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Insurgents Fire Rockets in Afghan Capital
Posted Thursday, November 17th, 2011 at 1:05 am
Police in Afghanistan say insurgents have fired two rockets in the capital, Kabul, as leaders gather for the second day of talks about relations with the United States.
Officials said the attacks Thursday injured one person, and that one of the rockets landed as close as one kilometer from the meeting site.
The Taliban has threatened to disrupt the four-day loya jirga, or grand council, where more than 2,000 Afghan politicians, tribal elders and community leaders are discussing key issues including possible peace talks with the militant group.
During a similar meeting in 2010, Taliban militants wounded three civilians in an attack near where the jirga was being held.
President Hamid Karzai said Wednesday that a strategic partnership with the United States, under which some U.S. troops will remain in Afghanistan after 2014, will come with conditions. He said his country wants its sovereignty and an end to night raids.
There are more than 130,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan as part of a NATO-led coalition, mostly from the United States. All international combat troops are due to leave the country by the end of 2014.
Rockets fired toward site of national assembly
The Associated Press: Rockets fired toward site of national assembly
By RAHIM FAIEZ, Associated Press – 9 minutes ago
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Insurgents fired two rockets Thursday toward a site where more than 2,000 Afghan elders are attending a national assembly to discuss the future of U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, officials said. Both rockets missed their target.
The Afghan Ministry of Interior said the two rockets were fired from an unknown location at about 8 a.m.
Kabul police criminal director Mohammad Zahir said one person was wounded.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai spoke Wednesday on the opening day of the assembly — called a loya jirga — where the elders are considering the terms of an agreement between Afghanistan and the United States. The agreement is to govern the presence of U.S. troops after 2014 when most international forces are to have left or moved into support roles.
One rocket landed on a hillside about one kilometer from the meeting site. The other landed farther away in an open area, shattering a few windows in buildings near where merchants were selling vegetables and fruits.
"Me and my four friends were drinking tea and suddenly we heard an explosion," said Mohammad Shafi, a 28-year-old taxi driver at the scene. "We didn't know if it was a bomb or a rocket."
Shafi said he helped a man whose left hand was bleeding find a ride to the hospital.
"Everybody knows that they are trying to hit the jirga, but instead innocent civilians were the victims," he said. "If the jirga weren't going on, there would have been no rockets. If the man loses his hand, who will feed his family?"
No one has claimed responsibility for the rocket attacks.
Posted Thursday, November 17th, 2011 at 1:05 am
Police in Afghanistan say insurgents have fired two rockets in the capital, Kabul, as leaders gather for the second day of talks about relations with the United States.
Officials said the attacks Thursday injured one person, and that one of the rockets landed as close as one kilometer from the meeting site.
The Taliban has threatened to disrupt the four-day loya jirga, or grand council, where more than 2,000 Afghan politicians, tribal elders and community leaders are discussing key issues including possible peace talks with the militant group.
During a similar meeting in 2010, Taliban militants wounded three civilians in an attack near where the jirga was being held.
President Hamid Karzai said Wednesday that a strategic partnership with the United States, under which some U.S. troops will remain in Afghanistan after 2014, will come with conditions. He said his country wants its sovereignty and an end to night raids.
There are more than 130,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan as part of a NATO-led coalition, mostly from the United States. All international combat troops are due to leave the country by the end of 2014.
Rockets fired toward site of national assembly
The Associated Press: Rockets fired toward site of national assembly
By RAHIM FAIEZ, Associated Press – 9 minutes ago
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Insurgents fired two rockets Thursday toward a site where more than 2,000 Afghan elders are attending a national assembly to discuss the future of U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, officials said. Both rockets missed their target.
The Afghan Ministry of Interior said the two rockets were fired from an unknown location at about 8 a.m.
Kabul police criminal director Mohammad Zahir said one person was wounded.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai spoke Wednesday on the opening day of the assembly — called a loya jirga — where the elders are considering the terms of an agreement between Afghanistan and the United States. The agreement is to govern the presence of U.S. troops after 2014 when most international forces are to have left or moved into support roles.
One rocket landed on a hillside about one kilometer from the meeting site. The other landed farther away in an open area, shattering a few windows in buildings near where merchants were selling vegetables and fruits.
"Me and my four friends were drinking tea and suddenly we heard an explosion," said Mohammad Shafi, a 28-year-old taxi driver at the scene. "We didn't know if it was a bomb or a rocket."
Shafi said he helped a man whose left hand was bleeding find a ride to the hospital.
"Everybody knows that they are trying to hit the jirga, but instead innocent civilians were the victims," he said. "If the jirga weren't going on, there would have been no rockets. If the man loses his hand, who will feed his family?"
No one has claimed responsibility for the rocket attacks.
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