afghan dispatch

Monday 26 September 2011

Gunman Kills American at Kabul CIA Office

 

An Afghan employee killed one American and wounded another at Central Intelligence Agency offices in Kabul, Western security officials said Monday, an attack that called attention to U.S. security concerns about reliance on local partners. The two Americans came under fire late Sunday by a lone Afghan employee in an annex of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, said embassy spokesman Gavin Sundwall. U.S. officials in Washington said the shooting occurred at an annex housing the CIA's offices. A Western security official in Kabul said the Afghan attacker had the trust of CIA employees in the compound, and may have been working for them as an informant, which is why he was allowed into the annex and had access to a gun. The official added that the gunman may have accessed the roof of the CIA building and fired on the nearby embassy building. Mr. Sundwall couldn't comment on whether the gunman fired on the embassy, or was searched before entering the building. In a sign of the often deep distrust between U.S. forces and their Afghan counterparts, CIA-employed guards, believing an Afghan army vehicle near the scene was the source of the attack, fired on the patrol, the Western security official said. Afghan soldiers in the vehicle shot back, wounding a guard; return fire injured two Afghan soldiers. Mr. Sundwall and a spokesman for the Afghan defense ministry declined to comment on the incident. Investigators from the State Department, the CIA, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are probing the attack. On Monday, U.S. officials said they were trying to determine the role of the Afghan gunman and his motives. Officials say they hadn't turned up evidence of terrorist links. Officials said it wasn't clear whether the gunman was targeting the annex because of its CIA affiliation. Another security official near the scene of the shooting said he heard initial gunfire from an M4-carbine, a weapon popular with the U.S. Army, and that he believed the gunman had access to U.S. weapons and was using an American rifle, as opposed to an AK-47, the firearm of choice for insurgents and many Afghan security forces. Afghan police and intelligence services were deployed to the site of the shooting, witnesses said; Afghan officials say they weren't able to enter the location. One witness said the nearby headquarters of the U.S.-led military coalition deployed a quick-reaction force. A coalition spokesman said the coalition had no role in the response to the attack. Gunfire was heard at about 8:15 p.m. Kabul time, followed by an explosion, more gunfire and then two more explosions about 15 minutes later, witnesses nearby said. A Taliban spokesman said on Monday that he couldn't say whether the insurgent group was responsible for the attack. The attack was the latest in which Afghans have turned on their international colleagues. This year, over two dozen coalition troops have been killed by Afghan police and soldiers in heated disputes and by insurgents infiltration. In December 2009, seven high-ranking U.S. intelligence officials were killed by a Jordanian informant at a major CIA base in eastern Khost province. The informant detonated a powerful bomb while meeting with the intelligence officials. He wasn't searched before entering the compound. With the bulk of international forces slated to withdraw by 2014, the U.S. is striving to buildup an Afghan government and security force that can manage the country independently. But the U.S.-led coalition has struggled to cope with insurgents infiltrating the Afghan army and police. So far this year, Afghan soldiers and police have killed more than two dozen international troops working alongside them, the majority American service members. In one of the biggest incidents, last April an Afghan air force pilot serving for 20 years gunned down eight U.S. Air Force officers and a military contractor at an airport in Kabul. The attacker had no known link to insurgent groups, investigators said. The attack came about a week after an Afghan soldier wearing a suicide vest blew himself up at a military base, killing six U.S. soldiers and four Afghans. An internal coalition report seen by The Wall Street Journal in June said Afghan security force members shooting down and killing their American counterparts is becoming a "rapidly growing systemic threat." The report interviewed some 600 Afghans and concluded that there is a "crisis of trust" within the coalition that was being ignored by top commanders. A spokeswoman for the coalition played down the report, labeling it "sensationalism." Sunday night's attack came less than two weeks after Afghan insurgents fired rocket-propelled grenades at the U.S. Embassy from a nearby building. About a half-dozen rockets penetrated the embassy's fortified walls and several more hit within the U.S.-led military coalition's headquarters in Kabul. The attack lasted for about 20 hours. No U.S. citizens were killed in that attack. Adm. Michael Mullen, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, blamed the Haqqani network last week for orchestrating the embassy attack. Speaking before the U.S. Congress, Adm. Mullen called the Haqqani network a "veritable arm" of Pakistan's military spy agency. Pakistan's government denies having any links with insurgents. Mr. Sundwall couldn't comment on whether the Afghan gunman was linked to the Haqqani network and wouldn't speculate on the motivation of Sunday night's attack.

Tuesday 20 September 2011

Pakistan bus attack kills dozens

 

25 Shia Muslim pilgrims have been killed after gunmen opened fire on a bus in western Pakistan, officials said. The pilgrims were going through Mastung district in Baluchistan province, en route to the Iranian border, when the attack occurred, said a senior district official, Saeed Umrani. Two motorcycles blocked the path of the bus and three gunmen stormed the vehicle, opening fire on the roughly 40 pilgrims inside, said a local tribal police officer, Dadullah Baluch, after interviewing survivors and eyewitnesses. At least 25 people were killed and more than a dozen injured in the attack on Tuesday, he added. The dead and wounded were being taken to a hospital in Quetta, about 35 miles to the north, he said. Pakistan is a majority Sunni Muslim state. Although most Sunnis and Shias live there relatively peacefully, extremists on both sides often target each other's leaders and activists. The Sunni-Shia schism over the true heir to the prophet Muhammad dates back to the seventh century.

Taliban turban bomber kills Afghan ex-president

 

A Taliban suicide bomber with concealed explosives in a turban on Tuesday assassinated former Afghan president Burhanuddin Rabbani, who was leading government peace efforts, police said. The bomber struck during a meeting at the Kabul home of Rabbani, who was last year appointed chief of the Afghan High Peace Council that President Hamid Karzai tasked with negotiating with the Taliban. His death is the most high-profile political assassination since the 2001 US-led invasion ousted the Taliban from power and comes just two months after Karzai's brother Ahmed Wali Karzai was also killed. The attackers arrived at Rabbani's house with Mohammad Massom Stanikzai, Rabbani's deputy, for a meeting before the turban bomber detonated his explosives, according to one source amid conflicting reports of the incident. A member of the High Peace Council, Fazel Karim Aymaq, said the men had come with "special messages" from the Taliban and were "very trusted." Kabul criminal investigations chief Mohammad Zaher said two men "negotiating with Rabbani on behalf of the Taliban" arrived at his house, one with explosives hidden in his turban. "He approached Rabbani and detonated his explosives. Rabbani was martyred and four others including Massom Stanikzai (his deputy) were injured." The bomber struck close to the US embassy, making it the the second attack within a week in Kabul's supposedly secure diplomatic zone. The killing prompted Afghan President Hamid Karzai to cut short his visit to the United States, his spokesman said, adding he was still expected to meet US President Barack Obama as scheduled before leaving. An AFP reporter saw an ambulance at the scene and said police had blocked off surrounding roads. The reporter also heard guards at the house shouting for an ambulance for Rabbani's deputy. Two of the former president's political allies, who did not want to be named and speaking before police confirmed Rabbani's death, wept as they told AFP he had been killed. "Yes, he is dead," said one of the two sources by telephone. The Taliban were not immediately reachable for comment, but the insurgency led by its militia has hit Kabul increasingly hard in recent months. The Pakistani government swiftly condemned the assassination, describing Rabbani as a "friend" with whom Islamabad was working closely on peace efforts. "The people of Pakistan stand by their Afghan brothers and sisters in this moment of grief," a joint statement released by President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said, just days after the United States accused the Pakistani government of having ties to Taliban faction the Haqqani network. Among the most high-profile attacks was last week's 20-hour siege of the US embassy and the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) headquarters which left 14 people dead. Rabbani was president of Afghanistan from 1992 until the Taliban took power in 1996 and headed a country wracked by civil war. Karzai's brainchild, the High Peace Council was intended to open a dialogue with insurgents who have been trying to bring down his government since the US-led invasion overthrew their regime. The 68-member council, hand-picked by the president, was inaugurated on October 7, 2010, amid mounting reports of secret peace talks with Taliban leaders and key insurgent groups. Delivering his acceptance speech, Rabbani said he was "confident" that peace was possible, according to a statement from the palace. "I hope we are able to take major steps in bringing peace and fulfil our duties with tireless effort and help from God," he was quoted as saying. According to Human Rights Watch, Rabbani is among prominent Afghans implicated in war crimes during the brutal fighting that killed or displaced hundreds of thousands of Afghans in the early 1990s.

Wednesday 14 September 2011

Cheryl Cole | Cheryl Cole Flies To Afghanistan To Boost Troops' Morale

 

British singer Cheryl Cole has flown to Afghanistan to visit U.K. troops serving in the war-torn country. The Girls Aloud star made her way to the country's Helmand Province on Tuesday night (13Sep11) to surprise servicemen and women. Cole underwent special training to prepare for the hostile environment she will tour during her visit, which marks 10 years of British operations in the country. Her morale-boosting trip is being filmed as part of the annual Pride of Britain Awards, which will air on U.K. TV next month (Oct11). A source tells Britain's Daily Mirror, "Cheryl's amazed by the courage of all those serving our country. When she was invited to go out to see them in Afghanistan, she immediately said 'yes'. "She thinks it's such a great cause and they deserve all the recognition they get." Cole has largely been out of the public eye since she was fired from the U.S. version of The X Factor earlier this year (11).

Tuesday 13 September 2011

Insurgents Attack U.S. Embassy In Afghanistan

 

Insurgents are firing rockets towards the U.S. Embassy, NATO headquarters and other official buildings in Kabul, Afghanistan Fox News confirms.  Taliban militants are claiming responsibility for the attacks. Police said the gunmen were firing from a tall office building that is under construction at Kabul's Abdul Haq square, which is about 300 yards from the U.S. Embassy.  Embassy officials confirmed an attack by insurgents firing rocket-propelled grenades and small arms but says no personnel have been reported injured. Embassy spokeswoman Kerri Hannan says staff had been ordered to take cover in hardened structures as gunfire and explosions rocked the area in the heart of the Afghan capital on Tuesday. She says "there are no casualties at this time among embassy personnel." The surge of violence was a stark reminder of the instability that continues to plague Afghanistan nearly a decade after the U.S. invasion that ousted the Taliban in the way of the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the U.S.  The Associated Press reports at least four Afghans were wounded.  Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid reportedly said a number suicide bombers were attacking Afghan and foreign soldiers at the square. He claimed in a text message that suicide bombers using assault rifles were attacking the offices of the Afghan intelligence service.

Wednesday 7 September 2011

US deplores 'cowardly' India bombing

 

The United States on Wednesday condemned the "cowardly" bombing outside a courthouse in New Delhi, and praised the courage of the Indian people "in the face of horrific violence." "The United States condemns in the strongest terms this morning's deadly bombing outside the New Delhi High Court, and extends its deepest condolences to those affected by these cowardly attacks," US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a statement. "The people of India have once again demonstrated remarkable resiliency and courage in the face of horrific violence," Nuland said. Nuland said the United States "stands ready to offer any and all assistance to Indian authorities," and that Washington was monitoring the situation to ensure "the safety and security" of US citizens in India. "Terrorism is a scourge that affects us all and the United States stands with India in confronting this global challenge," she added. Wednesday's powerful bomb, hidden in a briefcase, ripped through a busy crowd outside the court, killing at least 11 people and wounding dozens more. It was the first major attack on Indian soil since triple blasts in Mumbai on July 13 killed 26 people.

Monday 5 September 2011

talkSPORt to be broadcast to British troops stationed overseas

 

talkSPORT commentary on the Rugby World Cup 2011 is to be broadcast to British soldiers serving overseas, the British Forces Broadcasting Service has announced. Coverage commences on September 9 and will enable troops stationed in more than 20 countries; including Afghanistan, Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands, to keep up to date with all the games as they are played. England legend Brian Moore, aka The Pit Bull, will be heading up talkSPORT's coverage for the tournament alongside David Campese. He said: “The Rugby World Cup is a massive event and is sure to be a fantastic spectacle – I’m really pleased to be supporting our brave troops abroad.” BFBS Controller Nicky Ness said: “I am delighted that the BFBS and talkSPORT partnership now extends to Rugby World Cup coverage.  This tournament is really important to the armed forces community for whom sport is crucial part of life.  The fact that our troops will be able to listen on the front line and in far flung corners of the world will make a real difference to morale.

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