Afghanistan

BBC News: Soldier 'threw back hand grenade'

A British soldier has described how he picked up a Taliban hand grenade which landed at his feet and threw it back towards the enemy. Caroline Wyatt reports for BBC News.

Rifleman James McKie was on a tiny rooftop in Sangin. He and two of his platoon could hear the bullets fired by the Taliban below bouncing off the roof.

The 29-year-old soldier had just finished firing back when the grenade thrown by the insurgents bounced off his platoon commander and landed just a foot away from him.

Continues at: news.bbc.co.uk - Soldier 'threw back hand grenade'

Al Jazeera: Afghan fighters surrender in north

Fighters from Hizb-e-Islami, an armed Afghan group, have surrendered to authorities in the northern Baghlan province.

About 70 members handed over their weapons following a two-day long battle with the Taliban.

The two groups, who were once allies, fought against each other over control for farmland.

The surrender comes after the leader of Hizb-e-Islami recently said the group is seeking to co-operate with the government as its relations with the Taliban worsen.

Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel Hamid reports from the Baghlan province.

From AlJazeeraEnglish on YouTube

AP: Afghan president to host April peace conference

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Monday that an action plan to reintegrate low- to mid-level insurgent fighters into society and negotiate with the Taliban's top echelon will be crafted next month at a peace conference aimed at ending the war. Rahim Faiez reports for Associated Press.

Karzai has already extended the government's offer to members of the Taliban who renounce ties to al-Qaida and other terrorist networks and agree to embrace the Afghan constitution. Karzai is finalizing details of a plan to offer jobs, vocational training and other economic incentives to tens of thousands of Taliban foot soldiers willing to switch sides.

Continues at: hosted.ap.org - Afghan president to host April peace conference

NATO: President Karzai Visits Marjah

Afghan President Hamid Karzai went to the former Taliban stronghold of Marjah, where he met with residents, listened to their concerns and told them that theyd soon see positive change.

From natochannel123 on YouTube

Channel 4 News: Succumbing to the idea of staying longer

Trooper Pete Sheppard, from the Brigade Reconnaissance Force, writes from Afghanistan while he finds that his unit will be spending more time on the ground than originally thought.

Trooper Pete Sheppard is a radio operator with the Brigade Reconnaissance Force (BRF), which is part of Operation Moshtarak against insurgents in Helmand province.

This morning we found out that the brigade want to extend our time on the ground. There were mixed feelings about this.

On the whole though it's a good thing as it just makes the time we have left on the ground go quicker. We are also going to be going into Lashkar Gah at some point for 12 hours so we can have a shower, use a proper toilet, get some clothes washed, eat some hot food and get some supplies from the shop there. The food there is immense.

Continues at: channel4.com/news - Succumbing to the idea of staying longer

Reuters: Gates in Kabul - dark days ahead but grounds for hope

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, on a visit to Afghanistan on Monday, cautioned against over-optimism, warning of "dark days" ahead despite grounds for hope on the battlefield.

Gates, on his first Afghan trip since President Barack Obama's surge of 30,000 troops began arriving in the country last December, said NATO forces had made gains recently, including a push to take control of the Taliban stronghold of Marjah.

Continues at: uk.reuters.com - Gates in Kabul - dark days ahead but grounds for hope

Al Jazeera: Karzai pledges to rebuild Marjah

Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan's president, has pledged to rebuild the southern Afghan town of Marjah following a NATO-led operation to take control of the area from the Taliban.

Karzai visited the former Taliban stronghold in southern Helmand province on Sunday, in his first trip to the town since US, Nato and Afghan troops launched a major military offensive in the region in February.

He met with about 300 local elders in a mosque in central Marjah, where he urged them to support his government in return for security and reconstruction projects.

Continues at: english.aljazeera.net - Karzai pledges to rebuild Marjah

ISAF: President Karzai makes landmark visit to former insurgent stronghold

Afghan President, Hamid Karzai, made a landmark visit to the former insurgent stronghold of Marjah in Helmand province on Sunday, 7 March 2010. The President arrived in Marjah to be greeted by local Afghan National Security Forces, Provincial and District Government official, local elders and community representatives. This is the first time an Afghan President or King has visited the area which, just a few weeks ago, was under the control of insurgents.

Continues at: isaf.nato.int - President Karzai makes landmark visit to former insurgent stronghold

BBC News: Blasts 'kill 12' in Afghanistan's Badghis province

At least 12 people have been killed by two roadside bombs in the north-western Afghan province of Badghis, police say.

The first blast hit a vehicle, killing 10 civilians. The second bomb exploded nearby shortly afterwards, killing two people in their vehicle, police said.

Unconfirmed reports say the second blast killed at least one policeman.

Meanwhile, there was an explosion and gunfire in the eastern town of Khost. Officials said security forces had surrounded at least two gunmen.

Continues at: news.bbc.co.uk - Blasts 'kill 12' in Afghanistan's Badghis province

BBC News: Pakistan suicide bomb attack kills 13 in Lahore

At least 13 people have been killed in a suicide bomb attack in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore, police say.

More than 60 others were injured when an explosives-laden car targeted a building housing an anti-terrorist wing of the federal investigative agency.

The amount of explosives was so large it brought down the two-storey building, correspondents say.

Continues at: news.bbc.co.uk - Pakistan suicide bomb attack kills 13 in Lahore

The Times: 79 dead after rival Afghanistan insurgent groups clash

Bloody clashes between competing factions of Afghanistan’s insurgency left up to 79 people dead, officials said today, including 19 civilians in a lawless part of the country beyond the reach of government or NATO forces. Jerome Starkey reports from Kabul for The Times.

Fighting in a remote stretch of Baghlan province, in northern Afghanistan, broke out on Saturday, local police said, and continued through the weekend — although it was not clear what triggered the violence.

Most of the dead were fighters aligned with Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a warlord once bankrolled by America during the anti-Russian resistance, the provincial police chief Mohammad Kabir Andarabi said.

Continues at: timesonline.co.uk - 79 dead after rival Afghanistan insurgent groups clash

Telegraph: Villagers trapped between Taliban and Pakistan's war machine

The battle to drive insurgents from the Swat Valley has left refugees fearing they may never return home. Nick Meo reports from Pakistan's North West Frontier province for The Daily Telegraph.

When the Pakistani Army began moving its tanks and artillery for a major offensive against the Taliban in the area around the Swat Valley, Miraj Khan found himself caught between two foes.

The farmer had been praying for deliverance from the black-turbaned gunmen for months, but liberation did not come quite as he hoped. When army shells came crashing into his village last week, he was forced to cram his family and possessions into a van and flee from the path of his would-be rescuers.

Continues at: telegraph.co.uk - Villagers trapped between Taliban and Pakistan's war machine

Mail on Sunday: Saving soldier X

It was one of the most complex military logistical and medical operations ever undertaken – and it saved the life of a young British soldier critically injured in Afghanistan. Peter Almond reports for The Mail on Sunday.

It involved hundreds of doctors, air and ground crews of several nations, travelling many thousands of miles, revolutionary and experimental medical equipment, several planes and helicopters and communications between three continents and cost millions of pounds.

For months, details of the massive operation to save one man’s life have been shrouded in secrecy. The injured soldier was not shot by the Taliban but was almost certainly wounded accidentally at his camp near Sangin in Helmand province in late July last year.

Continues at: dailymail.co.uk - Saving soldier X

Telegraph: Marines have won Marjah battle and now fight for hearts and minds

US Marines have put the Taliban to flight and are moving to a tough new phase in their Afghan battle: winning over farmers. Ben Farmer reports from Marjah for The Sunday Telegraph.

Backed by a force of several thousand US Marines, Colonel Brian Christmas had fought his way into the Taliban stronghold of Marjah with mercifully few casualties.

But as he sat on a grimy straw mattress last Friday to chat to the town's newly-liberated residents, "Operation Back to School" refused to unfold quite as smoothly.

Continues at: telegraph.co.uk - Marines have won Marjah battle and now fight for hearts and minds

Independent: Army launches investigation - Corrupt Afghans stealing millions from aid funds

Money that is supposed to help impoverished civilians and farmers is ending up in the hands of the Taliban, drug lords and profiteers. Jonathan Owen reports for The Independent.

A major investigation has been launched into contracts awarded by coalition forces in Afghanistan that are worth hundreds of millions of pounds. The probe into construction and logistics contracts of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has been ordered by Major General Nick Carter, commander of ISAF forces in the south of the country.

It is prompted by mounting concerns that the very money supposed to win over the hearts and minds of Afghans is ending up in the hands of the Taliban, drug lords or profiteers.

The British commander's concern is part of a wider crackdown on corruption, with General Stanley McChrystal having declared war on those making millions out of what has become a billion-dollar black hole for aid funds, in an anti-corruption directive issued last month.

Continues at: independent.co.uk - Army launches investigation - Corrupt Afghans stealing millions from aid funds

WSJ: In Afghanistan, NATO denounces an ally

The US-led effort to flush the Taliban from a stronghold in southern Afghanistan—the first test of the new surge strategy to turn the tide of the war—has been dealt a setback by a dispute over the personal history of the man chosen by the Afghan government to run the town. Michael M Phillips, Matthew Rosenberg and Peter Spiegel report for The Wall Street Journal.

The top allied commander in southern Afghanistan says coalition officials in the past two weeks have been told that the new administrator of Marjah, Abdul Zahir, served four years in a German prison for assault.

Behind closed doors, Western officials have been pressing Afghan officials to have Mr Zahir removed from his post, which he assumed last month after thousands of US Marines and Afghan soldiers fought their way into the Taliban-held town, say other coalition officials.

Continues at: online.wsj.com - In Afghanistan, NATO denounces an ally

Daily Mail: Courage or madness? What drives the extraordinary soldiers who become bomb disposal experts?

With The Hurt Locker tipped for Oscar glory, Tony Rennell - who has met countless heroes from different wars - says there is a terrifyingly fine line between bravery and thrill-seeking recklessness.

The atmosphere of violence, fear and suspicion is as oppressive as a thunderstorm. On every corner and in every face, there is a potential threat.

Bombs can be buried in the mounds of litter that strew the fetid streets; in cars whose suspension sags under the weight of Semtex plastic explosive in the boot; beneath the clothing of any civilian walking your way, their hand outstretched in welcome  -  or to trigger a suicide waistcoat jammed with gelignite?

Continues at: dailymail.co.uk - Courage or madness?

Guardian: Turkey threatens 'serious consequences' after US vote on Armenian genocide

Turkey has threatened to downgrade its strategic relationship with the US amid nationalist anger over a vote in the US Congress that defined the mass killings of Armenians during the first world war as genocide. Robert Tait and Ewen MacAskill report for The Guardian.

Barack Obama's administration, which regards Turkey as an important ally, was today desperately seeking to defuse the row. It expressed its frustration with the House of Representatives' foreign affairs committee, which voted 23-22 yesterday in favour of a resolution labelling the 1915 massacre of up to 1.5 million Armenians a "genocide".

A furious Turkey may now deny the US access to the Incirlik air base, a staging post for Iraq, as it did at the time of the 2003 invasion, or withdraw its sizeable troop contribution to the coalition forces in Afghanistan.

Continues at: guardian.co.uk - Turkey threatens 'serious consequences' after US vote on Armenian genocide

FT: US civilians battle to help Afghanistan

Matthew Green reports for the Financial Times.

Each morning this winter, Haji Abdul Jabar has packed a flask of home-brewed green tea for work. It's not frugality; he's trying to avoid being poisoned. You can't be too careful: before leaving the house, he also straps a Smith & Wesson 9mm handgun into a holster secreted in the depths of his robes. Seized with occasional fits of passion, Jabar has been known to whip out the gun during meetings. He may be jumpy, but tactics like this are not entirely out of place in his line of work: as district governor, the 65-year-old has an unenviable task – of wresting the Arghandab River Valley, one of the most dangerous places in Afghanistan, from the Taliban.

Viewed from the roof of Jabar's district headquarters, the sweep of the valley is at once beautiful – bleakly majestic – and charged with menace. A distant range of low, dun-coloured hills defines the valley's opposite flank. Orchards of pomegranate trees, their branches stripped bare by the cold, line the banks of a river meandering across the valley floor, dividing the east side of Arghandab from the west.

Continues at: ft.com - US civilians battle to help Afghanistan

Reuters: Suicide bomber kills 12 in Pakistan

A suicide bomber attacked a convoy of civilians guarded by security forces in Pakistan's northwest Friday, killing at least 12 people and wounding 30, police said. Hassan Mehmood reports from Hangu, Pakistan, for Reuters.

Suicide bombings have eased in recent weeks but it is not clear whether that is because security has improved after military gains against the Pakistani Taliban or if the insurgents are merely regrouping for more attacks.

Continues at: uk.reuters.com - Suicide bomber kills 12 in Pakistan