Taleban 'shifting focus to Kabul'

by BBC (reposted)

Thu, Jun 21, 2007 11:09AM

The Taleban in Afghanistan are changing their tactics to mount more attacks on the capital, Kabul, a spokesman for the militant group has told the BBC.

The spokesman, Zabiyullah Mujahed, said Taleban were recovering after Nato had infiltrated the group and killed some of its leaders.

But more people were volunteering to carry out suicide bombings, he said.

A police bus in Kabul was bombed on Sunday killing up to 35 people, in the deadliest attack there since 2001.

Mr Mujahed said the city was the next main target of the Taleban.

"It is true we are increasing our pressure on Kabul, because Kabul is the capital city and the foreign troops are concentrated there," Zabiyullah Mujahed said.

He added that the "independence and freedom of our country" was the goal of the Taleban and that they were repeating the same tactics used by insurgents in Iraq.

"A lot of people are coming to our suicide bombing centre to volunteer," he said.

'Tide turning'

On Wednesday Afghan Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak said support for the Taleban was diminishing.

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6224900.stm

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§Can the war in Afghanistan be won?

by BBC (reposted)

Thu, Jun 21, 2007 11:10AM

The Taleban have new confidence and new tactics, and their campaign against the government and its Nato backers has been increasingly successful since the beginning of this year.

In the east of the country, around Jalalabad, suicide bombings have become such frequent occurrences that the road from there to Kabul is now known as "the Baghdad road".

I have been coming to Jalalabad since 1989, but for the first time in my experience we needed a police escort to drive around there. In the countryside near the town, they urged us not to get out of our vehicle when we stopped, despite the intense heat.

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§Nato troops killed by Afghan bomb

by BBC (reposted)

Thu, Jun 21, 2007 11:10AM

Three Canadian Nato soldiers have been killed by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan, military officials say.

Their vehicle was "struck by an improvised explosive device", the 37-nation force said in a statement.

A Nato spokesman said that the soldiers were in a small open-top all-terrain vehicle when the bomb went off.

About 90 foreign troops have been killed in Afghanistan this year, most in combat for the Nato-led military force Isaf in the country's south.

The incident was one of several violent attacks in Afghanistan on Tuesday and Wednesday.

'Unknown motives'

"Isaf is saddened by the deaths of these fine individuals," spokeswoman Lt Col Maria Carl said.

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§Iraqi tactics come to Afghanistan

by BBC (reposted)

Thu, Jun 21, 2007 11:15AM

The call is a red alert, and American medics scramble to meet an incoming helicopter.

It is ferrying the latest casualty from Afghanistan's vicious, changing war.

He is stretchered straight into the field hospital in forward base Salerno at Khost close to the border with Pakistan.

His name is Staff Sgt Ken Wininger, and the bones in his foot have just been shattered by a roadside bomb.

"A big old flash of black came across the windshield," he says, describing the moment his vehicle was hit.

"I crawled out of the truck, my gunner and my driver were yelling that they were okay, and I yelled that I was okay. But my foot hurt. I noticed the front wheel of the Humvee was lying about a hundred metres away."

Propaganda bombs

The doctors treating Staff Sgt Wininger say his war is over. It will take months of operations and therapy to repair his foot. He will never sprint again and never be able to carry heavy weights.

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6222574.stm

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§Taleban 'not a long-term threat'

by BBC (reposted)

Thu, Jun 21, 2007 8:17PM

The Taleban do not pose a threat to long-term stability in Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai has said.

In an interview with the BBC, a defiant Mr Karzai dismissed threats from the militant group that it plans to step up attacks on the capital, Kabul.

Mr Karzai also said international forces in the country should do more to avoid civilian casualties.

Aid agencies say foreign and Afghan forces have killed at least 230 civilians this year.

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6228212.stm

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