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via translation- Pakistan: 15 people killed in a raid of international forces in Afghanistan PESHAWAR (Pakistan) - At least 15 people, including civilians, were killed Wednesday in the north-west Pakistan in an attack involving helicopters international forces based in Afghanistan, told AFP the heads of security services Pakistani. "Four helicopter gunships have crossed the border and launched the attack," assured AFP one of these sources, who requested anonymity. "Helicopters from Afghanistan were involved," confirmed to AFP Mowaz Khan, a senior official of the administration of the tribal district of South Waziristan where the raid took place in the border village...

KANDAHAR - Three Canadian soldiers have been killed in Zhari district in Afghanistan by an improvised explosive device. One soldier was also seriously injured after the device detonated near their vehicle at about 10:30 a.m. local time on Wednesday. One of the soldiers has been identified as Sgt. Shawn Eades, who was on his third tour in Afghanistan and is being described as a devoted father. The families have all been notified, but the Department of National Defence is not releasing the names of the other soldiers at this point. The three soldiers were combat engineers with 12 Field Squadron,...

France reacted in shock on Wednesday to the death of 10 of its soldiers in an ambush in Afghanistan and questions began to be asked about the country's worst military loss in 25 years. President Nicolas Sarkozy, who flew to Kabul on Tuesday, said France was committed to its engagement in Afghanistan where it took part in the 2001 invasion to topple the Taliban. But the opposition Socialists called for a parliamentary committee to meet and doubts were expressed about the official account of the incident in which the 10 soldiers were killed and 21 wounded in a fierce mountain...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 19, 2008 – Ten French soldiers were killed in Afghanistan when their patrol was attacked by Taliban fighters in Kabul province during fighting that spanned from late yesterday until early today, U.S. officials said. Twenty-one other French troops were wounded in the engagement, which reportedly involved up to 100 insurgents, according to a NATO news release. Afghan security forces were with the French soldiers when enemy fighters attacked. “As I understand it, it was a complex attack involving multiple weapons systems, small arms, mortars, rockets, and [it] lasted for several hours,” senior Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters...

Ten French soldiers have been killed in fighting with the Taleban east of the Afghan capital, Kabul, Afghan and French sources say. The deaths come amid heavy fighting near Kabul after Nato said one of its patrols was ambushed.

KABUL (AFP) - Ten French soldiers were killed in battles with the Taliban near the Afghan capital, a French presidency source said Tuesday, as troops thwarted a second attack on a key US military base in as many days. Military officials in Kabul said the fierce clashes started with an attack Monday on an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) patrol in Sarobi district, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) east of the capital Kabul. The French source, who requested anonymity, said the soldiers were killed following a "Taliban ambush". Most of the 3,000 French troops participating in the 40-nation ISAF are...

Canada A.M. Special Report on Canadian Soldiers (videos) http://www.ctv.ca/canadaam

Excerpt - KHOST, Afghanistan (AFP) — Between 50 and 70 Taliban-linked militants were killed in air strikes by international forces in eastern Afghanistan early Sunday, a provincial governor said. The militants had initially stormed a police post in Khost province near the border with Pakistan, killing two policemen, one of whom was beheaded, provincial governor Arsala Jamal told AFP. International military aircraft were called in to strike back, he said. ~ snip ~

Canadian Soldier Killed in AfghanistanCEFCOM NR–08.027 - July 19, 2008OTTAWA – Yesterday, a Canadian soldier was killed just before midnight Kandahar time. The soldier was killed by an Improvised Explosive Device while on a foot patrol in Panjwayi District. The fallen soldier is Corporal James (Jim) Hayward Arnal of the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, based in Shilo, Manitoba. First aid was administered to Corporal Arnal immediately following the incident. He was evacuated by helicopter to Kandahar Air Field’s Role 3 Multi-National Medical Facility, but sadly was pronounced dead upon arrival. All members of Task Force Kandahar are...

CNN) -- NATO-led forces in eastern Afghanistan have left a temporary combat outpost station, a site insurgents tried to overrun earlier this week in a push that led to the deaths of nine American soldiers. But a spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force said Wednesday that ISAF troops and Afghan National Security Forces would "continue to perform regular patrols near the village of Wanat." "The citizens in Wanat and northern Kunar province can be assured that ISAF and ANSF are going to continue with a strong presence in the area,'" said spokesman Capt. Mike Finney said. "We are committed,...

KABUL, Afghanistan, July 13 — Taliban insurgents mounted a large-scale attack on an American forward operating base in eastern Afghanistan in the early hours of Sunday, killing nine American soldiers in fierce fighting that continued through the day. Mark Laity, a spokesman for NATO, confirmed that nine soldiers had been killed and 15 more wounded, but did not give their nationality. Separately, a senior American military official confirmed that the nine soldiers killed were Americans. Four Afghan soldiers also were wounded, Mr. Laity said. The Taliban assault on the base was the deadliest single attack on the NATO security force...

KABUL (Reuters) - Insurgents killed nine U.S. soldiers in an assault on an Afghan army and NATO outpost in northeastern Afghanistan on Sunday, making it one of the worst days for foreign troops casualties in the country since 2001. Afghanistan is suffering from a rising tide of violence this year, with a sharp increase in Taliban attacks, especially in the east where NATO says militants have taken advantage of peace deals in Pakistan to cross the border and fight in Afghanistan. --snip-- The dead soldiers were all American, a NATO official said. Fifteen ISAF troops and four Afghan soldiers were...

KABUL (Reuters) - U.S.-led coalition troops killed some 55 Taliban insurgents who ambushed them in southeastern Afghanistan, close to the Pakistan border, the U.S. military said on Monday. There has been a sharp rise in violence along Afghanistan's eastern frontier in recent months. NATO generals say de-facto ceasefires between Pakistan's new government and militants in its border region free up insurgents to infiltrate into Afghanistan. Taliban insurgents ambushed the coalition forces with small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades in the Zerok district of Paktika province on Friday, a U.S. military statement said. Among those killed were three Taliban leaders. "Around...

The outgoing top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan said Friday that attacks increased 50 percent in April in the country's eastern region, where U.S. troops primarily operate, as a spreading Taliban insurgency across the border in Pakistan fueled a surge in violence. In a sober assessment, Gen. Dan K. McNeill, who departed June 3 after 16 months commanding NATO's International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF, said that although record levels of foreign and Afghan troops have constrained repeated Taliban offensives, stabilizing Afghanistan will be impossible without a more robust military campaign against insurgent havens in Pakistan. The Taliban is "resurgent...

OTTAWA -- Conservative and Liberal senators cast doubt Wednesday that Canada will be able to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan by 2011 as planned. The Senate's national security and defence committee also urged the government to ease its stance against negotiating with the Taliban, warning that the war could drag on for years without diplomatic intervention, although Conservative members of the panel opposed that position. "I don't think all the troops will be out of there in 2011," said Conservative Senator Michael Meighen, vice-chair of the committee, referring to parts of Afghanistan as "medieval." "I don't think there's any chance...

KANDAHAR–Only days before his own death in a tragic accident, Capt. Jonathan (Jon) Sutherland Snyder saved the lives of Canadian and Afghan soldiers. That is but one reason that Afghan National Army troops marched with their Canadian colleagues – and mentors – in a ramp ceremony here late this evening as the platoon commander's flag-sheathed casket was loaded on to a Hercules aircraft for the long trip home. Snyder, 26, was killed Saturday night when he fell into a 20-metre deep well while leading a foot patrol in Zhari District, west of Kandahar. He was the 85th Canadian to die...

Three British soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan, bringing the number of dead to 100. The three soldiers from 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment were on a routine foot patrol in the Upper Sangin Valley in Helmand Province on Sunday when a suicide bomber struck. A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "Four soldiers were injured in the attack and were evacuated to the medical facility at Camp Bastion. "Sadly, one soldier was pronounced dead on arrival and despite the best efforts of the medical team, two of the soldiers died as a result of their wounds. "A fourth soldier is...

Missions by special forces and air strikes by unmanned drones have "decapitated" the Taliban and brought the war in Afghanistan to a "tipping point", the commander of British forces has said. The new "precise, surgical" tactics have killed scores of insurgent leaders and made it extremely difficult for Pakistan-based Taliban leaders to prosecute the campaign, according to Brig Mark Carleton-Smith. In the past two years an estimated 7,000 Taliban have been killed, the majority in southern and eastern Afghanistan. But it is the "very effective targeted decapitation operations" that have removed "several echelons of commanders". A member of 2 Scots...

The son of the Netherlands’ top military officer was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan early this morning, one day after his father was made head of the Dutch armed forces. Lieutenant Dennis van Uhm, 23, was among two Dutch soldiers killed in the blast seven miles northwest of their military base, Camp Holland, in Uruzgan province, the Dutch defence ministry said. The second dead soldier was not fully identified but was said to be 22 years old. The military insisted today that there was nothing to suggest the commander’s son was deliberately targeted. However there were fears that...

KABUL (AFP) — More than 2,000 US marines recently deployed in Afghanistan to support a NATO-led military campaign against Islamic rebels have began operations in the country's restive south, the unit said Thursday. The 2,300-strong US Marine Expeditionary Unit was part of Washington's recent contribution to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) efforts to quell a resurgent Taliban insurgency. "The last of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit's Marines and Sailors are arriving and the unit is beginning operations after weeks of flowing personnel and equipment here," the unit said in a statement. "The Marines have begun their operations in...

table> A Marine with the 24th MEU's KC-130 detatchment preps his bird for takeoff. The KC-130j crews have flown throughout the country in support of ISAF. Marines from Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 365 (Reinforced), 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, NATO International Security Assistance Force, test the controls of a KC-130J prior to a flight. The KC-130J pilots and crew have been crisscrossing the country, flying cargo and passengers for ISAF. US Army soldiers catch a ride on a Marine KC-130j. HMM-365's KC-130 detatchment has been tranporting people and equipment all ove aAfghanistan in support of ISAF since their arival. Marines from...

KABUL, Afghanistan - Some of the 3,200 U.S. Marines slated for a seven-month deployment to Afghanistan's volatile south have begun arriving at the region's largest base following a call from Canada for more troops there. About 2,300 troops from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, based at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, will be based in Kandahar, the Taliban's former power base. A majority of those Marines arrived in the last several days. Canada has 2,500 troops in Kandahar province but has threatened to end its combat role in Afghanistan unless other NATO countries provide an additional 1,000 troops to help the...

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- As the sun rose to the mournful skirl of bagpipes, Trooper Michael Yuki Hayakaze was given a solemn farewell by about 3,000 fellow soldiers at a grim memorial today in Afghanistan. Hayakaze died Sunday when the vehicle he was in struck an improvised explosive device on a road about 45 kilometres west of the Canadian base in Kandahar. He was part of a convoy bringing supplies forward to an Afghan army unit working with the Canadians. The 25-year-old trooper from the Edmonton-based Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) was scheduled to return to Canada in a few...

Royal Marines from 40 Commando have destroyed a drugs factory in the Upper Sangin Valley along with 1.5 tonnes of morphine base - the precursor of heroin. The Commandos from Bravo Company discovered compounds in Sapwan Kala that contained a major drugs lab. They also uncovered evidence - some in English - of bank accounts, along with a weapons cache and identity cards. Part of Operation GHARTSE DAGGER, Bravo Company's 4 Troop began clearing through compounds in the north of Sapwan Kala at first light, talking to villagers as they went, hoping to find evidence of the heroin trade. Second...

WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice praised Canada and other allies Thursday for their combat roles in Afghanistan while saying the U.S. administration is worried NATO countries will eventually tire of the mission and leave. The two made a pitch for long-term commitments in Afghanistan on the day Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier came to Washington for a private discussion and a working lunch with Rice and other U.S. officials. Sources close to the talks say Bernier asked the United States to provide more equipment, like helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles, to battle the...

The Dutch military mission in Afghanistan will be extended by two years, Netherlands Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende has announced. Dutch troops had been scheduled to leave Afghanistan in summer 2008. The decision to extend the mission follows a call by al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden for European nations to stop helping US forces in Afghanistan. Bin Laden said that he - and not the Afghans - was the "only one responsible" for the 9/11 attacks. Dutch troops are stationed primarily in the southern Uruzgan province of Afghanistan. Since the Netherlands joined the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) last...

MASUM GHAR, Afghanistan - There's nothing quite like a snappy military salute, but here in Afghanistan you don't see it very often. In fact, a sign on the boardwalk at Kandahar Air Field proclaims that the base that is home to most Canadian troops in Afghanistan is a "no hat-no salute area." With the notable exception of U.S. forces, the traditional military greeting is pretty much a non-starter in Afghanistan. The salute has always been a sign of respect. It's origin is unclear but it is believed by some to go back to the Middle Ages when a knight would...

A British soldier has died following an explosion in southern Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence has said. Shortly before 1100 local time, a patrol was caught in a blast south of the district centre of Sangin in Helmand Province, the MoD added. An Afghan interpreter was also injured and has been receiving treatment. The soldier, who had been serving with the 2nd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment, was declared dead at the scene. Next of kin have been informed. 'Tragic incident' The International Security Assistance Force said the blast was the result of an improvised explosive device during a routine patrol...

Visiting Sweden, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said that Sweden is one of NATO’s most important partners and is welcome as a member in the rapid reaction force, should Sweden decide to join. On Friday Morning, NATO’s Secretary General met Sweden’s Defence Minister Sten Tolgfors to discuss the situation in Afghanistan, one of the two places where Swedish troops come under NATO command as part of the ISAF force. They also discussed possible participation in NATO’s rapid reaction force (NRF), with Sweden saying a decision may be reached by the spring. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer also promised to...

Taliban in retreat after Canadian offensive November 02, 2007 TALIBAN rebels were retreating overnight after Afghan and Canadian troops halted their attempt to take a district guarding the approaches to the main southern city of Kandahar, Canada's military said. Insurgents have massed in unusually large numbers to attack three district centres in the west and south in the last week and a Taliban leader threatened to extend the offensive northward and maintain its intensity through the winter. Taliban fighters attacked the Arghandab district, only 12km northwest of Kandahar, this week in what Canadian forces said was one of the most...

KIEV (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates will consider shifting U.S. troops from Kosovo to Afghanistan next year if NATO allies do not fulfill their commitments, U.S. government officials said. Gates, in Ukraine on Sunday to ask eastern European countries for help in the war, had first considered laying the threat before NATO defense ministers this week at a meeting in the Netherlands, senior U.S. officials said. But upon the advice of senior military officers, the Pentagon chief has extended the U.S. commitment to Kosovo to summer 2008. If NATO allies have not sent more troops, trainers and equipment...

Kabul, Afghanistan – The US backed - NATO led, International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, conducted a successful detention operation against a senior Taliban commander in Helmand Province this morning. The Taliban group targeted in the operation had been planning further attacks against the ANSF, ISAF and Coalition Forces. The operation follows on from a series of severe blows against the Taliban command in the last months, most notable being the death of Mullah Dadullah. These operations are aimed at impacting on the ability of the Taliban to plan and coordinate its attacks. There were no reported civilian casualties during...

It is with deep regret that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that a soldier serving with 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles was killed and two others injured yesterday, Thursday 4 October 2007, in southern Afghanistan. Ministry of Defence Elements of the battalion were returning to their base at Kandahar airfield after taking part in Operation PALK WAHEL, when a vehicle they were travelling in was caught in an explosion approximately 30 km west of Kandahar. The casualties were evacuated by helicopter to the ISAF medical facility at Camp Bastion. Sadly one of the soldiers was pronounced dead on...

A convoy of explosives seized by NATO troops in Afghanistan definitely came from Iran but not necessarily from the government in Tehran, the top NATO general here said Sunday. General Dan McNeill, head of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), confirmed a report in Sunday's Washington Post which said the shipment had been discovered last week. "The geographic origin of that convoy was clearly Iran but take note that I did not say it's the Iranian government," the US general told AFP in an interview.

<p>An Iranian arms shipment destined for the Taliban was intercepted on Sept. 6 by the international force in Afghanistan in what appears to be an escalating flow of weaponry between the two former enemies, according to officials from countries in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force.</p>

Poland plans to extend troops' presence Afghanistan WARSAW (AFP) — Polish Defence Minister Aleksander Szczyglo said Thursday he had asked for government approval to keep 1,200 Polish soldiers in Afghanistan deployed there into 2008. The PAP news agency said he made the announcement during a visit to Kabul. The Polish force in Afghanistan operates under NATO's 36,000-strong International Security Assistance Force and handle security in the southeast Ghazni and Patika provinces. Their elite units are also stationed in Kandahar in the south of the country. According to a June poll, 78 percent of Poles disapprove of Poland's continued military role...

As opposition politicians scramble to score political points on Afghanistan, Stephane Dion's position bears the most scrutiny because his party has the only chance of replacing the government. On the Liberal party website, we read: "In the face of a mounting insurgency in Afghanistan, and with fading support from our NATO partners, our troops are facing an increasingly difficult mission. We owe it to our soldiers to develop a strategy that will achieve real results in establishing a lasting peace." But last week Dion said: "I want the prime minister to say right away that we are out of the...

OTTAWA - The military command whose job is to help Canadians at home in the event of a terrorist attack or natural disaster is not getting the attention or priority it should because the country's generals are focused on the Afghanistan war, according to a report produced for Chief of the Defence Staff General Rick Hillier and leaked to the Ottawa Citizen. The 62-page report produced in January for Gen. Hillier details the progress of his ambitious plan to transform the Canadian Forces into an organization that is efficient, relevant and responsive to the needs of the government and public....

An RAF serviceman has been killed in an explosion in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence has said. A gunner from 51 Squadron RAF Regiment was killed in Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan, shortly after midnight local time (2030 BST). Personnel from the squadron, based at RAF Lossiemouth, Moray, were on a routine security patrol when one of its vehicles was caught in an explosion. Next of kin have been informed. Two other servicemen were hurt. A civilian interpreter was also killed in the blast during the patrol around Kandahar airfield, the main hub for British forces flying in and out of...

Polish soldier killed in Afghanistan 14.08.2007 A Polish soldier has been killed in Afghanistan. The 28-year-old lieutenant was wounded after shots were fired at his patrol, and died as he was being transported to hospital. This is the first Polish soldier killed in the mission to Afghanistan. The Polish contingent there, which is part of the Nato-led ISAF mission, numbers about 1100 troops, based in provinces Ghazni and Paktika.

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (CP) - Toting obsolete equipment and an arsenal dating back to the Soviet era, the Afghan National Army says it's waiting for modern weapons promised by Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor. The Afghan army, which Canada is counting on to take over fighting against the Taliban in coming months, still has yet to receive C-7 assault rifles and ammunition the Canadian government pledged to deliver, said Lt.-Col. Sherinshaw Khobandi. In Ottawa, a Defence Ministry spokesman confirmed that supplies for the Afghan National Army are planned, but declined to specify a date when they will be delivered. Khobandi said O'Connor...

A soldier from the 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment has been killed in Afghanistan, according to the Ministry of Defence. The soldier was killed on Friday during a routine patrol in the area of Jusyalay, north east of Sangin, in Helmand Province. The patrol, which was on its way to check on a local irrigation project, came under fire from Taleban fighters. The dead soldier's next of kin have been informed. Another soldier was also injured in the battle, which took place shortly before 0600 hours local time (0930 BST) but his condition is not life-threatening. The deceased soldier...

A British Special Forces hero has been killed in a battle with Taliban fanatics in southern Afghanistan, in the worst month for British casualties on the ground in the past year. The SBS (Special Boat Service) member - officially referred to as a Royal Marine due to the secrecy surrounding his unit - died as an elite team tried to arrest a 'high value target' during a snatch raid on Sunday, insiders said. He was the fourth British serviceman to be killed in Afghanistan in just five days, the sixth since the start of July and the 68th since UK...

<p>Lance Corporal Michael Jones was killed in a gun battle A Royal Marine killed on a special mission in Afghanistan has been named as Lance Corporal Michael Jones.</p> <p>The 26-year-old, of Newbald, Yorkshire, died on Sunday in a gun battle with Taleban insurgents in Nimruz province, in the south west of the country.</p>

ISAF says Qari Faiz Mohammad, a top Taliban commander with close links to supreme leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, died in a fierce clash with ANA and ISAF troops last week. Details of the raid were not released but one ISAF soldier died in southern Afghanistan that same day.There has been no official announcement of Qari Faiz Mohammad’s death from Taliban sources. Qari Faiz Mohammad was one of Afghanistan’s ‘Most Wanted’ Taliban leaders. He acted as Chairman of the Taliban military council and allegedly financed many Taliban operations launched in Helmand province, according to the BBC. The suspected death of Qari...

A British soldier from 14 Signal Regiment has been killed in southern Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said. The soldier - a communications specialist - died in a rocket attack while providing support to operations in Helmand province on Friday. The soldier's next of kin have been informed and have requested a period of grace before his name is released. The death brings the number of UK military fatalities since 2001 to 67. The soldier was serving with Battle Group South on operation Chakush (Hammer) aimed at disrupting Taleban forces in the upper Gereshk Valley in Helmand Province,...

A British soldier serving in southern Afghanistan has been killed in a clash with Taleban fighters, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said. The soldier, from the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, died in the Gereshk Valley in Helmand province. The MoD said he was shot after his unit secured a bridge. Next of kin have been informed of his death. His death comes a day after a soldier from the 1st Battalion of The Royal Anglian Regiment was killed. "After consolidating its position after securing a bridge crossing of the Nahr-e-Seraj canal, the company he was with was pushing west...

KABUL, Afghanistan, July 18, 2007 – NATO countries have still not manned the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan to promised levels, the commander of the force said here today. U.S. Army Gen. Dan K. McNeill said he does not have promised critical capabilities. “NATO has not manned this force to the level it said it would man it,” he said. The general said the command is short on “helicopters, maneuver troops, aeromedical evacuation, some medical, and some intelligence apparatus.” When NATO assumed control of security operations in Afghanistan, the United States provided a “bridging force” with these assets until...

Defence Secretary Des Browne has said UK-led Nato forces are facing "problems" in Afghanistan but there was no question of troops being pulled out. He warned it would be a "potential nightmare" for the west if Afghanistan was allowed to become a terrorist "training ground" as it was before. Mr Browne was responding to a report by a committee of MPs which called on Nato countries to commit more troops. It highlighted equipment shortages and fears the Taleban are gaining strength. But its main focus was troop numbers, with MPs saying they were "deeply concerned" that some member countries were...

In January this year, soldiers from the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters were preparing themselves for what they believed would be a deployment to southern Iraq this summer. But then the plans changed and, in March, they arrived in Helmand Province, Afghanistan to work as part of NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF); their role, to form a new Battlegroup to supplement the troops, many of whom are British, already operating in the region. Lieutenant Colonel Richard Westley, the Commanding Officer 1 Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment, explained what these extra troops would bring to Helmand: "With the extra manpower and...