Afghanistan - News & Discussions

[datguy79]

Suicide Bombers Attack Nangarhar Police HQ, Killing 5

As many as eight suicide bombers have attacked a police headquarters in eastern Nangarhar province Tuesday morning, killing five police officers and injuring four others, local officials said.

Seven civilians have also been injured in the attacks.

The incident took place about 04:30am local time in Jalalabad, the capital of the province, when an insurgent in a bomb-laden car detonated his vehicle in front of the Rapid Reaction Force headquarters to blast through the gate. Another seven attackers wearing bomb vests then stormed the compound, according to provincial spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai.

Three of the attackers blew themselves up inside the compound and the other four were shot by the security forces in a gunfight that lasted more than an hour, Abdulzai said.
He said that the insurgents were wearing uniforms similar to those worn by the US-led Nato coalition.

The Taliban said it is responsible for the attacks, claiming that dozens of Afghan security forces including Nato-led trainers were killed.

Some Nato forces are based in the compound, but according to Afghan officials none of them were hurt.

The attack comes a day after US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Kabul.

8 pakistani agents sent to hell

 

[datguy79]

29 militants dead in Helmand clashes

LASHKARGAH (PAN): Twenty-nine militants and two Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers have been killed in two different incidents in southern Helmand province, officials said on Tuesday.
Eighteen rebels and a policeman were killed in a clash during an anti-poppy campaign in Ber Taka and Oshtan areas of Garmser district, police officer Col. Mohammad Ismail Hotak told Pajhwok Afghan News.
But Governor Mohammad Naeem said 26 fighters were killed, with the bodies of 17 still lying at the scene. One policeman two soldiers were also wounded in the firefight, he added.
Elsewhere in the province, the militants clashed with ANA soldiers in Marja district. Eleven rebels and one soldier were killed, said Gen. Syed Maluk Safi, the 215th Maiwand Military Corps commander.
But a Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousaf Ahmadi, claimed that 26 soldiers were killed and wounded in the fighting. He also acknowledged the loss of eight fighters.

So much for them taking over...

 

[gokussj9]

Afghan, NATO forces kill more than 20 militants - geo.tv

KABUL, Afghanistan: Afghan and NATO forces killed more than 20 insurgents in a joint operation in the eastern Logar province, military officials said Wednesday.

The two-day operation that ended Tuesday night in the province's Baraki Barak district also killed a local Taliban commander, said provincial government spokesman Din Mohammad Darwesh.

Two civilians were wounded, Darwesh said. There were no immediate reports on possible Afghan or international casualties.

The troops killed 24 insurgents as part of the operation, which also rescued two captured Afghan soldiers, the NATO military coalition says in a statement.

Afghan officials gave varying numbers of 23 to 26 militants killed. Deputy provincial police chief Rais Khan Abdul Rahimzai said that two civilians were killed and two were wounded in crossfire.

He said the insurgents were inside the house of those who were killed and were shooting at Afghan forces.

Separately, the coalition said an international service member died Wednesday following an insurgent attack in the east.

It was not clear if there was any relation to the Logar operation.The statement did not provide the service member's nationality or other details.

So far this month, at least 16 international troops have been killed in Afghanistan.

 

[datguy79]

ISAF Operation: NATO forces kill 25 Pakistani Taliban – The Express Tribune

More than 25 Pakistani Taliban, mostly from Balochistan, were killed in a NATO operation under ISAF command in Afghanistan close to the Pakistani border.
According to credible information coming from the site of the clashes, NATO forces engaged Taliban near Lakhai settlement of Afghanistan overlooking Chagai district of Balochistan.
The bodies of fallen Taliban were brought to a local seminary in Chagai from where they were being dispatched to their respective hometowns, a source in Chagai said. The local people identified the bodies, he said.
A large number of people were also injured in the battle but their identities were not known, he said.
Tribal sources living at the border said it was not possible to ascertain the casualties from the ISAF forces. But the number of Taliban and their sympathisers killed was said to be 20 or more.
Most of the dead Taliban belonged to Quetta, Naushki, Chagai, Kuchlak, Pishin and adjoining areas.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 28th, 2013.

More than 100 Taliban killed the past 2 days.

 

[nrupatunga]

@datguy79 You feel that taliban will be defeated and eliminated.Though am not optimistic about this, i hope you are correct. But do you really feel that once nato leaves a'stan, will the regime be percieved as a natural one and not a western implanted regime on a'stan. Hence greatly reducing the reason for people to join taliban.

 

[Daredevil]

How Sesame Street tones down for Afghanistan


Sesame Street Muppets Ernie (L) and Bert. —AFP (File) Photo

NEW DELHI: Indian and Afghan producers of children's TV favourite 'Sesame Street' are brainstorming in a New Delhi office, swapping tips on how to make Big Bird and his fluffy pals palatable to local viewers.

As the show makes India a satellite hub for production and training, it is a chance for the Afghan producers to tap into their Indian peers' six years of experience in balancing sensitivities within their own culturally and religiously diverse nation.

In doing so, the Afghans are working out how to avoid upsetting their own audiences in their quest to teach reading, writing and arithmetic in a conflict-torn country where only 50 per cent of children attend school.

"This is all the education they're getting," says Sayed Farhad Hashimi of the other half. Hashimi is an advisor to the Afghan show that launched in 2011 and is now heading into its second season as 'Bagch-e-Simsim' (Sesame Garden).

Hashimi notes that in his religiously conservative, warring country, the programme treads a fine line, and is unique as a show for young children there.

"Parents control the television and they're going to turn it off if they don't like what they see," he explains over cups of green tea in mugs emblazoned with 'Sesame Street' puppets.

"We don't want that to happen. We want it to be received well – in fact it's vital," he says, adding that the programme consults with the government and parents about content.

"In most places, schools aren't open, so we're reaching out to high-need areas."

'Sesame Street', which airs in countries from Pakistan to Tanzania to Turkey, insists its co-productions are not done to create positive attitudes toward the United States but to "foster positive attitudes" in children about themselves.

"The goal is to reach all children at the same time as accommodating local sensibilities," explains Ira Joshi, an education director of the Indian version of the highly popular US show, as the Afghans nod strongly in agreement.

Gender equity

On this afternoon, ideas fly thick and fast as the Afghans and the Indians, along with producers from the US parent show, work on a plot showing a seven-year-old girl learning Afghanistan's vigorous Attan national dance.

"We can get her to practise with her little brother," suggests Mina Sharif, the bubbly Canadian-Afghan producer of the Afghan show, which is funded by the US Department of State and broadcast four afternoons a week.

"We'll get the whole family involved – everybody will be clapping – even the grandfather," Sharif tells the session.

In the initial season, Afghan script writers feared parents might frown on encouraging children to dance – such activity is often seen as sexual in Afghanistan – so they got them to "exercise" instead. But these writers figure they've found a way round by getting all the family to participate while the brother partnering his sister will send a message of "gender equity" in a country where girl's rights are often severely curtailed.

"The boy's participation puts the gender part of it across," says Lilith Dollard, content specialist for the US Sesame Street, which has become a global entertainment powerhouse since its 1969 launch.

"Gender equity is a cross-cutting theme for all we do," says Dollard.

Acceptance of diversity

Gender equality is also an important buzzword for programme makers in India where girls are often undervalued, which results in them getting less food, medical attention and schooling than boys.

Promoting acceptance of diversity is another priority, with the Afghans introducing children in different provinces to each other and the Indian programme-makers doing the same.

"In India, we show a slice of a child's life in different parts of the country. We show what these kids have in common," says Joshi.

Both the Afghan and Indian programmes promote education with puppets wearing school uniforms to express the importance of education for both boys and girls. The Indian show features a gutsy girl muppet who says: "Stay in school, study, work hard – there isn't anything you can't do."

In Afghanistan, the programme sought to push the envelope a little last season. 'Sesame Street' viewers in Afghanistan include around one million three-to-seven-year-olds, but the actual number of watchers is much greater as whole families are clustered around the set.

"To show the experience of the first day at school, we had a little girl as role model, not a boy as might be the case – taken to the school by her father and mother," says Hashimi.

But the show's tried-and-tested formula of songs, letters and numbers presented by the vibrantly hued puppets is in abundance in both the shows.

"We don't want to overload the programme with messages – we want it to be fun," says Dollard.

-AFP

 

[datguy79]

@datguy79 You feel that taliban will be defeated and eliminated.Though am not optimistic about this, i hope you are correct. But do you really feel that once nato leaves a'stan, will the regime be percieved as a natural one and not a western implanted regime on a'stan. Hence greatly reducing the reason for people to join taliban.

As you can see from the recent news, Taliban CANNOT defeat the Afghan forces on the battleground. They can be defeated, as they were prior to 2006.

As for the regime, that all depends on who wins the elections in 2014. In the Afghan system, the president has way too much executive power; so he will be the key. I am hoping it will be a hard-line guy who does three things:

- puts more forces on the border and tries to secure it
- stops releasing taliban prisoners
- gets rid of the poppy crop and orders major operations countrywide to clear areas of insurgents

Honestly, I think people could care less if it is a western-type regime, as long as it can deliver jobs and a semblance of peace. Most people join the taliban because of the money, not to overthrow the government.

 

[nrupatunga]

As you can see from the recent news, Taliban CANNOT defeat the Afghan forces on the battleground. They can be defeated, as they were prior to 2006.

As for the regime, that all depends on who wins the elections in 2014. In the Afghan system, the president has way too much executive power; so he will be the key. I am hoping it will be a hard-line guy who does three things:

- puts more forces on the border and tries to secure it
- stops releasing taliban prisoners
- gets rid of the poppy crop and orders major operations countrywide to clear areas of insurgents

Honestly, I think people could care less if it is a western-type regime, as long as it can deliver jobs and a semblance of peace. Most people join the taliban because of the money, not to overthrow the government.

If taliban or haqqanis were just a paki prop up, it would have gone away a long time ago if there were no feeling/support from local afghans, Its not just by conducting few covert operations whereby ANA kills 10/20 or even 100 talibanis war on taliban can be won. The real failure of ANA(also of a'stan govt) is a taliban with ethnic afghans as a potent force on ground even after a decade. If people have "geniune" reasons for joining taliban even now means that, taliban will not just dissolve in thin air just like that.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On a different note also any idea why is insider attacks happening i.e. many afghan police/army men killing nato soldiers. This is not just stray 1-2 incidents, but "regular" as it happened many times.

 

[datguy79]

If taliban or haqqanis were just a paki prop up, it would have gone away a long time ago if there were no feeling/support from local afghans, Its not just by conducting few covert operations whereby ANA kills 10/20 or even 100 talibanis war on taliban can be won. The real failure of ANA(also of a'stan govt) is a taliban with ethnic afghans as a potent force on ground even after a decade. If people have "geniune" reasons for joining taliban even now means that, taliban will not just dissolve in thin air just like that.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On a different note also any idea why is insider attacks happening i.e. many afghan police/army men killing nato soldiers. This is not just stray 1-2 incidents, but "regular" as it happened many times.

But the Taliban did almost go away till 2006/2007. It wasn't till the ISI decided to expand their support for the group that their numbers rose again. and the only reason they haven't been decimated is the same reason why India hasn't been able to fully handle the fighters in Kashmir: they can just slip across the border. Taliban support among Afghans is limited. More than half of the battlefield dead are Pakistanis, not to mention that during the taliban regime almost all were Pakistanis.

Insider attacks happen for two reasons:

- Pretty much everyone was admitted to the police/army at one point, though the vetting has gotten tougher over the past year. So you can guess how easy it was for an infiltrator to slip by.
- The US/NATO soldiers typically do something to piss off the Afghans. This usually happens when they break a cultural norm (i.e. searching women). It is a high pressure environment and you never know who is going to lose their temper.

thankfully insider attacks have fallen off the past 6 months or so; since the US soldiers started to interact more with the commandos/special forces, who are carefully vetted and undergo years of training.

 

[nrupatunga]

But the Taliban did almost go away till 2006/2007. It wasn't till the ISI decided to expand their support for the group that their numbers rose again. and the only reason they haven't been decimated is the same reason why India hasn't been able to fully handle the fighters in Kashmir: they can just slip across the border. Taliban support among Afghans is limited. More than half of the battlefield dead are Pakistanis, not to mention that during the taliban regime almost all were Pakistanis.

If support for taliban is weak/limited, then why does the govt's writ runs mainly in metros and not vast rural areas( esp south and east). Also when you mean pakis, but aren't those 1st/2nd generation pathans who fled a'stan during soviet occupation. Now there are more pathans in pakistan than a'stan. There maybe other pakis as well but taliban is still a majority pathan militia, right???

A taliban which can raise millions of $$$ within a'stan cannot be termed as weak. This means it can sustain itself or atleast can't go broke.
Taliban raised $400 mln in 2011 from donations, extortion: UN

 

[datguy79]

If support for taliban is weak/limited, then why does the govt's writ runs mainly in metros and not vast rural areas( esp south and east). Also when you mean pakis, but aren't those 1st/2nd generation pathans who fled a'stan during soviet occupation. Now there are more pathans in pakistan than a'stan. There maybe other pakis as well but taliban is still a majority pathan militia, right???

A taliban which can raise millions of $$$ within a'stan cannot be termed as weak. This means it can sustain itself or atleast can't go broke.
Taliban raised $400 mln in 2011 from donations, extortion: UN

Short answer: because the government, and Karzai specifically, is too weak/indecisive and it reflects all the way down the chain of command. He even hampers the military's effort by releasing insurgents. Afghanistan needs a hardline leader and the rest will fall into place.

No, I actually meant Pakis, as in they have some sort of document(passport/national ID card) with them that identifies them as a citizen of Pakistan. Afghan refugees only get a refugee card.

 

[nrupatunga]

Last of NZ troops return home

 

[sdj]

Taliban announce start of spring offensive

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban have announced they will launch their spring offensive on Sunday, signaling plans to step up attacks as the weather warms across Afghanistan, making both travel and fighting easier.

The statement comes toward the end of a month that already has been the deadliest of the year.

The militant group's leadership vowed on Saturday that "every possible tactic will be utilized in order to detain or inflict heavy casualties on the foreign transgressors," including suicide attacks on military bases and diplomatic areas.

The leadership also threated more so-called insider attacks by members of the Afghan security forces against their colleagues or foreign troops. Such attacks threaten the strength of the Afghan forces as they work to take over responsibility from international troops. The latest one occurred in March, when a member of Afghanistan's government-backed militia program shot and killed five of his colleagues in Badghis province in northwest Afghanistan.

In a sign of Taliban's determination to replace Afghanistan's government with one promoting a stricter interpretation of Islamic law, they named their new offensive after a legendary Muslim military commander, Khalid ibn al-Walid. Also known as "the Drawn Sword of God," he was a companion of Islam's Prophet Muhammad.

news.yahoo.com/taliban-announce-start-spring-offensive-073230771.html

 

[ladder]

Karzai Urges Taliban To Fight Enemies Of Afghanistan

By RFE/RL
May 04, 2013

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has called on the Taliban to "turn their weapons" against those who "plot" against Afghanistan.

Speaking at a press conference on May 4, Karzai urged the militants to "stand with" Muhammad Qasim, an Afghan border policeman killed in a six-hour clash on the border with Pakistan earlier this week.

"On one side, Afghanistan is responsible for defending its soil but from the other side, Afghanistan is under attack from the side that uses the name of the Taliban," Karzai said.

"I want to repeatedly remind the Taliban to drop their weapons against Afghanistan's people and turn their shoulder and aim at where the hostility is coming from."

The incident on the Afghan-Pakistani frontier occurred over a border gate and checkpoint, recently installed by Pakistan near the Durand Line, a border drawn by the British in the 19th century.

Afghan officials said Afghan forces destroyed the border installations.

Karzai said Afghanistan "has never accepted" and "will never recognize" the Durand Line.

He said those behind such attacks seek to force Afghanistan to recognize the Durand Line.

He said those who attack Afghanistan "from the other side of the Durand Line" are against Afghanistan's progress and prosperity, and that they want to see Afghanistan "weak" and "disintegrated."

Both sides blamed each other for sparking the incident on the border in Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar Province. Pakistani officials said three of their soldiers were injured in the fighting, which ended early on May 2.

Kabul had repeatedly demanded that Islamabad remove the installations, saying they were on Afghan territory.

Pakistan views the Durand Line as an international border, which Afghanistan has consistently refused to recognize.

Karzai Urges Taliban To Fight Enemies Of Afghanistan

 

[nrupatunga]

US forces start packing up in afghan. Source

Between missions, marines broke their remote firebase down to the nails and plywood. They were going home. Derstine's commanders explained that this was not your usual "RIP" or swap-out with a follow-on unit. (In the military RIP stands for "Relief in Place" – not "Rest In Peace").

This was nothing less than the end of an era – U.S. Marines had been active in Helmand since the spring of 2008, when a pre-surge Marine company inserted by helicopter into the Taliban stronghold of Garmser.

By July this year, Afghan forces will be in charge of security throughout the country. And by the end of 2014, U.S. Marines will be out of Afghanistan and back at their home bases.

 

[nrupatunga]

American general: 'Not feasible' to completely destroy the Taliban in Afghanistan

 

[Raj30]

Zubair, the scion of a legendary Afghan military family, graduates from NDA - Indian Express

A decade-and-a-half ago, his legendary uncle had stood like a rock against the waves of Taliban fundamentalism sweeping through his motherland. On Friday, Ahmad Zubair Massoud, nephew of Ahmad Shah Massoud, earned his first formal military qualification — and vowed to put it to use in a manner that the Lion of Panjshir himself would have applauded.

Soon after Zubair graduated from the National Defence Academy (NDA), his sister Nilofar tweeted Friday, "Congrats to the youngest member of our family @ZubairMassoud to graduate from the military academy!" Zubair's bio on his own Twitter profile reads, "Currently studying in the National Defence Academy, India. Soon to be an Officer in the ANA Afghan National Army".

As the US pulls combat troops out of Afghanistan by the end of 2014, Zubair will be ready to be commissioned into the country's national army as second lieutenant, carrying forward a hallowed family legacy. Between now and then, he will take advanced lessons in military training from a finishing academy either in India or in Afghanistan.

In many ways, Zubair's destiny as a military man was pre-decided at birth in the Massoud-Rabbani family in 1989. "Though I was very small, I grew up hearing stories of the bravery of my uncle Ahmad Shah Massoud. His armed opposition to the Taliban has been my inspiration to take up the profession of arms," Zubair said.

Zubair's father Ahmad Zia Massoud, who was vice-president of Afghanistan in the first government of President Hamid Karzai, added, "My brother was a national hero. His life has been the main inspiration for my son."

Ahmad Shah Massoud was a central figure in the Afghan resistance against Soviet occupation, and later became the political and military commander of the Northern Alliance which fought against the Taliban in the late nineties. He was assassinated by al-Qaeda suicide bombers two days before the 9/11 attacks on the US.

 

[MLRS]

The recent few weeks have been hectic, with the Taliban trying to show off their "strength".

* May 24, Kabul. An attack on International Organization for Migration. Few injuries among their personnel, one Nepali guard and an off-duty cop died, all attackers killed by police. It has become hard for the Taliban to hit important targets in Kabul. Talibs claimed it was a CIA training site...

* May 29, Panshir. Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and Taliban jointly launch an assault on the governor's compound. Casualties: all 6 militants, 1 policeman and damage to the building. Not very successful on the Taliban's part.

* May 29, Jalalabad. The Red Cross is attacked. One unarmed guard is killed, and later all Taliban by the police who took no casualties. All workers were rescued. Today the spokesman of the Taliban denies they were behind it (lies, of course). Question remains, why the Red Cross?

 

[datguy79]

This is distressing:

Pak Army&ISI Operatives disguised as Taliban roaming around n villages of Wardak Pro saying r here 2 hunt Indian soldiers.AFG Newspaper

 

[TrueSpirit]

This is distressing:

Pak Army&ISI Operatives disguised as Taliban roaming around n villages of Wardak Pro saying r here 2 hunt Indian soldiers.AFG Newspaper

Well, this is an age-old proven technique of "counter-intelligence" in the realm of espionage. RAW & MI also specialize in infiltrating extremist/secessionist groups.

This weaken these groups from within (by exposing their plans/hideout's /organization hierarchy/funding/safe-havens/sponsors/communication links etc.), from outside (by alienating the local population) & eventually, they are eliminated, by playing one group against the other.

One example: Hizb-ul-Mujahiddin vs. JKLF & other splinter groups. & the tactics of erstwhile RAW chief : AS Daulat