In this bulletin:

• 60 Taliban Fighters Confirmed Drowned While Fleeing Afghanistan Government Forces
• Boat sinks in Afghanistan; 60 dead, including Taliban
• Fifteen Taliban, NATO Soldier Killed in Afghanistan Clashes
• Northern Afghanistan attack leaves 15 dead
• RC-East ambush deadly for two ISAF personnel
• 3 children die after playing with explosive device
• Bicycle-borne IED injures Afghan child
• Gates Arrives in Afghanistan to Check on Anti-Taliban Campaign
• US DEFENSE CHIEF URGES HELP FOR AFGHANISTAN
• Gates seeks extended deployment of S. Korean troops in Afghanistan
• Military planning Iraq pullout within a year, focus on Afghanistan
• Luxembourg assures continued support for Afghanistan
  Afghan FM met his Luxembourgian Counterpart
• Deputy Foreign Minister met with the Chief of Mission of the IOM
• Blair's anti-Iran accusations lack political value: Hosseini
• No Iranian weapons in Afghanistan ‎
  Strong, stable, peaceful Afghanistan in interest of region: Musharraf
• Afghanistan President Branded Weak By Own Advise
• Iraq-style Bombing Seen In Afghanistan
• Taliban using IRA bomb techniques in terror war
• Taliban's new top commander vows to liberate Afghanistan from 'American slavery'
• Taliban warn civilians of big Afghan offensive
• Two Guantanamo captives face tribunals for second time
• Afghanistan from female view brutal, but characters real

60 Taliban Fighters Confirmed Drowned While Fleeing Afghanistan Government Forces

June 3, 2007 8:51 a.m. EST Komfie Manalo - AHN News Writer

Kabul, Afghanistan (AHN) - The Afghan defense ministry on Sunday confirmed that 60 Taliban fighters were killed when the boat they were using to flee pursuing government forces, sank in the Helmand River.

Defense ministry spokesman General Mohammad Zahir Azimi said some 60 Taliban militants were seen boarding a makeshift boat Friday to escape a military offensive launched by Afghan security forces, according to media reports.

Azimi said Sunday, "According to reports we received, all of them onboard were Taliban and were killed. They were running from our troops to safe places across the river."

Besides the new Helmand operation, troops from the Afghan army, NATO's International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Special Forces had last week started new campaigns in Kandahar and Ghazni provinces, Azimi said.

"These operations are aimed at providing security in the area so the reconstruction can take place," he said in the capital Kabul.

Joint military offensives launched by coalition forces in Afghanistan intensified this year. But the Taliban teamed up with foreign fighters and opium traders, and also stepped up their attacks despite the death of its top commander, Mullah Dadullah last month.

A spokesman for the Taliban called on Afghans Sunday to stay away from foreign military bases and convoys and warned of fresh attacks on troops.

Zabihullah Mujahed, Taliban spokesman said," We call on Afghans to stay away from foreign forces because a big (Taliban) operation is due to be launched. This will include ambushes, suicide attacks and roadside explosions."

"If any civilian gets hurt, it'll be their responsibility."

Meanwhile, Taliban militants killed Nimatullah, district chief of Gomal in eastern Paktika province. Nimtullah was kidnapped by the insurgents days ago, according to media reports.

Paktika provincial governor Akram Khapalwak said Nimatullah was abducted by Taliban insurgents on Friday. His body was found in Khawja Omari district in the neighboring Ghazni province on Saturday, Ghazni police chief Alishah Ahmadzai said.

In an implied warning to others, a Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi said Taliban fighters killed the district chief because of his cooperation with the government.

Copyright © AHN Media Corp - All rights reserved.

Redistribution, republication. syndication, rewriting or broadcast is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AHN.

Boat sinks in Afghanistan; 60 dead, including Taliban

USA Today - Jun 02 11:17 PM

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A boat sank while crossing a river in Afghanistan's most dangerous province, killing about 60 Taliban fighters and civilians, officials said Saturday. Elsewhere, 34 other suspected Taliban were killed during a military operation.

The boat sank as it was crossing the Helmand River, which snakes through southern Helmand province, the world's leading opium poppy region and site of fierce battles the last several months. Hundreds of Taliban insurgents are believed to be in Helmand.

The Afghan army was investigating to see how many Taliban insurgents and civilians were on board, the Defense Ministry said in a statement. It did not say what caused the boat to sink.

A ministry spokesman, Gen. Zahir Azimi, said that Afghan troops saw the boat sink from a military helicopter, suggesting that those on the boat may have been involved in a battle.

On Sunday, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said in a statement that one of its service members and a translator were killed and seven troops were wounded when their convoy was ambushed in eastern Afghanistan.

The convoy was attacked with small arms and rocket propelled grenades Saturday in the east. The statement did not give any details about the location or the nationalities of the casualties.

Meanwhile, 34 suspected Taliban fighters were killed in gunbattles during the past two days in Helmand province's Kajaki district, near where a U.S. helicopter went down on Thursday. The crash killed five Americans, a Canadian and a Briton.

An Interior Ministry statement said four Taliban group commanders were among the 34 killed. The Defense Ministry said two Afghan soldiers were killed and two wounded in the operations.

Suspected Taliban militants also attacked a local police commander's home Saturday, killing five of his family members and sparking a gunbattle with police that left 10 insurgents dead, an official said.

The attack in the southeastern province of Ghazni killed the commander's wife, two sons and two nephews, said Interior Ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashary. The commander worked for Afghanistan's auxiliary police, a system of backup officers who supplement the country's regular police force.

The attack came a day after Taliban fighters targeted the home of a police official in the eastern province of Paktia. That assault led to a gunfight which left six insurgents dead.

Taliban militants often target police and government officials. More than 1,900 people have been killed in insurgency-related violence in Afghanistan this year, according to an Associated Press count based on U.S., NATO and Afghan officials.

At a rally in Pakistan, meanwhile, a man described as the Taliban's new top field commander vowed in an audiotaped message to liberate Afghanistan from "American slavery," said Abdul Sattar Chishti, the cleric who organized the event.

Chishti said more than 12,000 people listened to the speech by the brother of Mullah Dadullah, the top Taliban commander who was killed in a U.S. operation last month in southern Afghanistan.

He said Dadullah Mansoor vowed to avenge his brother's death and those of others killed while fighting U.S., NATO and Afghan forces.

"The blood of my brother will never go waste. We will never forget his sacrifices, and the role of other martyrs. We will complete Dadullah's mission by expelling Americans and liberating Afghanistan," Chishti quoted Mansoor as saying.

Although pro-Taliban elders have held similar rallies in northwestern tribal regions, protests the size of the one organized in Killi Nalai are rare.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Fifteen Taliban, NATO Soldier Killed in Afghanistan Clashes

Pakistan Times Wire Service June 03, 2007

KABUL (Afghanistan): Suspected militants ambushed a NATO convoy in eastern Afghanistan, killing two members of the alliance and wounding seven troops, while 15 suspected militants were killed by police, officials said Sunday.

The convoy was attacked with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said. It said a service member and a translator were killed.

In eastern Khost province, militants attacked a police checkpoint in Yaqubi district on Saturday and the ensuing clash left 12militants dead, a statement from the Interior Ministry said.

Also Saturday, police clashed with Taliban militants in neighbouring Paktika province's Shakin district, leaving three suspected insurgents dead, said spokesman for the governor.

A foreign military convoy, meanwhile, opened fire on a civilian vehicle attempting to overtake it in Khost, killing a young girl yesterday, said a spokesman for the provincial police chief.

Officials with NATO and the U.S.-led coalition, which both operate in the area, could not immediately confirm the incident.●

Northern Afghanistan attack leaves 15 dead

Published: Saturday 2, June 2007 - 13:10

Suspected Taliban militants attacked a local police commander's home early today, killing five of his family members and sparking a gun battle with police that left 10 insurgents dead, an official said.

The attack in the south-eastern province of Ghazni killed the commander's wife, two sons and two nephews, said Interior Ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashary. The commander worked for Afghanistan's auxiliary police, a system of backup officers who supplement the country's regular police force.

Other auxiliary police called to the scene battled the insurgents, killing 10 of them, Bashary said.

The attack came one day after Taliban fighters targeted the home of a police official in the eastern province of Paktia. That assault led to a gunfight that left six insurgents dead.

Taliban militants often target police and government officials. More than 1,900 people have been killed in insurgency-related violence in Afghanistan this year.

RC-East ambush deadly for two ISAF personnel

ISAF/NATO: Release # 2007-417 3 June 2007

KABUL, Afghanistan (June 3) – An ISAF civilian interpreter and an ISAF servicemember were killed June 2 when their convoy was ambushed around noon in Regional Command East.

Seven other ISAF servicemembers were wounded by the small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades. The wounded have been medically evacuated to ISAF medical facilities. Their conditions are unknown at this time although none are considered life threatening.

“Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the servicemember and the civilian who were killed and those who were injured in yesterday's attack," said Lt. Col. Maria Carl, ISAF spokesperson.

In accordance with NATO policy, ISAF does not release a casualty’s nationality prior to the relevant national authority doing so.

3 children die after playing with explosive device

ISAF/NATO: Release # 2007-416 2 June 2007

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Jun 2) – Three Afghan children died earlier this evening in the upper Geresk Valley of Helmand province after playing with an explosive device when it detonated.

Afghan National Army soldiers brought the children to the ISAF base outside Sangin for help. Two of the children were pronounced dead upon arrival, while one survived long enough to receive advanced medical care.

The injured child was moved by helicopter to nearby Camp Bastion where he achieved the full attention of ISAF medical staff.

Regrettably, the injuries from the explosive device were too severe. The child died of his wounds.

Bicycle-borne IED injures Afghan child

ISAF/NATO: Release # 2007-415 2 June 2007

KABUL, Afghanistan (June 2) – Extremists detonated a bicycle-borne improvised-explosive device which injured an Afghan child June 1 in the vicinity of a mosque at a bazaar in Deh Rawod, Uruzgan province.

The child suffered a foot injury. ISAF troops from Camp Hadrian responded to the attack. The child’s parents brought the child to the ISAF military facility for medical attention.

“ISAF medical teams will treat anyone in need of immediate medical care, including local civilians, whether they were harmed by insurgents or in some other way,” said Lt. Col. Angela Billings, ISAF spokesperson.

The IED strike was at a busy bazaar on Thursday afternoon, close to one of the town’s mosques. Local shopkeepers were also among those injured by the blast.

Gates Arrives in Afghanistan to Check on Anti-Taliban Campaign

By Ken Fireman June 3 (Bloomberg) -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Afghanistan today on an unannounced visit to check on the progress of the U.S.-NATO military effort against the Taliban.

Speaking with reporters on the way to Kabul, Gates said his impression was that the campaign was achieving success. He said he wanted to meet with Afghan and U.S. officials to make sure the effort remained on track.

``I think actually things are slowly, cautiously, headed in the right direction,'' Gates said. ``I'm concerned to keep it moving that way.''

Gates said one of his chief concerns was whether there is sufficient coordination among the many nations and non- government organizations that are participating in the effort to stabilize Afghanistan.

``We have 42 countries and 12 NGOs out here, and I want to find out if there's anyone really creating an overall strategy or coordinating their activities, so they can make the best possible use of the resources,'' Gates said.

Gates said he planned to meet with Afghan President Hamid Karzai as well as U.S. diplomats and military commanders during his visit.

The U.S. invaded Afghanistan in late 2001 to topple the Taliban regime that had given sanctuary to al-Qaeda. U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces are now battling to shore up Karzai's government in the face of a Taliban push to regain control of the country.

US DEFENSE CHIEF URGES HELP FOR AFGHANISTAN

6/03/07 A EurasiaNet Partner Post from RFE/RL

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has urged greater international cooperation on Afghanistan, Central Asia, and Iran, and expressed concern over China's military buildup.

Speaking today at an Asian security forum in Singapore, Gates also warned that chaos in Iraq is likely to embolden extremists around the globe. He used the podium in Singapore to warn of a host of security concerns, chief among them Afghanistan.

The Pentagon chief urged Asian nations to do more to ensure that Afghanistan does not slip back into chaos. He said that the risks there, which also include rising terrorism, extend to neighboring nations in Central Asia as well:

"I would urge others to step forward with assistance to Afghanistan in the areas of governance, reconstruction, and counternarcotics," Gates said. "It is clear that Afghanistan and its newly independent neighbors in Central Asia face steep obstacles as they strive to make the transition into prosperous, secure, and fully sovereign nations."

Gates also said some Asian states could send more military trainers to cope with the terrorist threat, adding, "The rest of Asia has a large stake in making sure Central Asian nations are equipped to deal with this threat."

His message about cooperation and burden sharing was similar to one he delivered to European allies earlier this year.

But it marked a shift in tone from his predecessor, Donald Rumsfeld, who used the same event in Singapore last year to confront China over lack of transparency on its military buildup.

By contrast, Gates said that while Washington was worried about the "opaqueness" of Beijing's military spending, he also chose to strike an optimistic chord with regard to U.S.-China ties:

"We are concerned about the opaqueness of Beijing's military spending and modernization programs -- issues described in the annual report on the Chinese armed forces recently released by the U.S. government," he said. "But as General Peter Pace, our chairman of the joint chief of staffs, pointed out, there is a difference between capacity and intent and I believe there is reason to be optimistic about the U.S.-China relationship."

A recently released Pentagon report highlighted concern over China's military enlargement and weapons development. But a top Chinese general, also speaking in Singapore, said Washington need not be concerned about China's growing military spending.

Lieutenant General Zhang Qinsheng said China's increased military spending was needed to cover higher salaries and pensions, new uniforms, new military schools, and logistics. He also said that China and the United States would finalize talks in September on setting up a military hotline between their two armies as a major step to improve trust.

Meanwhile, Gates renewed U.S. pressure on Iran over its nuclear program, urging the world community to unite behind tougher sanctions on Tehran.

"The reality is that because of the way that Iran has conducted its affairs, we really don't know and it puts a higher premium, it seems to me, on the international community to come together in terms of strengthening the sanctions on Iran so they begin to face some serious trade-offs in terms of their economic well-being and future for having nuclear weapons," Gates said.

In Madrid on June 1, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also warned against "muddying the message" on Iran. She said Iran needed to hear "loud and clear" that it has to comply with UN resolutions and suspend uranium enrichment, a process the West fears Tehran could use to make nuclear weapons.

Rice's comments came after Muhammad el-Baradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, warned on June 1 against what he called the "new crazies" advocating military action to halt Iran's nuclear program. He said that he did not want to see another war like that in Iraq.

Instead, el-Baradei urged Western powers to consider allowing Iran limited enrichment that he said would pose no weapon-proliferation risk. The Western powers have rejected his proposal.

Gates seeks extended deployment of S. Korean troops in Afghanistan

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on Saturday asked South Korea to extend the stationing of its troops in Afghanistan as the scheduled time for their withdrawal nears.

A National Assembly resolution requires the pullout of about 60 medics of the Dongui unit and 150 engineers of the Dasan unit at the end of this year. As part of the U.S.-led coalition, the troops have been operating in Afghanistan since 2002 to help with the reconstruction of the war-torn country.

"My understanding is that the National Assembly has placed a restriction on the amount of time that the Korean contributions stay there," Gates told reporters after a half-hour meeting with his South Korean counterpart, Kim Jang-soo, on the sidelines of the Sixth Asia Security Summit.

"We discussed this. I asked for reconsideration, particularly with the Republic of Korea's representation in Afghanistan and its participation in the provincial reconstruction teams."

His answer was a bit confusing for reporters, as it came in response to a question on the future of South Korean troops in Iraq.

Seoul plans to lay out a timetable this month for the withdrawal of the 1,200-strong Zaytun division stationed in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil. Zaytun means olive in Arabic.

"I will let the minister speak for himself. But I think he understands our desire," Gates said.

A senior South Korean defense official requesting anonymity said that the secretary's comments were in reference to the future of Korean troops in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

The South Korean defense chief standing next to Gates, however, gave no comments on the matter.

Asked about the other main topics discussed, Kim said the allies shared an understanding on the use of their joint funds for maintaining U.S. troops on Korean soil to relocate U.S. bases.

The use of joint funds is expected to fuel criticism that the U.S. is trying to pass more of the financial burden of realigning its armed forces to South Korea.

Under a 2004 agreement, the U.S. is required to foot the bill for the move of its soldiers north of Seoul -- mainly the Second Infantry Division -- to a remodeled base south of Seoul, while South Korea is supposed to pay for the relocation of the Yongsan Garrison, located in the central part of the capital.

Separately from the base relocation project, South Korea has been contributing a huge amount of money for the stationing of about 30,000 American troops on the peninsula through irregular talks about splitting the cost.

As recently as last December, Seoul agreed to pay 725.5 billion won (US$790 million) to Washington next year and the same amount in 2008, with an adjustment for inflation under the Special Measures Agreement (SMA).

The money is earmarked for spending in three main fields -- labor costs for South Korean employees of the U.S. Forces Korea, the purchase of logistics and supplies, and the construction of military facilities.

The U.S. has been under criticism from South Korean civic groups that it is inappropriately trying to use SMA funds for the relocation of the Second Infantry Division, for which Washington is supposed to pay the cost.

"I expressed understanding on the U.S. position on the issue," Kim said.

During his talks with Gates, Kim also asked for the U.S. to facilitate the supply of military parts and equipment, and Gates promised working-level consultations on the matter, according to his spokesman, Col. Kang Yong-hee.

Seoul's efforts to procure U.S. military equipment as early as possible has gained more urgency amid reports that almost half of its F-16 fighter jets imported from the U.S. are grounded due to faulty parts. Officials say it takes up to 18 months for South Korea to receive some parts.

Meanwhile, Kim tried to defend the rather disappointing outcome of inter-Korean Cabinet-level talks that ended on Friday with little progress reported.

"The word 'collapse' was coined by the media," he said. "I think it is meaningful itself that a window for further talks remains open."

The inter-Korean dialogue ruptured due to the North's demand for the provision of rice, which Seoul wants to link with the progress of the six-way talks on Pyongyang's nuclear program.

Kim emphasized that it is unavoidable for Seoul to provide a minimum amount of humanitarian aid to Pyongyang in light of its economic troubles and the difficulties of its people.

"I would like to state that Korea's efforts to enhance inter-Korean relations and the humanitarian aid it provides to North Korea remains flexible under the larger framework of resolving the Korean nuclear threat and establishing peace on the peninsula," he said.

He asked the international community Saturday to be more patient in trying to resolve the prolonged standoff over North Korea's nuclear program, and said the security situation on the Korean Peninsula remains stable, despite the crisis.

"The process of denuclearizing the Korean peninsula will move forward stably when all parties to the talks embrace a patient and cooperative posture in managing the North Korean nuclear issue," he said.

The minister said South Korea will set up its own missile defense shield starting next year, with a low-altitude missile defense system to be introduced first.SINGAPORE, June 2 (Yonhap News)

Military planning Iraq pullout within a year, focus on Afghanistan

Sat Jun 2, 11:12 PM ET

Military chiefs are preparing to withdraw troops from Iraq within 12 months in order to concentrate on Afghanistan, The Sunday Telegraph said citing a senior military official.

A new timetable that would see a complete unilateral British withdrawal from Iraq by next May will be presented to incoming prime minister Gordon Brown within weeks of him taking over from Tony Blair on June 27, said the newspaper.

Under Blair, the government has consistently maintained that any pullout of troops in Iraq should be dictated by events on the ground, not a timetable.

But the broadsheet said Brown will be told by defence chiefs that London should withdraw from Iraq in "quick order" so as to bolster efforts to beat Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan.

"Britain is not physically capable of fighting wars in Afghanistan and Iraq at the same time," the unnamed senior military official told the weekly.

"The question is: which do we give up? The government and the defence chiefs have decided that we should give up Iraq.

"There is an agreed timetable, a glide path, which will see a complete unilateral withdrawal in 12 months."

However, many senior officers believe Iraq is strategically more important to Britain's interests than Afghanistan and the plan has not met with their approval, said the newspaper.

"There is a belief within the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and government that success is easier to measure in Afghanistan and that makes it more attractive," the official said.

"Though it is clear to many, both in the US and the British armed forces, that Iraq is strategically far more important than Afghanistan, there is no popular support for the war in Iraq. I think history will show that this was the wrong choice.

"At the most senior level in the MoD, the decision has been taken that Britain should be 'investing' in Afghanistan rather than Iraq, and that is the advice that will be given to Gordon Brown."

Troop numbers in Iraq are being scaled down from 7,100 to 5,500 this year. British forces are based around the main southern city of Basra.

Meanwhile there are more than 6,000 troops in Afghanistan, mostly in the restive south, a figure set to increase to around 7,700 over the year.

A source close to Brown told The Sunday Telegraph: "Gordon has made clear that we will continue to meet our commitments to our allies and to the Iraqi people.

"All decisions on troop deployment will continue to be made according to our operational objectives -- not political timetables."

Meanwhile an unnamed minister with close links to Brown told the newspaper that the chancellor would not be "foolish" and would be "ultimately be guided by the views of the military commanders.

"Our withdrawal schedule can be altered."

Luxembourg assures continued support for Afghanistan
KABUL, June 2 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Luxemburg has reiterated its continued support for reconstruction activites in Afghanistan.

The assurance came during a meeting between Defence Minister of that country Jean-Louis Schiltz and his Afghan counterpart Abdul Rahim Wardak here on Saturday.

Briefing journalists on the meeting, Defence Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Zahir said the visiting dignitary assured of his country's continued support to Afghanistan.

The two ministers discussed security situation and reconstruction activities in the country, said the spokesman, who added Luxembourg would continue assisting Afghanistan on the two fronts.

Accompanied by a senior-level delegation, Louis Schiltz also met his country's soldiers. Luxemburg has contributed 10 soldiers for the NATO's peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, an agreement, under which Luxembourg will provide $1.4 million to the Afghan government to help reduce mortality rate among women, was also signed on Saturday.

Minister for Public Health Dr Muhammad Amin Fatimi and Defence Minister Jean-Louis Schiltz inked the agreement.

Speaking to journalist, Fatimi said the amount would be spent in the remote Dai Kundi, Faryab and Badakhshan provinces.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) had also provided $200,000 for the purpose in those provinces, the minister informed.

Luxembourg had pledged seven million US dollars for reconstruction in Afghanistan so far.
Abdul Qadir Siddiqi/Mustafa Basharat

Afghan FM met his Luxembourgian Counterpart

MoFA: Posted On: Jun 02, 2007

Afghan Foreign Minister, Dr. Spanta met the visiting Luxembourgian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister HE Jean Asselborn and discussed with him latest developments in Afghanistan. Referring to the Afghanistan Compact, the Afghan Minister reiterated Afghanistan’s full commitment to the full implementation of the compact. He also highlighted the important role of the long-term commitment of the international commitment to enable Afghanistan to overcome its multitude of problems. On his part, Mr. Asselborn expressed his country’s readiness to remain engaged in Afghanistan. He also fully endorsed Minister Spanta’s vision for Afghanistan to become a bridge between the Islamic world and the west and stated the EU’s readiness to help Afghanistan towards realizing this vision. In the end he congratulated Minister Spanta for his excellent representation of Afghanistan on the international stage as the Afghan Foreign Minister and wished to see him continue to perform this duty in such critical time for the country.

Deputy Foreign Minister met with the Chief of Mission of the IOM

MoFA: Posted On: Jun 02, 2007

H.E Mohammad Kabir Farahi, the Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs met with the Chief of Mission of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Mr. Fernando Arocena earlier today.

Both sides discussed the IOM’s short term and future plans to assist returning Afghan refugees from Pakistan and Iran.

This meeting served as a follow up to the recent meeting that H.E. Mr. Farahi and Mr. Brunson McKinley, Director General of IOM held in Islamabad.

Blair's anti-Iran accusations lack political value: Hosseini

AOP: Tehran, June 3, IRNA

Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said here Saturday evening that the recent baseless accusations made by British Prime Minister Tony Blair on alleged Iran-Taliban cooperation and the issue of terrorism are politically worthless.

Referring to "defeat" of coalition forces in their military expedition to Afghanistan and Iraq, he reiterated that public opinion reaction in Britain and other world countries proved Blair's wrong approach.

As to the British colonial policies in Afghanistan in the past decades, he said London's approach during occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq had no result other than destruction, insecurity and homelessness of people.

Presence of Britain and other occupying powers in the region on the pretext of fight against terrorism and smuggling of narcotic drugs but aimed at plundering the regional natural resources, had reverse outcome, Hosseini reiterated.

He further said such moves by the occupying forces only resulted in escalation of terrorism, insecurity and drug smuggling.

The British government and military forces have reached agreement with the Taliban in Afghanistan's Musa Qala district (in Helmand Province), he said stressing that the support by London and its allies for growing production of illicit drugs in Afghanistan has sparked the concern of the Afghan government.

The meaningful presence of the British forces in the region, their implicit and explicit support for the Taliban, and providing the terrorist groups with weapons and money have resulted in unprecedented insecurity in Afghanistan and nearby regions as well as the massacre of a large group of innocent people in southeastern Iran, Hossein further said.

Blair's persistence to follow his failed policies in Afghanistan and Iraq and London's full support for the Zionist regime have only resulted in further complicating the regional situation, he emphasized.

The Islamic Republic of Iran hopes that the future British government would have more understanding of the existing realities in the region, particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan and that it would take steps toward restoration of real security and stability to the region.

No Iranian weapons in Afghanistan ‎
Press TV (Iran) Sun, 03 Jun 2007 19:11:58
Afghan Defense Ministry has rejected allegations by the US that Iran is providing weapons to armed-groups in the war-torn country.

General Mohammad Zaher Azimi, a spokesman for the ministry, told reporters on Sunday that no documented reports by the official sources had ever confirmed any such allegations, IRNA news agency reported.

His comments were directed at the recent accusations by the United States that Iran's military weapons have been handed over to the insurgent Afghan groups, which are at war with the foreign troops.

Iran has repeatedly dismissed the allegations as unfounded and baseless.

Strong, stable, peaceful Afghanistan in interest of region: Musharraf

Editor’s Note: (with material from Reuters) Daily Times, June 03, 2007

ISLAMABAD: President Gen Pervez Musharraf has said that Pakistan and Afghanistan must work together to bring peace to the region and defeat terrorism and extremism.

Gen Musharraf, speaking to members of the Pakistan and Afghanistan jirga commissions here at Aiwan-e-Sadr on Saturday, said that the Joint Grand Jirga Commission in August would play a key role in removing misunderstandings between the two countries, and he would make a speech at the jirga meeting. Federal Interior Minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao led the Pakistani Jirga Commission while Pir Syed Ahmad Gillani led the Afghan Jirga Commission during talks between the two on Saturday.

The heads of both delegations apprised the president about the decisions taken at their meeting and the agenda for the proposed joint jirga to be held in the first week of August in Kabul, sources in Awan-e-Saddar told Online. On the occasion, the interior minister formally invited Gen Musharraf to address the joint jirga, which he accepted. The president lauded the role of the Pak-Afghan jirga commissions, saying that terrorism cannot only be defeated through force. “We should not close the door of negotiation. All options should be used for peace. Both Pakistan and Afghanistan are victims of the menace of terrorism,” Gen Musharraf said.

He said the joint jirga would aim to eradicate terrorism from the region and strengthen relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan. He hoped the jirga would also play a key role in resolving tensions and problems between the two countries regarding illegal movement of militants at the border and repatriation of Afghan refugees.

He reiterated that a stable and developed Afghanistan was not only in the best interest of Pakistan but for all of South Asia, and Pakistan was playing its role in bringing peace in Afghanistan.

He informed the delegation of his meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Ankara and said the process of meetings must continue. Gillani, head of the Afghan Jirga Commission, told the president that the Afghan government wants to establish brotherly relations with Pakistan. Afghanistan cannot forget the role Pakistan is playing in bringing peace and its grant for the development of Afghanistan, he said. He said there was “complete understanding” between members of the Pak and Afghan jirga commissions, which would help make the joint jirga a success. Pakistan and Afghanistan set up a joint technical committee to make arrangements for holding the joint jirga, an official statement said. online

Afghanistan President Branded Weak By Own Advise

Published: June 03, 2007 13:32h

Afghan President Hamid Karzai is a weak his senior security adviser told a local newspaper at the weekend.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai is a weak, foreign-influenced leader whose government would not last even a week if Western troops left the country, his senior security adviser told a local newspaper at the weekend.

The comments, in the Payame Mujahed weekly, are another sign of the political difficulties facing Karzai, under growing pressure to improve conditions in the country as a resurgent Taliban step up attacks on government and Western forces.

"But it is a reality that Mr Karzai is both under pressure of foreigners and also the team or group they have inside Afghanistan," Mohammad Qasim Fahim was quoted as saying.

Some 50,000 foreign troops under NATO and U.S. military command are stationed in Afghanistan.

A government spokesman did not make any immediate comment.

The Washington-backed Karzai has been leading Afghanistan since U.S.-led forces and local Afghan militias, including one under Fahim, removed the Taliban from power in 2001.

Fahim served as defence minister and first deputy to Karzai until he was dumped in 2004 during the country's first direct presidential elections, which Karzai won.

Karzai appointed him last year as his senior security adviser to help deal with a rise in Taliban attacks. But relations between the pair remained strained, and Fahim became a member of a newly formed party dedicated to cutting the president's powers.

Other members of the group, the National Front, are first vice-president Ahmad Zia Masood, several cabinet ministers and Mohammad Yunus Qanuni, head of the lower house of parliament.

Most front figures are former factional members and Fahim's allies.

In the interview, Fahim said government ties with the parliament were hostile and termed Karzai a weak leader.

"The basic problem of Mr Karzai, with regard to government's affairs, is lack of his management concerning the current situation of the country," Fahim said.

An ethnic Tajik, Fahim said he never had the chance to advise Karzai and that his advisory post was a symbolic one.

He said the interim and transitional administrations Karzai had headed after the Taliban's ouster represented all tribes in Afghanistan. The current administration did not, he added.

"Mr Karzai unfortunately... formed a one-sided government the result of which is the country's current crisis," the weekly quoted Fahim as saying.

"And (formed) a weak government and with no programme... If today the foreigners desert Afghanistan... then it will be seen for how many days the national army of Mr Karzai will resist?"

"Nothing will remain stable even for a week," Fahim said, warning the president would not overcome the difficulties unless he took on board "personalities of all the tribes".

Iraq-style Bombing Seen In Afghanistan

By Associated Press Published on 6/3/2007 in Home »Nation, World »National News

Kabul, Afghanistan (AP) — A powerful and sophisticated type of roadside bomb prevalent in Iraq but not seen before in Afghanistan was discovered near a university in Kabul last week, prompting a rare countrywide warning to NATO and Afghan troops.

The bomb, known as an EFP, or explosively formed projectile, was notable for its level of sophistication and similarity to those seen in Iraq, said Maj. John Thomas, a spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force.

NATO officials say they don't know where the bomb came from.

“The kind that we're talking about is machined. It has to be fabricated to pretty certain specifications ... by somebody who knows what he's doing,” Thomas said.

Thomas said there was no evidence to suspect a certain manufacturer, nation or even region as the source. He said Iran or al-Qaida elements in Iraq or Pakistan were all possibilities.

NATO sent out a warning to international and Afghan troops to watch out for EFPs. The warning, shown to The Associated Press by a security official who asked not to be named because it is an internal document, said the sophisticated bomb was found May 26 near a Kabul university. It said lesser-quality EFPs were found in Herat, near the Iran border, in April.

Thomas confirmed that NATO issued the warning, saying the rare Afghanistan-wide message showed it was concerned.

“The guys who are working counter-IEDs (improvised explosive devices) are professionally alarmed in the sense they were hoping they wouldn't see these” in Afghanistan, Thomas said. “I don't think people are completely overwhelmed by the idea, because we knew it was a pretty good possibility.”

Military officials and analysts say Taliban militants have long copied Iraqi insurgents' tactics, but suicide and roadside bombs here have never been anywhere near as deadly or sophisticated as those in Iraq, where armor-piercing EFPs have killed hundreds of U.S. soldiers.

U.S. military officials have been saying for months that Iran, a Shiite country, has been supplying EFPs to Shiite militias in Iraq, despite strong denials by Tehran. U.S. officials say EFPs also have been found in Sunni weapons caches in Iraq. The Taliban are primarily Sunni.

Small arms weapons with Iranian markings have been discovered in Afghanistan over the last few months, though NATO's top commander, Gen. Dan McNeill, has said there's no proof of Iranian involvement.

A NATO official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject said there was “real concern” about the possibility of advanced weapons moving over the Afghan-Iranian border — saying it “would change the game quite significantly” here because of the higher level of technology.

Iran's ambassador to Afghanistan, Mohammad R. Bahrami, said he “strongly denies” any allegations that Tehran is helping arm the Taliban.

Bahrami told the AP on Thursday that Iran wants stability in Afghanistan, saying it benefits his country's security. He also said Iran hasn't forgotten when the Taliban killed 11 Iranians in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif in 1998, suggesting Iran has no reason to help the hardline militia.

“We strongly deny the rumors that Iran is supporting opposition groups to the government of Afghanistan,” he said.

Bahrami said Iran believes “some of the countries that like to increase these kinds of rumors want to find some kind of cause for their unsuccessful activities.”

He did not name any nation directly, but said one had supported a failed peace agreement in Musa Qala in Helmand province between local elders and Taliban fighters, a clear reference to Britain. Taliban fighters stayed out of the town for several months after the agreement last fall, but broke the pact in February and have occupied the town since.

He also mentioned the increase in drugs in southern Afghanistan. Opium poppy cultivation is booming in Helmand province, where British forces are located.

The top U.S. military spokesman in Afghanistan, Lt. Col. David Accetta, said Iranian weapons are likely in the country as a result of decades of war in the region, and that he hadn't seen any evidence Iran was sending in new weapons.

“There's a lot of Russian weapons here, but that doesn't mean Russia is flying them in packing crates,” he said.

Taliban using IRA bomb techniques in terror war

AOP: Irish Independent (Ireland) Sunday June 03 2007 JIM CUSACK

TERRORIST bomb techniques perfected in Ireland by IRA engineers and electronics experts have spread to theTaliban in Afghanistan, and the Irish Defence Force's unique know-how in dealing with the devices is being shared with peace-keeping forces there.

A senior Army Ordnance Corps officer has been appointed head of training in bomb-disposal techniques with the 5,000-strong International Security Assistance Force. One of seven Irish soldiers in Afghanistan, he is in charge of training the NATO-led forces and the Afghan National Army and police in dealing with the developing threat of improvised bombs.

Devices and bombing techniques almost identical to those used by the Provisional IRA in the North have reached Afghanistan via Al-Qaeda in Iraq who, in turn, learned the same techniques from other Middle Eastern terror groups such as the PLO and Hizbollah who trained with the IRA in Lebanon.

Among the techniques that have already been used in the war-torn region include the "proxy bomb", used to devastating effect in the North in October 1990 when a kidnapped catering worker, Patsy Gillespie, was forced to drive a van bomb to the British Army checkpoint on the Border outside Derry.

Since last year several "vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices" (VBIEDs) have been used in Afghanistan, having been used widely before in Iraq. In March this year one such bomb was detonated outside Jalalabad next to a convoy of US Embassy officials, injuring five officials. In January last year another such attack killed 21 civilians in Kandahar Province.

Until recently all such attacks have been simply defined as suicide bombings, but more recently the NATO forces have discovered that, as in the North, the drivers are often forced to transport the bombs after their families have been held hostage. They are deceived into thinking they simply have to park the vehicle and leave it to detonate but, instead, the bomb is detonated by remote control by bombers following in another car.

Another technique developed by the IRA that has spread half way across the World to Afghanistan is that used to kill 18 British soldiers at Narrow Water, outside Warrenpoint in County Down, in August 1979. A "primary" landmine killed several soldiers in a passing lorry, then the bombers waited as medics and other soldiers moved in to their aid, detonating a second bomb hidden on the other side of the road. The same technique was passed on to Hizbollah who used it against the Israeli Defence Forces during the 1980s and 1990s. NATO forces have also found an increasing number of similarities in the bomb-making techniques of the Taliban who are trying to seize control of the troubled country and re-impose Sharia government.

The Army Ordnance Corps officer in charge of training both the NATO and Afghan National Army in countering these attacks warned last week that the tactics and technology being used by the Taliban was becoming even more deadly. "We'll see an increase in the technology," he told a training course in Kabul last week.

A Defence Forces spokesman yesterday said the army ordnance officer was one of eight Irish officers currently serving in Afghanistan. Ordnance officers are not named because of the sensitive, high-risk nature of their work.

Taliban's new top commander vows to liberate Afghanistan from 'American slavery'

By Abdul Sattar ASSOCIATED PRESS 3:07 a.m. June 2, 2007

QUETTA, Pakistan – A man described as the Taliban's new top field commander has vowed to liberate Afghanistan from “American slavery,” a pro-Taliban cleric said Saturday.

Dadullah Mansoor made the remarks in an audiotape played Friday at a rally at Killi Nalai, a village about 45 miles west of Quetta near the Afghan border, said Abdul Sattar Chishti, the cleric who organized the event.

He said more than 12,000 people listened to the speech by the brother of Mullah Dadullah, the top Taliban commander who was killed in a U.S. operation last month in southern Afghanistan. It was not immediately possible to verify Chishti's claims.

He said Mansoor vowed to avenge his brother's death and those of others killed while fighting U.S., NATO and Afghan forces.

“The blood of my brother will never go waste. We will never forget his sacrifices, and the role of other martyrs. We will complete Dadullah's mission by expelling Americans and liberating Afghanistan,” Chishti quoted Mansoor as saying.

He said Mansoor also asked youths to participate in holy war against infidels as emotional participants chanted slogans in favor of Taliban chief Mullah Omar and al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Pakistan is a key ally of the United States in its war on terror. It has deployed about 90,000 troops in its northwestern tribal areas to flush out remnants of the Taliban, al-Qaeda and their local supporters.

Although pro-Taliban elders have held similar rallies in northwestern tribal regions, protests the size of the one organized in Killi Nalai are rare.

Pakistan used to be a main supporter of the hardline Taliban militia before switching sides to join the U.S.-led war against terrorism following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in America. A U.S.-led invasion in Afghanistan ousted the Taliban government.

But Afghan and some Western officials have said Pakistan is providing Taliban militants with shelter, allowing them to launch attacks against Afghan government and coalition forces.

Pakistan denies the charges, and says it has done all it can to curb militancy .

Two dead in convoy ambush in Eastern Afghanistan

Caroline Franks Sunday, June 3, 2007

A convoy ambushed in Eastern Afghanistan yesterday has left a Nato service member and a translater dead.

Seven troups were also injured in the attack.

No details have been released on where the attack occured or the nationalities of the victims but NATO says the convoy was hit with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades.

Afghan officials are also reporting gunbattles in the southern province of Kajaki district over the last few days has resulted in the death of 34 suspected Taliban.

That's close to the area where Canadian Master Corporal Darrell Priede along with 6 others were killed when their U-S helicopter went down on Thursday.

Most of the two thousand Canadian troups in Afghanistan are based in the country's southern Kandahar province.

Taliban warn civilians of big Afghan offensive

AOP: Sun Jun 3, 7:47 AM ET

KABUL (Reuters) - The Taliban will stage a "massive" operation against Western troops in Afghanistan and civilians must stay away from them in order to avoid casualties, a spokesman for the group said on Sunday.

After the traditional winter lull, followed by last year's bloodiest fighting since the Taliban's ouster in 2001, the militants have stepped up their attacks in recent months against Afghan and foreign troops led by NATO and the U.S. military.

Foreign forces have already warned civilians to avoid their military convoys in the face of rising Taliban suicide attacks against them. These attacks have resulted in a series of mistaken killings of non-combatants by the foreign troops.

The Taliban's warning was issued through their military council, a Taliban spokesman told Reuters by phone from an undisclosed location.

"For the safety of civilians' lives, we ask all the Muslim and Afghan nation to (do) their best to keep (their) distance from occupying forces' convoys, bases and concentration areas," said Zabihullah Mujahid.

More than 5,000 people have been killed in Taliban raids and operations by foreign forces in the past 16 months, more than 1,200 of them civilians.

Most of those killed have been Taliban, say Afghan and foreign commanders. But scores of foreign troops and hundreds of Afghan forces have also been killed.

An Afghan employee of a U.S. security firm became the latest victim of a Taliban attack on Sunday, killed in an ambush in the south of the country.

On Saturday, a NATO soldier and a civilian interpreter were killed when the Taliban ambushed their convoy in an eastern area of Afghanistan, the alliance said on Sunday.

Seven other NATO soldiers were wounded by small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades, it added.

Two Guantanamo captives face tribunals for second time

AOP: By Jane Sutton

MIAMI, June 3 (Reuters) - Osama bin Laden's driver will again face a U.S. war crimes tribunal at the Guantanamo naval base on Monday, nearly a year after his Supreme Court challenge succeeded in scrapping the first tribunal system.

A young Canadian captured in a firefight in Afghanistan at age 15 also is scheduled for a second arraignment on Monday in a courtroom at the remote U.S. naval base in eastern Cuba.

Both were arraigned in the original version of the tribunals, which were aborted by the court's ruling, and now they face additional charges. The potential penalty for the men is the same -- life imprisonment.

Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a Yemeni national, is accused of driving bin Laden, delivering ammunition and acting as a bin Laden's bodyguard but has denied being a member of al Qaeda.

Canadian Omar Khadr, now 20, is accused of killing a U.S. soldier with a grenade and injuring another in a battle at a suspected al Qaeda compound in Afghanistan.

Both are charged with conspiracy and providing material support for terrorism. Khadr also is charged with murder, attempted murder and spying, for allegedly conducting surveillance of U.S. military convoys in Afghanistan.

Hamdan was the first captive to appear in 2004 before the original war crimes tribunal created by U.S. President George W. Bush to try terrorism suspects at Guantanamo. He won a landmark ruling last year that struck them down as illegal.

Bush pushed through Congress a new version that he said was vital to "help keep the country safe."

Military defense lawyers said the new tribunals are as flawed as the old because they allow the use of evidence gathered through coercion and retroactively charge defendants for acts that were not illegal when they were committed.

The U.S. Supreme Court declined in April to hear Hamdan's and Khadr's challenge of the new system and said the trials must take place before they can appeal.

Prosecutors will ask on Monday to seal some of the evidence against Khadr. Last week Khadr fired his U.S. lawyers because he no longer trusted them and will ask that his Canadian civilian lawyers be allowed to defend him.

"You have a military judge, a military lawyer, a military jury all assessing Mr. Khadr's guilt and innocence for an action he's alleged to have acted against the military. Seems a bit one-sided to me," said one of the Canadian lawyers, Dennis Edney.

Critics call the tribunals an ad hoc legal system that follows neither U.S. military nor civilian law, nor the international laws of war established under various treaties. The United States has designated the 380 Guantanamo prisoners as "enemy combatants" undeserving of protections granted prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions.

But if Khadr was a combatant, the laws of war do not allow him to be charged with killing a U.S. soldier in a battle during which he himself was shot by a U.S. soldier, said David Glazier, a former Navy officer and military law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.

"The U.S. believes the law of war allows us to hunt him down and kill him but if he does anything to defend himself then he's a murderer, essentially a deer," Glazier said. "All he can do is die if we shoot him."

In fact, the U.S. military patched up Khadr after shooting him, according to a soldier who survived the firefight.

But if Khadr and Hamdan are not combatants, they should be charged in the regular U.S. federal courts with providing material support to terrorism, Glazier said. Khadr also could be charged there with murdering a U.S. citizen overseas, he said.

"We're sort of trying to have it both ways," Glazier said.

Conspiracy has never been recognized as a war crime, nor have Hamdan's alleged actions, he said.

"Nobody ever suggested prosecuting Hitler's chauffeurs even though they had commission ranks as SS officers," Glazier said.

Afghanistan from female view brutal, but characters real

Sunday, June 03, 2007 VERONICA KENNEDY

If only Mariam and Laila had seen the Kabul that 17th-century poet Saib-e-Tabrizi wrote about:

Every street of Kabul is enthralling to the eye

Through the bazaars, caravans of Egypt pass

One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs

And the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls

If only.

Kabul is anything but beautiful in Khaled Hosseini's sophomore novel. In his follow-up to "Kite Runner," Hosseini fearlessly shows life in Afghanistan from the female perspective.

It is brutal.

The title of the novel comes from Saib-e-Tabrizi's poem that praises the beauty of Kabul. That was before the Soviets came. That was before the Taliban came. That was when Afghan women could study and walk the streets and laugh.

In Hosseini's novel, Mariam and Laila are women from two generations who are thrown together due to a series of tragic incidents. Mariam is the illegitimate offspring of a housekeeper and her wealthy employer. Laila is the daughter of a university-educated man who dotes on her and a mentally ill mother who practically ignores her. They both wind up married to the same abusive, middle-aged shopkeeper; neither of them want the union, but circumstances force it upon them.

"Women like us. We endure. It's all we have," Mariam is told time and time again by her mother.

Mariam must do just that - endure - when she returns from a disastrous visit to her father's house to find her mother hanging lifeless in the doorway. The 15-year-old is overwhelmed with sorrow and guilt; a few days later, she is married to Rasheed, the shopkeeper.

Growing up, Laila experiences a different perspective.

"You're a very, very bright girl. Truly you are. You can be anything that you want," Laila hears from her father.

She finds out he is mistaken, that women may be bright, but in the world that is Afghanistan, they cannot be anything but long-suffering wives and mothers if they wish to continue breathing.

When Mariam rebels and is put on trial, she is told by a Taliban judge that "God has made us different, you women and us men. Our brains are different. You are not able to think like we can. Western doctors and their science have proven this."

Hosseini writes powerfully about women living in a helpless situation who hang on by a strand of hope.

Technically, the novel is almost flawless. Hosseini is a masterful writer who creates unforgettable characters and realistic situations. Historically accurate events serve as the backstory, teaching readers a bit of modern history and helping them understand that the destruction in cities like Kabul doesn't just topple buildings and kill people: It destroys homes, and the husbands, wives and children who live in them.

Veronica Kennedy is a copy editor for The Birmingham News. Her e-mail address is vkennedy@bhamnews.com.

[Disclaimer: The content of this news bulletin does not necessarily reflect the view or policy of the Afghan Government, unless specifically stated as such. The collection of articles and commentaries from Afghan and international news sources is provided for informational purposes, and accuracy of the news is the responsibility of the original source.]