government repeated a long-standing call for foreign assistance to be routed through Afghan government entities rather than international organizations, governor Noorullah Delawari said.
That could complicate discussions with foreign backers who are worried about misuse of funds.
More than 90 percent of Afghanistan's $17.1 billion national budget comes from foreign donations but the economic crisis in Europe, shrinking budgets in the United States and voters weary of the nearly 11-year war, that assistance has looked in peril.
"I have heard from Afghan government ministers, somewhere from 6 to 9 billion assistance is required. I think, I see it at about $6-7 billion a year without military, it's just economic assistance, that should help us to go over, and continue our economic growth," Delawari said in an interview.
The World Bank last November warned that Afghanistan will suffer a recession in 2014 and beyond after foreign troops leave and aid is cut back substantially. It forecast a $7 billion deficit in the national budget each year through 2021.
Delawari said Afghanistan had made headway since 2001 and the economy was expected to expand 7.4 percent this year because of a good agriculture crop, but it was hard to see aid vanishing because the country was not yet out of the woods.
"I think the way it is, on the same basis Afghanistan received assistance during the past 10 years that will continue because the underlying problems have not been changed. Terrorism, those issues are still there."
Landlocked Afghanistan is hoping that its underground reserves of copper, iron ore and oil will help make up some of the shortfall, but Delawari said the revenues from the extractive industries were "five to 10 years away if not more".
STRUGGLING
At a NATO summit last month in Chicago where allied nations set an irreversible course out of Afghanistan, the United States failed to pin down commitments for the rapidly expanding Afghan security forces that are charged with the responsibility of ensuring the country does not slip into civil war once foreign forces leave.
Afghanistan's foreign backers are next meeting in Tokyo in July to secure firm commitments for financial, development and security assistance for the country beyond 2014.
Delawari said delegates will negotiate details of the funding including Afghanistan's demand that the money be given to government bodies instead of routing it through foreign aid organizations which Kabul says gives it more legitimacy.
Fraud and corruption have been a top concern and earlier this year Britain's aid watchdog called on the government in London to tighten its oversight of the aid program in Afghanistan.
In December, a survey by Berlin-based graft watchdog Transparency International rated Afghanistan one of the world's most corrupt countries, ranked equally with Myanmar, and only slightly cleaner than North Korea and Somalia.
"If we curb misuse of foreign aid or in other words effective use of foreign aid, that will keep the economy going," Delawari said.
(Editing by Jon Hemming)
14 killed in Taliban attacks in Afghan Kandahar province
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Three policemen and 11 Taliban insurgents were killed when militant carried out two attacks in southern Afghan province of Kandahar early Tuesday morning, officials said.
"Four militant wearing police uniform armed with suicide vests and weapons raided a joint checkpost of Afghan forces and international troops in Dand district, a surrounding area of provincial capital Kandahar city, at around 6 a.m. local time Tuesday," a spokesman for provincial government Jawid Faisal told Xinhua.
The Afghan policemen engaged the assailants shortly after they approached to the checkpost, killing four attackers, Faisal said, adding three policemen were killed and seven policemen were injured during clashes in the province, 450 km south of Kabul.
Earlier Tuesday, seven Taliban insurgents were killed when they launched an attack on a NATO military camp in neighboring Shah Wali Kot district, police chief of the district Padshah Khan told Xinhua.
At least 10 soldiers with the NATO-led coalition or International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) were injured in the attack at around 3:30 local time, he said.
Meanwhile, the ISAF press office in Kandahar city confirmed that one of the coalition's camp was attacked Tuesday morning but did not provide details.
Taliban insurgents have claimed responsibility for the attacks. Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, a Taliban purported spokesman, told local media that the outfit militants launched two attacks in Kandahar, killing several Afghan and foreign soldiers Tuesday morning.
Militancy has been on constant rise since Taliban launched its spring offensive on May 3 this year.
The insurgent group has warned civilians to stay away from official gatherings, military convoys and centers regarded as the legitimate targets by militants besides warning people against supporting government and foreign troops.
Kandahar, the birthplace of Taliban, has seen increasing militancy despite continued military operations there.
Pentagon Is Pressed on Afghan Inquiry
Wall Street Journal By MARIA ABI-HABIB June 18, 2012
KABUL - A congressional committee asked the Pentagon to investigate allegations by senior U.S. officers that an Army commander obstructed an inquiry into reports of abuses at Afghanistan's main military hospital because he feared the news would embarrass President Barack Obama before the 2010 elections.
The commander, Army Lt. Gen. William Caldwell, commanded the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Training Mission-Afghanistan, or NTM-A, from late 2009 until late 2011. He now leads U.S. Army North, the command responsible for U.S. homeland defense.
Gen. Caldwell said in an email he would need more time and coordination with the military's public affairs personnel to provide a response to these "very serious allegations."
Under Gen. Caldwell, NTM-A—which focuses on building up Afghan security forces—funded the Dawood National Military Hospital in Kabul and mentored its staff. Allegations of abuses at the hospital by Afghan staff, including depriving Afghan soldiers of basic care, in some cases starving them to death, were the subject of a Wall Street Journal article in September.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R., Utah), in a letter sent on Friday to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on behalf of the House Committee of Oversight and Government Reform, cited statements by several senior officers that Gen. Caldwell delayed a request by them and others to call in the Department of Defense inspector-general to investigate, so that news of alleged abuses at the hospital wouldn't surface before the 2010 midterm elections.
The witnesses interviewed by the committee include four colonels, among them U.S. Air Force Col. Schuyer Geller, former senior mentor to the Afghan military surgeon general.
According to a witness cited in the letter, Gen. Caldwell chastised officers under his command for calling in the inspector general "during an election cycle," allegedly explaining that President Obama "calls me Bill."
According to the letter, Gen. Caldwell withdrew the request for an inspector-general inquiry and tried to keep the investigation "in house" within NTM-A.
Gen. Caldwell told The Wall Street Journal last year that he withdrew the request to give the NTM-A more time to assess what they needed the Department of Defense inspector-general to investigate.
Gen. Caldwell's subordinates argued the NTM-A didn't have the expertise to investigate the hospital. The request was resubmitted to the Pentagon, eight days after the 2010 elections.
In testimony that Col. Geller wrote and submitted to the Pentagon and the congressional committee, Gen. Caldwell is alleged to have limited the scope of the Department of Defense inspector general's inquiry. The 25-page testimony was reviewed by Journal.
Gen. Caldwell's deputy at the time, Brig.-Gen. Gary Patton, also allegedly participated in attempts to suppress the inquiry, according to several officers cited in the letter.
"He indicated he would recommend to LTG Caldwell not to proceed until after the elections," Col. Geller wrote.
Gen. Patton has since been promoted to major general and is now the principal director for the office of the deputy assistant Secretary of Defense for military personnel policy.
Gen. Patton declined to comment, referring the issue to the spokeswoman for the Department of Defense's inspector general. The spokeswoman declined to comment.
The congressional committee will also look into whether Marine Gen. John Allen, who took over as commander of U.S.-led international forces in Afghanistan in July, knew of the allegations of political interference by Gen. Caldwell.
Rep. Chaffetz's letter cites email correspondence between the two generals on Sept. 3, 2011, the day the Journal published its article about the National Military Hospital.
Gen. Allen's spokesman, Navy Commander Brook DeWalt, said, "Although Gen. Allen wasn't able to comment on the aspects of an continuing investigation by the Department of Defense, he has and continues to support the continuing investigation on the part of the Afghan Government into the charges related to hospital corruption."
Write to Maria Abi-Habib at maria.habib@dowjones.com
Pakistan Top Court Disqualifies PM from Office
VOA News June 19, 2012
Pakistan's highest court has disqualified Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani from office, in a move likely to throw the country into a fresh round of political turmoil.
The Supreme Court announced its decision Tuesday based on its earlier ruling that Gilani was guilty of contempt for refusing to reopen a corruption investigation of President Asif Ali Zardari.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry ruled that Gilani ceased to be prime minister on the date of his conviction on April 26.
The court has instructed President Zardari to take steps for the election of a new prime minister.
Late Tuesday, Zardari's ruling party organized an urgent meeting to discuss its actions following the court ruling. The meeting was expected to last several hours.
Under the constitution, the president must summon a joint session of parliament that will elect a new prime minister.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.
Afghan expert blames French for Kapisa blasts
Examiner.com By Michael Hughes Afghanistan Headlines June 18, 2012
Six Afghans were killed in a blast on Monday in Kapisa province, the second lethal attack in less than two weeks, which Afghan specialist Joshua Foust attributed to France’s decision to expedite its withdrawal of troops.
After four French soldiers were killed by a suicide bomber on June 9th, French president Francois Hollande declared that the drawdown would begin next month – a decision which caused much consternation amongst NATO allies who have urged France to stay and fight until 2014.
Foust, who is also a correspondent for The Atlantic, warned in a PBS column last week that the “early French withdrawal from Kapisa will create a security vacuum just outside of Kabul.” The Afghan expert reminded readers of his prediction today in Registan.net in an article entitled, "How France Lost in Afghanistan."
The Los Angeles Times reported that insurgents have made a point of stepping up attacks in designated “transition” areas like Kapisa. The transfer of security to Afghan forces is a cornerstone of the Western exit strategy yet the Taliban and the affiliated Haqqani network seem bent on disrupting the handoff.
Foust also made clear that Kabul itself will face more violence because the “ring of steel” that surrounds the city “has been broken so many times that few have faith in the capital’s safety anymore.” There is no doubt he has more intelligence and a better understanding of Afghanistan than most, so attacks on Kabul just might be imminent.
Monday’s assault via a remote-controlled bomb came on the heels of U.S. military officials claiming the insurgency was divided and losing strength.
Some critics wonder if areas like Kapisa will ever be stable - with or without NATO. After over a decade of occupation the Taliban are stronger than ever in terms of both numbers and territorial control and, most importantly, have helped sabotage the international coalition’s efforts to win the “hearts and minds” of the Afghan population.
Meanwhile, according to Khaama Press, 42 Taliban militants were killed by Afghan security forces over the weekend within a 24-hour timeframe. Seven military operations were conducted in Nangarhar, Laghman, Balkh, Kandahar, Helmand, Khost and Ghazni provinces.
A Taliban spokesperson vehemently denied the estimates, which were released by Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry on Sunday.
Afghanistan Koran Burning: Investigators Recommend Administrative Punishments
By Luis Martinez | ABC OTUS News
Military investigators, called in after the burning of Korans at a U.S. base in Afghanistan earlier this year, have recommended that as many as seven U.S. military service members face administrative punishments for their role in the incident. They are not recommending criminal charges, according to several Defense officials.
A Defense official says as many as six Army soldiers and one sailor face administrative punishments that could range from letters of reprimand to reductions in pay.
Several Defense officials say the investigation's results have been forwarded to the Army and Navy secretaries. It will be up to them to determine if they will agree with the investigation's recommendations or decide if a tougher or lighter punishment is in order. A Defense official says the investigation's recommendations for disciplinary action are "pending review" and no decisions have been made.
In February, the burning of Korans in a garbage pit set off rioting in Afghanistan and was likely the reason for the subsequent killings of two Army officers. At the time Gen. John Allen, the top NATO commander in Afghanistan, apologized for the incident. Officials labeled it inadvertent.
In the wake of the incident, NATO instituted new training so troops in Afghanistan could learn about the proper handling of religious materials.
Lifter wants medal, sport for disabled Afghans
Reuters By Amie Ferris-Rotman Reuters June 18, 2012
KABUL - Limping on his prosthetic leg as he crosses a barren room scattered with a motley collection of weights, powerlifter Mohammad Fahim Rahimi laments the poverty and neglect preventing the large number of disabled Afghans from pursuing sport.
The 29-year-old is the only Afghan athlete to have qualified for this year's Paralympics in London, but there is hope that the Games will highlight the fate of Afghanistan's estimated two million disabled people.
"I want to make my country proud, to bring back a medal," said Rahimi, whose right leg was blown off above the knee by a Soviet landmine when he was 12 years old.
"But no money for the bus fare means my students often can't make it here, and I don't even train on a standard bench," he told Reuters, pointing to the mismatched weights on his dumbbell.
Poverty, conflict and, grimly, more powerful bombs mean Afghanistan has a large number of physically disabled people, most of whom are unemployed, victimized and face widespread discrimination in a country where they are seen as weak.
Afghanistan is now hoping the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) will offer four other athletes "wild cards" for the August Games meaning they can compete without qualifying on normal criteria.
Their injuries and inflictions reflect Afghanistan's violent history, from the Soviet invasion in 1979 to the NATO-led war against Taliban insurgents started just over a decade ago.
They include a shooting hopeful who lost both legs during a Taliban attack as the group swept to power in the 1990s to a swimmer whose legs were taken off above the knee by a landmine in the capital Kabul.
"Three decades of war have left so many Afghans disabled and we hope the Paralympics will encourage them," said Mohammad Sami Darayi, the head of Afghanistan's Paralympic Committee.
"But for this, we'll also need a proper budget," he added, echoing concerns voiced by Afghanistan's taekwondo athletes going to the Olympics.
WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL
Afghanistan was late to discover sport for the disabled. The first Afghan athletes to go to the Paralympics, a pair of cyclists, went to Atlanta in 1996.
Rahimi participated in Beijing in 2008, but did not manage to take any medals home.
"In recent years we did very little for the disabled as far as sports is concerned. This was a mistake," said Alberto Cairo, an Italian physiotherapist in charge of seven Red Cross orthopaedic centers across Afghanistan.
Cairo spoke to Reuters at the newly built basketball court on the grounds of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), where eight Afghan wheelchair teams had just competed in their first national competition.
Their legs strapped tight so they do not slip out of their wheelchairs as they deftly whiz about, the players could hardly contain their excitement.
"Playing basketball is so much more than just playing a sport. It's an opening of their lives," their trainer of the last two months, American Jess Markt, said of the sport founded shortly after World War Two by disabled U.S. veterans.
Ahmad Shaphur, the sprightly 18-year-old captain of the winning team from northern Faryab province, urged the government to pay attention to their plight.
"Some of us are thrown out of our homes because we can't work, we have no money and no way to get money," said Shaphur, who was unable to walk from birth. "If they would just give us a little attention, we would not accept defeat".
Markt, a professional wheelchair basketball player for the New York Rollin' Knicks, hopes Afghan teams can become good enough to compete internationally within two years.
He also hopes that in a decade the country could put in a bid for the Paralympics, where the sport is dominated by the United States, Canada, Australia and Britain.
Five years ago the IPC approached British charity Motivation, which provides low-cost wheelchairs to the disabled in developing countries, and asked them to produce a low-cost chair for basketball.
They came up with wheelchairs priced at $280 - a tenth of the cost of a custom-made one and plan to launch a low-cost racing chair at the Paralympics, said co-founder David Constantine.
(Reporting by Amie Ferris-Rotman; editing by Ken Ferris)
Afghan Authorities Stop Going Soft On Viagra
June 18, 2012 RFE/RL
Afghanistan's reputation as a haven for drug smugglers is well known.
But while it is normally opium and its derivative substances that grab all the headlines, it seems that a little blue pill is now causing the authorities serious concern.
Viagra, a well-known erectile dysfunction drug, has long been in demand in the country.
Such is its popularity the CIA has in the past been known to use the medicament as an enticement for tribal leaders to pass on information about Taliban movements.
Now, however, it seems the little love philter is so prevalent it has become a major headache for the government in Kabul.
The Afghan Health Ministry has recently issued warnings about the potentially dangerous nonprescription use of Viagra.
According to the BBC, up to 2 million pills can be legally imported into Afghanistan each year, but ministry officials believe at least 4 million pills are being consumed nationwide.
Indeed, given the notoriously porous nature of Afghanistan's borders, some believe that the number of tablets that are flooding into the country could be even higher.
As Afghanistan only has an estimated male population of 9 million, it seems that demand for Viagra is exceedingly high.
Why Afghan men appear to have such a pressing need for the aphrodisiac has been the source of some speculation.
One BBC correspondent suggested that 34 years of almost continuous war in the country could be one of the causes. It's well known that residing in conflict zones can give rise to a whole host of psychological problems, which can have a concomitant impact on sexual performance.
Some have also pointed to the fact that Afghan men can have as many as four, often younger, wives at any given time. It's little wonder, therefore, that the little blue diamonds might help maintain domestic harmony in many households.
Whatever the reasons for its popularity, it seems the Afghan Health Ministry's warnings about Viagra have so far fallen on deaf ears.
When a reporter from the BBC's Dari Service visited an open-air market in Kabul, he found that merchants were still doing a very brisk trade in the tablets.
www.afghanistannewscenter.com