In this bulletin:

• General: U.S. airstrikes killed Taliban
• Suicide bombing injures 4 in S. Afghanistan
• Taliban ambush of coalition convoy in Afghanistan leaves 2 dozen dead
• Britain names soldier killed in Afghanistan
• Deadly clashes bode ill for relatively peaceful area in north Afghanistan
• Police open fire on violent protest in Afghanistan .
• Afghan National Police detain Taliban cell leader in Ghazni Province
• Taliban releases 3 Afghan aid workers, announces move against foreign and government forces
• Securing and stabilizing Afghanistan
• Afghanistan, Pakistan To Meet For Border Security Talks
• Harper's visit to Afghanistan shows much work still to be done
• Broader international effort needed for Afghanistan: Canadian FM
• Afghanistan mission defines Harper, Canada
• Iran for development, security in Afghanistan
• Afghanistan steps up poppy field eradication .
• 14 Arrested in Spain on Terror Charges
• 2004 Crash in Afghanistan Highlights Gaps in U.S. Control Over Flights
• Slain radio operator was keen to see battle
• Friends learn to cope as 'perfectionist' dies in Afghanistan
• Provincial govenor of Pakita donates land to 26 injured deminers

General: U.S. airstrikes killed Taliban

Associated Press / May 28, 2007 By CHARLES J. HANLEY, AP Special Correspondent

A U.S. AIR BASE, Southwest Asia - The regional U.S. air commander stands by initial reports that American airstrikes killed scores of Taliban in two western Afghan villages in recent weeks — not 72 or more civilians, as Afghan officials and other witnesses say.

Air Force Lt. Gen. Gary North, chief of the Central Command's air component, noted that investigations into the attacks, in Herat province on April 27-29, and Helmand province on May 8, are still under way.

When asked whether he believes 136 suspected Taliban were killed in the Herat attacks, as reported by the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan at the time, North said, "I've not seen anything that would determine otherwise."

Regional officials of the U.S.-allied Afghan government said on May 2 that the Herat attacks killed at least 51 civilians, including women and children. Villagers later told reporters no Taliban were present, and villagers themselves had fired on the Americans after the troops raided their homes and shot two old men dead.

In Helmand, the coalition said a "significant" number of militants died in the air attacks. But the provincial governor said at least 21 civilians died in the bombing, which he said occurred after militants sought shelter in village homes.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, reacting to the continuing civilian deaths in U.S. air and ground operations, said on May 2 his government could "no longer accept" such casualties. On May 8, the Afghan parliament's upper house adopted a resolution calling for a military cease-fire and negotiations with the Taliban.

In an Associated Press interview late Sunday, North said he had not seen the eyewitness reports that those killed by his Central Command planes were civilians.

Since the 2001 anti-Taliban invasion, Afghans have repeatedly protested large-scale killings of civilians in coalition air attacks.

Richard Bennett, the U.N. human rights chief in Afghanistan, on Monday pressed insurgents and Afghan and international forces to avoid combat in populated areas, saying the U.N. tally of civilian deaths had climbed to as many as 380 in the first four months of this year.

The number of bombs dropped in Afghanistan has far surpassed the number in Iraq in recent years. Some suggest it's because there are too few U.S. ground troops in Afghanistan and the target areas are far removed from the eyes of the international media. North disagreed, saying the Afghan enemy is more easily identified than the insurgents in Iraq, and often comes in larger groups.

"What we see in Afghanistan more often is not the single or four or five insurgents, but larger numbers — 10 or 20 or maybe 30," he said. "We have seen upwards of 100 people on a trail, and so to affect that target area sometimes we'll drop more than one munition. For taking down an enemy compound, we may put nine bombs on the compound."

He said his pilots often decide against dropping bombs in combat because "there's a very deliberate checklist, which includes our lawyers, which sit side by side with us in the (command center)," making judgments on the suitability of targets under the laws of war.

The general was interviewed his headquarters base. As a condition for visiting the base, journalists are required by the Air Force to withhold the identity of the host country, because of local political sensitivities to the U.S. presence.

Bennett, chief of human rights for the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, said in Kabul that the U.N. has counted between 320 and 380 civilians killed in military operations and militant violence in the first four months of the year. He said the issue of civilian deaths by U.S. or NATO troops is complex and "difficult to disentangle."

"In some cases, people are said to be Taliban by one side and claimed to be civilians by the other," he said. "Many Afghans have weapons in their homes, and they may protect their homes. They might not be Taliban. On the other hand, they might be Taliban or other insurgents."

Suicide bombing injures 4 in S. Afghanistan

A suicide blast wounded four persons in Kandahar province of southern Afghanistan on Saturday, the police said.

A suicide bomber attacked a police vehicle in Kandahar city, the provincial capital, injuring three policemen and one civilian, Asis Khan, a policeman at the blast site told Xinhua.

The bomber's body was still lying on the ground, and the police vehicle was partly damaged, he added.

Kandahar province is the birthplace and a stronghold of the Taliban movement, where a lot of insurgency and violence occurs.

Due to rising Taliban-linked insurgency, over 1,600 persons, most of whom were Taliban militants, have been killed in Afghanistan this year.

Source: Xinhua

Taliban ambush of coalition convoy in Afghanistan leaves 2 dozen dead

Monday, May 28, 2007 KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Taliban militants ambushed U.S.-led coalition and Afghan forces escorting supply trucks in southern Afghanistan, sparking a 10-hour battle the coalition said killed an estimated two dozen militants, though villagers said Monday seven civilians also died.

In the north on Monday, a demonstration against a northern governor, meanwhile, left at least seven dead and 31 injured after gunfire broke out between police and protesters, while a suicide bomber targeted foreigners in a four-wheel drive vehicle, killing two Afghan civilians and wounding two others, officials said.

The southern violence began Sunday when an Afghan police and coalition convoy hit two roadside bombs and was ambushed by Taliban fighters while escorting 24 supply trucks in Helmand province, a coalition statement said Monday. The blast killed one Afghan truck driver and wounded three coalition soldiers, it said.

Militants then launched rocket propelled grenades and small arms fire, and the ensuing 10-hour clash and airstrikes killed "an estimated two dozen enemy fighters," it said.

The coalition said "one enemy fighting position" was destroyed, and that "no Afghan civilian injuries were reported."

But Abdul Qudus, a villager from Helmand's Gereshk district, told The Associated Press by phone that airstrikes hit a civilian area.

"They came and bombarded the houses of innocent people. Three houses were destroyed. Seven people — including women and children — were killed, and between 10 and 15 were wounded," Qudus said. "Villagers are still searching for five missing people."

Another villager, Abdul Wahid, said the airstrikes struck 10 miles away from the convoy ambush site on the main highway.

There was no way to verify the claims of either the coalition or the villagers at the remote battle site. Taliban fighters often seek cover in civilian homes, where they fire on U.S. and NATO forces, leading those homes to be targeted.

The U.N. on Monday said it had counted between 320 and 380 civilians killed in military operations and militant violence in the first four months of the year.

Civilian deaths have been an ongoing point of contention between the government of President Hamid Karzai and U.S. and NATO forces. Though the foreign troops say they do everything they can do avoid civilian casualties, an estimated 135 civilians have been killed this year due to U.S. or NATO military action, according to an Associated Press count based on numbers from U.S, Afghan and U.N. officials.

In northern Kunduz, a suicide bomber targeted foreigners in a four-wheel drive vehicle, but they were unhurt in the blast, said Kunduz provincial police chief Gen. Ayub Salangi. Two civilians in a nearby car were killed, he said.

Provincial health department director Azizullah Safer said two other civilians were wounded.

Northern Afghanistan is usually relatively quiet, but Kunduz has seen a spate of violence in recent months. The last suicide attack nine days ago killed three German soldiers and seven civilians in a busy market.

Violence has picked up sharply in Afghanistan the last several weeks. More than 1,800 people have been killed in insurgency-related violence this year, according to the AP count.

A purported Taliban spokesman said Sunday that the group has launched a new operation targeting government and foreign forces.

"In this operation, we will target our enemies and use our tactics — suicide bombs, remote-controlled (roadside bombs) and ambushes — against occupying forces and the government," Qari Yousef Ahmadi said by satellite phone from an undisclosed location.

In the northern province of Jawzjan, at least seven people were killed and 36 injured when gunfire broke out between police and more than 1,000 protesters demanding the resignation of the provincial governor.

Demonstrators threw stones at police and some hid guns under burqas they were wearing, said Nimatullah, a witness who goes by one name.

Six people died at the hospital and 36 people suffered gunshots wounds, said Kimya Azizi, the chief of the hospital of Shibarghan, the capital of Jawzjan province. She said at least one person died at the protest site.

"The city is paralyzed. We still hear shooting out in the street," she said by telephone.

Rohalla Samon, the governor's spokesman, said the protesters were supporters of powerful northern strongman Abdul Rashid Dostum.

Samon said they tried to take down the Afghan flag and a picture of President Hamid Karzai at the governor's compound and put up a flag of Dostum. Three police were among the injured, he said.

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

KABUL (AP) - Taliban militants ambushed U.S.-led coalition and Afghan forces escorting supply trucks in southern Afghanistan, sparking a 10-hour battle the coalition said killed an estimated two dozen militants, though villagers said Monday seven civilians also died.

In the north, a suicide bomber targeted foreigners in a four-wheel drive vehicle Monday, killing two Afghan civilians and wounding two others, officials said.

The southern violence began Sunday when an Afghan police and coalition convoy hit two roadside bombs and was ambushed by Taliban fighters while escorting 24 supply trucks in Helmand province, a coalition statement said Monday. The blast killed one Afghan truck driver and wounded three coalition soldiers, it said.

Militants then launched rocket-propelled grenades and opened up with small-arms fire and the ensuing 10-hour clash and air strikes killed "an estimated two dozen enemy fighters," the coalition statement said.

The coalition said "one enemy fighting position" was destroyed and "no Afghan civilian injuries were reported."

But Abdul Qudus, a villager from Helmand's Gereshk district, said by phone that air strikes hit a civilian area.

"They came and bombarded the houses of innocent people. Three houses were destroyed."

"Seven people - including women and children - were killed and between 10 and 15 were wounded," Qudus said.

"Villagers are still searching for five missing people."

Another villager, Abdul Wahid, said the air strikes hit 16 ki;ometres away from the convoy ambush site on the main highway.

There was no way to verify the claims of either the coalition or the villagers at the remote battle site. Taliban fighters often seek cover in civilian homes, where they fire on U.S. and NATO forces, leading those homes to be targeted.

Civilian deaths have been a point of contention between the government of President Hamid Karzai and U.S. and NATO forces. Though the foreign troops say they do everything they can to avoid civilian casualties, an estimated 135 civilians have been killed this year due to U.S. or NATO military action, by an Associated Press count based on numbers from U.S, Afghan and UN officials.

In northern Kunduz, a suicide bomber targeted foreigners in a four-wheel drive vehicle but they were unhurt in the blast, said Kunduz provincial police chief Gen. Ayub Salangi. Two civilians in a nearby car were killed, he said.

Provincial health department director Azizullah Safer said two other civilians were wounded.

Northern Afghanistan is usually relatively quiet but Kunduz has seen a spate of violence in recent months. The last suicide attack nine days ago killed three German soldiers and seven civilians in a busy market.

Violence has picked up sharply in Afghanistan the last several weeks. More than 1,800 people have been killed in insurgency-related violence this year, by the AP count.

Britain names soldier killed in Afghanistan

Sun May 27, 2007 3:42PM BST

LONDON (Reuters) - The British soldier killed in an explosion in Afghanistan on Saturday has been named as Guardsman Daniel Probyn, the Ministry of Defence said on Sunday.

The 22-year-old Probyn -- from the 1st Battalion the Grenadier Guards -- died early on Saturday during a mission to clear a Taliban occupied compound on the outskirts of Garmsir, in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan.

Probyn, who was a keen rugby player and West Bromwich Albion fan, joined the Army in 2003 and had previously served in Iraq.

Four other soldiers were wounded during the mission, when a British force destroyed a Taliban stronghold with artillery, mortar and small arms fire and then began clearing Taliban positions when the explosion occurred.

"Guardsman Probyn was a larger than life character both on and off duty, and was a dependable and loyal friend to all who knew him," said Lieutenant Colonel A.G.C. Hatherley, commanding officer, 1st Battalion the Grenadier Guards.

"He excelled as a soldier, whether in tunic and bearskin or combats, and was held in the highest regard by all who served alongside him."

An investigation is under way into what caused the explosion.

Britain has sent thousands of troops to Helmand province in southern Afghanistan as part of a NATO peacekeeping force. They have seen heavy combat.

Deadly clashes bode ill for relatively peaceful area in north Afghanistan

By Abdul Waheed Wafa and Carlotta Gall Monday, May 28, 2007

KABUL: Angry supporters of the Uzbek strongman General Abdul Rashid Dostum clashed with police in the northern town of Shiberghan on Monday, leaving at least seven people dead and 34 injured, and officials said the government deployed the army as police in anticipation of further unrest.

Also in the north, a suicide bomber attacked a convoy of foreigners, killing himself and two Afghan civilians, the fourth such attack in the north in the past two weeks.

The bombing in the relatively peaceful north of the country indicates an increase in insurgent activity, and the violence in Shiberghan was a reminder of how tenuous Afghanistan's internal stability remains, with former militia leaders like General Dostum still capable of rallying armed supporters to settle local power struggles.

The protestors in Shiberghan were members of the youth movement of General Dostum's political party Junbesh-e-Milli and were demanding the removal of the provincial governor, whose office they attempted to storm. Most of those killed and injured were shot by police trying to contain the crowd of over 1,000 protestors, townspeople said. Among the dead was the deputy head of the Junbesh Youth Movement, Rais Qurban, whose body was being mourned at his home in the town Monday night, according to a resident.

The crowd was protesting the arrest of six men for the attempted assassination of a legislator from the region, Ahmad Khan, who was a senior representative of Junbesh but recently split with General Dostum, the Interior Ministry statement said. The governor of the province, Juma Khan Hamdard, is also a former ally of General Dostum's who has fallen out with him over the arrests.

"We had received 41 patients in our main hospital," Dr. Mirwais Amini, the acting head of public health in the province said. "Seven of them died in the hospital and two others are in a critical condition" he said in a telephone interview. Most of the injured were young people and had bullet wounds, he said.

The provincial police chief, General Khalil Aminzada, said Monday evening that the Afghan police and Army were in control of the city, but that they were receiving reports from the villages that over 500 people were being armed and readied to attack the city. "The situation is very bad and we are waiting for an attack by Dostum's supporters," he said.

"Afghan police and ISAF soldiers tried to disrupt the crowed by firing warning shots, but later they fired on the people and killed many protesters," Mujib-u-Rahman, a resident of the city, said by telephone. The city was empty of the people, the shops closed, and every square was full of soldiers, he said. Fighter jets were flying overhead, an unusual sight, he said. The ISAF is NATO's International Security Assistance Force.

President Hamid Karzai condemned the violence in a statement and ordered the army and police to take tough measures in order to bring law and order to the town. "It is the legitimate and constitutional right of every Afghan to take part in peaceful demonstrations, but these demonstrations must not turn violent and cause the breakdown of law and order in the country," he said in the statement.

Government officials blamed General Dostum's supporters for taking the law into their own hands. The Ministry of Interior said over 1,000 of General Dostum's supporters rioted under the guise of holding a demonstration. The rioters fired on the security forces and four policemen were injured, and dozens of General Dostum's armed supporters attacked the Governor's house and disarmed and beat the guards of the house, the statement said. "It was against the law of the country," it said in a statement.

General Dostum is a Soviet trained general and has dominated his ethnic Uzbeks in northern Afghanistan for almost three decades, gaining a reputation for ruthlessness both against his enemies and within his party and militia. While his militias have been disarmed and he has been removed from official life he now only holds the symbolic post of chief of staff for defense to the president he remains a powerful presence in his home province of Jowzjan, of which Shiberghan is the capital.

Separately, a United Nations official said that as many as 380 civilians have been killed in the conflict in Afghanistan in the first four months of 2007 and called on Western military forces and the Taliban to respect international humanitarian law and do more to avoid civilian casualties. "The protection and safety of civilians must come first and foremost," Richard Bennett, the UN's top human rights officer in Afghanistan, said at a news briefing in Kabul.

Police open fire on violent protest in Afghanistan .

28/05/2007. ABC News Online

Police open fire on violent protest in Afghanistan

More than a dozen people have been killed and more than 30 injured in Afghanistan when police opened fire to break up a violent protest against a provincial Governor.

More than 1,000 people were protesting to demand the removal of Juma Khan Hamdard as governor of the northern province of Jowzjan.

They were throwing stones at several government offices in the provincial capital.

Police say they fired to stop the protesters from raiding the offices.

Afghan National Police detain Taliban cell leader in Ghazni Province

COMBINED JOINT TASK FORCE- 82 COMBINED PRESS INFORMATION CENTER
BAGRAM AIRFIELD,

AFGHANISTAN May 27, 2007

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – Afghan National Police and Coalition forces detained a Taliban cell leader 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of Ghazni in the Andar District of Ghazni Province prior to midnight May 26.

Credible information led ANP and Coalition forces to a compound in the village of Myanjo where the Taliban cell leader was found and detained.

No shots were fired and there were no Afghan civilian injuries.

The cell leader has been responsible for emplacing improvised explosive devices and recruiting suicide bombers to kill and terrorize countless Afghan civilians in the Andar District. He is also believed to be responsible for rocket attacks that targeted the Sardeh Band Dam complex.

“The removal of this Taliban cell leader will pave the way for Afghan civilians to standup against other Taliban members in the Andar District,” said Army Maj. Chris Belcher, a Combined Joint Task Force- 82 spokesman. “Afghan National Security Forces and Coalition forces will intensify our operations to rid the area of insurgent fighters and prevent their return.”

Taliban releases 3 Afghan aid workers, announces move against foreign and government forces

By NOOR KHAN | Associated Press May 28, 2007

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) _ The Taliban on Sunday released three Afghan aid workers who had been kidnapped nearly two months ago, as the militant group announced a new operation targeting foreign and government forces.

The three aid workers from the French group Terre d'Enfance _ Mohammad Hashim and brothers Ghulam Rasul and Ghulam Azrat _ were abducted April 3 along with two French colleagues in the southwestern province of Nimroz.

The Taliban released the French woman, Celine Cordelier, on April 28, and the man, Eric Damfreville, on May 11.

"The three Afghans who were detained with the two French aid workers have been released today in Nimroz province at the request of tribal leaders," purported Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi said Sunday.

A brother of Rasul and Azrat, Abdul Wahab, said relatives and neighbors had gathered to greet the three hostages when they returned home.

"They're fine. They're very happy. My brother Ghulam Rasul is holding his two sons, crying and kissing them. Ghulam Azrat is holding his two daughters, and crying happily, kissing them, as all the relatives watch," Wahab said by telephone from Nimroz.

"You know the Afghan tradition _ we are going to buy sheep to slaughter them and to give to the poor" to celebrate their homecoming, Wahab said.

In France, officials refused to say if a ransom had been paid.

"I didn't say that, or the contrary," Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said. "The big compensation is our happiness to have recovered the Afghans, as it was doubtless more difficult to free them than our compatriots."

After taking the Terre d'Enfance group captive, the Taliban demanded the withdrawal of all remaining French troops from Afghanistan. France pulled 200 French special forces out of Afghanistan late last year and still has about 1,000 troops stationed in the country.

The French aid workers were kidnapped two weeks after Afghan authorities released five Taliban prisoners in exchange for an Italian newspaper reporter who was abducted along with his two Afghan colleagues in southern Helmand province on March 5. The two Afghans were killed.

Ahmadi also said the Taliban launched a new operation targeting government and foreign forces in Afghanistan, as at least nine Afghan security officials were killed.

In southeastern Paktika province, the Taliban detonated several roadside bombs as a two-vehicle police convoy passed, then opened fire, killing six officers, said Ghamai Khan, a spokesman for the provincial governor.

In the eastern province of Kunar, a roadside bomb killed three Afghan security guards working for the coalition, said provincial police chief Gen. Abdul Jalal Jalal.

Ahmadi said by satellite phone from an undisclosed location that the Taliban will "start this operation today in all of Afghanistan."

"In this operation, we will target our enemies and use our tactics _ suicide bombs, remote-controlled (roadside bombs) and ambushes _ against occupying forces and the government," he said.

After a winter lull in violence, militant attacks and military operations have surged. NATO and the U.S.-led coalition stepped up operations in the early spring, hoping to pre-empt a spring offensive by militants that threatened the already-shaky grip of President Hamid Karzai's government.

Securing and stabilizing Afghanistan

By Jim Kouri Monday, May 28,

Since 2001, the United States has appropriated over $15 billion to help secure, stabilize, and reconstruct Afghanistan. In February 2007, the administration requested $12.3 billion in additional funding to accelerate some of these efforts to prevent the conflict-ridden nation from once again becoming a safe haven for terrorists and from devolving into a narco-state.

More than 50 nations, including the United States, and several multilateral organizations are engaged in securing, stabilizing, and reconstructing Afghanistan. Progress has been made in areas such as economic growth, infrastructure development, and training of the Afghan army and police, but after more than 5 years of US and international efforts, the overall security situation in this poor and ethnically diverse country has not improved and, moreover, has deteriorated significantly in the last year.

The lack of security limits the success of efforts to stabilize and rebuild Afghanistan. Direct challenges to these efforts include a resurgence of the Taliban, the limited capabilities of Afghan security forces, inadequate infrastructure, limited government capacity, corruption, a largely illiterate and untrained labor force, a dramatic increase in drug production, and a lack of viable economic opportunities.

Since 2003, analysts from the Government Accounting Office have issued five reports on US efforts in Afghanistan -- one on food and agricultural assistance, two on reconstruction assistance, one on efforts to establish Afghan national security forces, and one on drug control programs.

The GAO identified programmatic improvements that were needed, as well as many obstacles that limited success and should be taken into consideration in program design and implementation. A key improvement analysts identified in most of the US efforts was the need for improved planning, including the development of strategic plans with elements such as measurable goals, specific time frames, cost estimates, and identification of external factors that could significantly affect efforts.

Some additional needed improvements identified include better coordination among the United States and other donor nations, more flexible options for program implementation, and timelier project implementation. The GAO also concluded that several obstacles, especially deteriorating security and the limited institutional capacity of the Afghan government, challenge the effectiveness of US efforts.

Responsiveness to recommendations for programmatic improvements varied. Progress to date has been mixed in all areas the GAO reported on, including reform of Afghanistan's security sector. Analysts reported that progress needs to be congruent in all five pillars of the security reform agenda established by the United States and several coalition partners.

The United States has been involved to some degree with each of the five pillars and initially was charged with taking the lead in establishing the Afghan army, but has since allocated significant resources to reconstituting the police and countering the illicit drug trade. Although some army and police units have been trained and equipped, Defense reports that none are capable of independent operations, Afghanistan still has no formal national judicial system for the police to rely upon, opium poppy cultivation is at record levels, and the Afghan police often find themselves facing better armed drug traffickers and militias.

In the absence of national security forces capable of independently providing security for the country, the International Security Assistance Force is helping to provide security for Afghanistan. Though reconstruction assistance helped Afghanistan elect its first president, return millions of children to school, and repatriate millions of refugees, Afghanistan continues to face reconstruction challenges, which are exacerbated by the security-related concerns.

The US Defense Department, State Department, and US Agency for International Development officials have suggested that securing, stabilizing, and reconstructing Afghanistan will take at least a decade and require continuing international assistance.

The Defense Department revised its plans to adapt to the deteriorating security situation and to rapidly increase the ability of the Afghan National Security Forces to operate with less coalition support. These modified plans call for a total of $7.6 billion for the ANSF in 2007, which is over a threefold increase compared with fiscal year 2006 and represents more than all of the US assistance for the ANSF in fiscal years 2002 through 2006 combined.

The costs of these and other efforts will require difficult tradeoffs for decision makers as the United States faces competing demands for its resources, such as securing and stabilizing Iraq, in the years ahead.

Sources: Department of Defense, Government Accounting Office, Central Intelligence Agency

© Copyright 2007 by Jim Kouri

Afghanistan, Pakistan To Meet For Border Security Talks

The Afghan and Pakistani foreign ministers are scheduled to meet May 30 in Germany to discuss their lawless border region. In a statement, the Afghan Foreign Ministry said Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta and his Pakistani counterpart, Khurshid Kasuri, will attend the G8 foreign ministers' meeting in Potsdam to talk about peace, stability, and reconstruction in Afghanistan and the region.

Officials say both have been "specially invited" to meet on the G8 sidelines to discuss how they can ease their differences.

The meetings comes after two Pakistani soldiers were reported killed and at least five others wounded by a roadside bombing on May 26 in a region bordering Afghanistan.

Officials said the blast hit the soldiers' convoy near Tank, in the Northwest Frontier Province. The convoy was reported traveling to the South Waziristan tribal region when the attack occurred.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. The region is considered a base of operations for Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants.

Copyright (c) 2006. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

Harper's visit to Afghanistan shows much work still to be done

Scott Taylor Monday, May 28, 2007 - 02:00

Editorial & Opinion - Prime Minister Stephen Harper has made yet another unannounced surprise visit to Afghanistan. After enduring a couple of months of persistent political heat over Canada's alleged mishandling of Afghan detainees, Harper and his public relations team were anxious to regain control of the agenda.

Instead of putting the spotlight back on our military battle group in Kandahar, the goal of this recent junket was to shift the media attention to all of the success Canada is achieving through reconstruction projects.

One of the first photo opportunities on Harper's agenda was a brief stop at a Kabul school that receives approximately $40,000 in Canadian government aid each year.

Anyone following the war in Afghanistan with even the most passing of interest will note Kabul is not Kandahar, and that the Afghan capital has been relatively stable since the collapse of the Taliban in 2001.

Of course, the key word in this case is 'relatively' as it pertains to the security situation throughout Afghanistan. In Kabul, the expatriate community still lives inside guarded compounds and travels only in armed convoys while the incident rate of suicide bombs occurs on a weekly rather than daily basis.

In an attempt to demonstrate progress is being made by the international community in Afghanistan, Harper's visit actually served to illustrate the opposite. Five and a half years after the U.S. military toppled the Taliban, our prime minister still cannot give any advance notice of his official visit.

For security reasons, his entourage had to sneak in and out of Kabul like thieves in the night.

The irony of this is only exacerbated by the fact that Harper's primary purpose of travelling to Kabul was to show Canadians how effective our reconstruction and aid projects have been.

One would hardly expect grateful Afghans to blow up the hand that's feeding them, so obviously it's not just Canadians who need to be convinced of Canada's success to date.

If there is a positive to be taken away from Harper's whirlwind promo tour, it is that the Canadian government is trying to separate the media coverage from its heretofore 100 per cent focus on our military mission.

Detainees and alleged abuse aside, for the past 15 months (since our battle group moved south from Kabul to Kandahar) the overwhelming majority of Canadian news reports out of Afghanistan have come from reporters embedded with our troops in Kandahar.

This worm's eye view of one tiny corner of Afghanistan does not provide the sort of in-depth insight necessary for any comprehensive analysis of a very complex situation.

I have just spent the past two weeks reporting unembedded from Afghanistan, talking to senior members of President Hamid Karzai's administration, former warlords and even an ex-Taliban spokesperson. The one point of consensus among all these disparate stakeholders is that the foreign troops must be pulled out of Afghanistan within the next two years.

Even those high-ranking Afghan security officials who know their tenuous hold on power depends on the presence of NATO forces know the window for success is fast slamming shut. They believe that creating a self-sufficient Afghan army by spring 2009 and the subsequent withdrawal of foreign troops is the key to ultimate victory.

By attempting to shift the media focus away from our military efforts, let's hope our prime minister not only understands the Afghan sentiment, but that he will prioritize and support their self-sufficiency initiative.

Former Canadian soldier Scott Taylor is the editor of Esprit de Corps military magazine and a veteran war correspondent. He is the author of "Spinning on the Axis of Evil: America's War against Iran," and "Among the Others: Encounters with the Forgotten Turkmen of Iraq." In September 2005, he was held hostage for five days in northern Iraq by Ansar al-Islam Mujahadin. Comments can be sent to writersgroup@ospreymedia.ca

Broader international effort needed for Afghanistan: Canadian FM

Mon May 28, 4:45 AM ET

Canadian Foreign Minister Peter Mackay has called for a "greater collective effort" in Afghanistan, saying NATO member states and even Russia and China could do more to help the country.

"There is a greater collective effort to be made," Mackay said in an interview broadcast by the CBC network on Sunday.

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan "needs everyone" to help, he said.

Mackay said that several NATO countries with forces deployed in Afghanistan were not doing as much as they could, especially in the south, noting that only seven of the 37 nations with forces in Afghanistan were present in that region.

"The mission is more vulnerable without a complete support from NATO Afghanistan forces," he said.

"It is not just soldiers," Mackay said of the assistance needed, "it is equipment, it is the training they can provide to Afghan officials and security forces, it is the backup, the ability to transport, border security."

"Even non-NATO countries can do more, including ... China and Russia," he said, without elaborating.

Without more of a joint international effort, the mission in Afghanistan will remain vulnerable, said Mackay, who described southern Afghanistan as the "weak underbelly of the country."

"Until we are able to stop that flow of the insurgency," he said, "more lives will be at risk, including Canadians."

The ISAf force in Afghanistan deploys 37,000 troops from 37 nations, including 2,500 Canadians whose mission could extend beyond a February 2009 deadline, according to officials in Ottawa.

Since the start of their mission in 2002, 55 Canadian soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan and 11 since the beginning of 2007. A Canadian diplomat has also lost his life in the country.

May 28, 2007

Afghanistan mission defines Harper, Canada

By Dan Leger Published: 2007-05-28

IT HAS become impossible to overstate how important the mission in Afghanistan has become to the federal government, politically for Stephen Harper and the Conservatives, but also for Canada’s sense of identity in the world.

Right now, Afghanistan is far and away the most important foreign-policy issue facing the Canadian state. We are spending billions and sacrificing lives. We are trying to bring peace to a region of violence, stability to a place of chaos and simple freedoms to deeply oppressed people.

Nothing this country has done in 50 years has been as ambitious. No other foreign project has been as expensive in money, at $6 billion, or in lives, 56 and counting. And none has been so dangerous.

Because if Canada does not achieve what it set out to do in Afghanistan, its international prestige will be damaged and a signal will be sent to the next gang of killers that Canada is a big, soft target. The mission could well turn out to be the defining issue in the next election campaign.

A talk with a very senior federal official last week reminded me how extensive Ottawa’s goals are in Afghanistan. Before the Canadians can leave, the Afghan government must be able to stand on its own as a sovereign entity. It must have a functioning army, a police force and a judiciary. It must be able to feed its people and defend its shaky borders.

And the mission has significance beyond political and military goals. It has also become a mission in which careers are built and reputations risked.

Any army officer worth his boots wants to go to Afghanistan and be tested in combat against the famed and feared Taliban fighters. Canadian soldiers have trained all their lives for the challenge. Few will turn it down.

And it’s not just the military. Foreign-service officers who want to break out of the cocktail circuit in polite capitals can make a reputation in Kabul or Kandahar. The same goes for spies, in a region where intrigue is a way of life.

It’s not only government. Humanitarian workers and aid organizations will put their expertise to the test in an environment unlike any other.

Last week, the prime minister flew to Kandahar to emphasize his own political support for the mission, but also to reinforce Canada’s sense of why we are there. The trip wasn’t without controversy.

It is typical of the debate roiling the country that the visit was seen by some as a mere photo opportunity and by others as a tangible measure of Mr. Harper’s commitment.

There’s no doubt this deeply partisan prime minister had a political agenda in being photographed with the troops and meeting Afghan leaders. But in going, he also acknowledged his moral and ethical responsibility to see for himself what’s going on.

Mr. Harper, who has a long-term view of the Afghan mission, is pondering ways of extending it past 2009, the exit date mandated by Parliament. He can’t do that in a hostile minority environment. He needs an election and a majority.

To have any chance of winning that, Mr. Harper has to do more than get his picture taken with the soldiers. He and his ministers have to convince Canadians that this country benefits from a more stable Afghanistan and that Canada is helping to achieve that.

So Canadians need to see pictures of Afghan kids in school, of functioning hospitals, of the beginnings of a stable economy and of Afghans finding solutions for themselves.

That’s the key. Eventually, someone is going to have to talk to the Taliban, or whoever is really behind the violence in Afghanistan. Right now, that’s all but impossible because the insurgency is decentralized and lacks identifiable leadership.

But Canada and its NATO partners must, over time, enable moderate Afghans to negotiate with their enemies on equal terms. Afghans solving Afghanistan’s problems: That is Canada’s goal and its only viable exit strategy.

I’m told that Ottawa feels it’s still too early to talk to the Taliban because its leaders refuse to renounce violence. But the government knows that eventually it will be Afghans negotiating with Afghans, just the way Irish Protestants and Catholics have finally put aside their guns for civilized politics.

Northern Ireland’s reconciliation is a good example for Afghanistan. Trouble is, it took 30 years to happen.

dleger

Dan Leger is director of news content for The Chronicle Herald. The opinions expressed here are his own.

Iran for development, security in Afghanistan

LONDON, May 28 (IranMania) - Contributing to security and development is a major element of Iran's policy in neighboring Afghanistan, said an Iranian official, IRNA reported.

Head of Afghanistan's restoration office in Iranian foreign ministry Mohammad-Ebrahim Taherian said during opening of a new customs office on the joint border line adjacent to Farah Province in Southern Khorassan Province in Eastern Iran that during last five years, Iran has implemented 333 development projects in the neighboring country.

Ex-ambassador of Iran to Kabul said on the threshold of Iranian president's visit to Afghanistan, the opening of this customs office is a clear sign of Iran's seriousness and diligence to further expand bilateral ties.

Taherian said that while Iran contributes to development plans and security in Afghanistan, presence of certain countries in this country has caused insecurity for the Afghan people.

The governor of Farah Province Mowlavi Mohieddin Baluch present in the opening ceremony called for more Iranian assistance to implement infrastructure projects in the province and hoped the customs project would strengthen friendly ties between the two Muslim countries.

Southern Khorassan Province has 400 kilometers of joint border with Afghan provinces of Farah and Herat out of the total 940 kilometers of Iran-Afghanistan border line.

Afghanistan steps up poppy field eradication .

28/05/2007. ABC News Online

Afghanistan has stepped up its efforts to eradicate poppy crops in 2007 after producing a record amount of the key ingredient for heroin production last year, a senior United Nations (UN) official says.

Officials have destroyed some 25,000 hectares of opium poppy fields so far this year, compared to 15,000 hectares during all of 2006, Andrea Mancini says, the project coordinator of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime in central Asia.

He told a gathering of lawmakers from the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) member states held in Funchal on Portugal's Madeira Island that "eradication is working".

Some 165,000 hectares were under poppy cultivation in 2006, a 59 per cent increase from the previous year, according to the UN drugs office.

Afghanistan accounts for more than 90 per cent of the world's heroin supply and officials say a big portion of the over $US3 billion ($A3.66 billion) generated each year from the trade of the drug helps finance the Taliban insurgency.

"Battling the connection between drugs and conflict requires a long term commitment and the recognition that opium in Afghanistan is as much a narcotic issue as matter of insurgency," Mr Mancini said.

He also says at least half of Afghanistan's 34 provinces should be without opium production in 2008.

By the end of this year 11 to 12 provinces are expected to be without significant poppy cultivation.

NATO should adopt an integrated strategy together with the UN and the European Union that includes economic incentives to encourage Afghan farmers to abandon poppy cultivations as well as eradication drives, Mr Mancini said.

Just over one in 10 Afghans are estimated to be directly involved in the production of heroin.

While poppy cultivation has fallen in northern and central Afghanistan where security is stronger, it has surged in southern Afghanistan where the fundamentalist Taliban has staged its fiercest fighting.

"The south is going wild, it is basically out of control," Mr Mancini said.

Fearing a backlash from the population, the Afghan government has rejected US proposals for chemical spraying of poppy fields and has permitted only time-consuming manual eradication using sticks and tractors.

Anti-drug teams are often the target of suicide bombers and Taliban forces allied with drug lords.

Afghanistan's efforts to stop opium production have left 18 police dead and another 33 wounded this year, most of them in clashes during poppy eradication.

NATO has some 37,000 troops in Afghanistan as part of its International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) which aims to provide stability to the country.

There are also around 11,000 US-led troops in the country.

Getting rid of illegal drugs has not been a part of the official mission of international forces in the country.

It is the responsibility of the Afghan government which receives assistance from the US and the United Nations. AFP

14 Arrested in Spain on Terror Charges

By CIARAN GILES Monday, May 28, 2007

MADRID, Spain - Police arrested 14 people Monday on charges of recruiting volunteers for terror training in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Eleven suspects were arrested in Barcelona and in two other northeastern towns. Two others were arrested in the central town of Aranjuez, and one in the southern city of Malaga, a National Police spokesman said.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity as police force rules forbid him from being identified.

The suspects were believed to be Moroccan and they faced charges of recruiting people to be sent for training in camps in Afghanistan and Iraq. The spokesman said the police operation was continuing and that there could be more arrests.

A substantial amount of computer material was seized during the pre-dawn raids, he said.

Spanish police have arrested dozens of terror suspects since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York and Washington, and again after the 2004 train bombings in Madrid.

Currently, 29 suspects, mostly Moroccans, are on trial in the Spanish capital for their alleged roles in the Madrid train attacks.

A service of the Associated Press(AP)

2004 Crash in Afghanistan Highlights Gaps in U.S. Control Over Flights

By MATTHEW L. WALD WASHINGTON, May 27 — Carrying three soldiers and two pallets of mortar shells through the Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan, the twin-engine turboprop was on a military mission.

But Flight BW61 from Bagram Air base was technically an air taxi, according to civilian safety officials. That distinction may have contributed to a Nov. 27, 2004, crash that killed everyone on board — and may put at risk thousands of military passengers and thousands of tons of cargo every year by contractors in war zones.

Neither military nor Federal Aviation Administration safety rules were enforced on the flight, which was operated by a subsidiary of Blackwater USA. Standard safeguards — high-altitude oxygen masks and at least one pilot experienced with the terrain — were not observed. And there was no dispatcher to send an alert that the plane was missing, which delayed rescuers’ arrival and possibly compounded the tragedy.

The three-man crew and two of the passengers died on impact, a military investigation found. But a third passenger apparently lived for at least eight hours, long enough to climb out of the plane, smoke a cigarette and unroll two sleeping bags before dying of internal injuries.

The safety lapses emerged in investigations by the military and the National Transportation Safety Board, and in a lawsuit filed by families of the crash victims against Blackwater, which is seeking to have the suit thrown out in federal court.

With two American-flag carriers and three foreign companies performing contract work for the military in Afghanistan, other flights could also be in peril because of gaps in regulation. Though the N.T.S.B. recommended in December that the military and the Federal Aviation Administration coordinate on oversight of flights operated by military contractors, the F.A.A. responded earlier this year that it would not give a progress report for six months.

The Pentagon, though, said Blackwater would begin auditing its own flights in Afghanistan and reporting the results to the government. While the F.A.A. does not fly on the planes in Afghanistan, the Defense Department said government quality-assurance personnel “randomly fly” on them.

Even though Flight BW61 was operating in Afghanistan, the F.A.A. had jurisdiction over it because the agency considered it an American air taxi. The plane, a Spanish-made CASA 212, was operated by Presidential Airways, the Blackwater unit that won a $35 million contract in September 2004 from the Air Mobility Command at the Pentagon. The Pentagon needed small planes to carry cargo and passengers at high altitudes into the rough landing strips typical in Afghanistan.

Families of the victims say that if it had been a military flight, it might not have crashed. The crew’s unfamiliarity with the route is clear from the transcript of the cockpit voice recorder.

“I hope I’m goin’ up the right valley,” said the captain, Noel B. English, according to the transcript. “We’ll see where this leads.”

Mr. English, 37, was an experienced pilot who had done extensive mountain flying in Alaska in the same type of airplane, according to investigators. The co-pilot, Loren D. Hammer, 35, also had substantial experience, and had flown the CASA in smoke-jumping operations.

But they had been in Afghanistan only 13 days. Common military and civilian practice is to pair a pilot who is new to an area with a veteran, experts said. Eventually, the two men flew into a box canyon, essentially a dead end bordered by mountains. Despite excellent daylight weather, they waited too long to begin climbing, which would have allowed them to fly over the mountains, or make a U-turn.

The captain at one point said he did not want to go up to 14,000 feet in the unpressurized plane, but later, with terrain rising, he said, “If we have to go to fourteen for just a second, it won’t be too bad.”

Less than two minutes before impact, evidently still trying to climb, he said urgently: “Come on baby, come on baby, you can make it.” A mechanic, flying in the cockpit and assisting with navigation, said, “You guys are gonna make this, right?”

“Yeah, I’m hopin’,” the captain said.

“Hope we don’t have a downdraft comin’ over that, dude,” the mechanic added, evidently referring to a nearby mountain peak. Such downdrafts are common in the mountains, experts say. “Got a way out?” he asked. “You need to make a decision.”

Seconds later, the plane slammed into the mountain.

Robert F. Spohrer, a lawyer for the families of the dead passengers, argued that if the flight had been operated by the military, better safeguards would have been imposed.

“This was infinitely worse than any armed forces flight would have been,” he said. “It would have had triple redundancy, with checklists,” he said. “In the military, you plan your flight and fly your plan. These guys did neither.”

The flight did not follow some civilian rules, either. The N.T.S.B., for example, concluded that the pilots were not wearing oxygen masks, as air taxi operators are required to do in unpressurized cabins at that altitude.

And no one on the ground tracked the plane from takeoff to landing, as federal civilian safety rules require. The Defense Department has a system for tracking its own planes, and even in areas with poor radio communication, the military takes notice immediately if a flight is overdue.

But no search was begun for Flight BW61 until the plane was overdue for its return to Bagram, about seven hours after the crash; rescue forces spent the first five hours looking in the wrong place. They did not reach the site until the third day, by which time Specialist Harley D. Miller, 21, of Spokane, Wash., had died of his injuries.

The safety lapses have frustrated families of the victims. “It was in the middle of a gray zone,” said Col. Jeanette McMahon, the widow of one of the passengers, Lt. Col. Mike McMahon. Colonel McMahon, like her late husband, is a helicopter pilot.

Blackwater declined to comment for this article. But the company argued to the N.T.S.B. that the safety board had no jurisdiction to investigate the crash because it was a military flight. The safety board did not send anyone to Afghanistan, the company pointed out, but relied on facts gathered by the military search and rescue team. And the military had so botched the fact-gathering phase that no reliable inquiry was possible, Blackwater said.

The company is expected to appeal to the safety board for a reconsideration of its findings.

After the safety board panel recommended that the F.A.A. and the Defense Department coordinate their oversight of such flights, the F.A.A. responded in language as close to arch as the bureaucracy gets. “It is not our practice to send inspectors into areas of military hostilities to conduct en route inspections,” the F.A.A. said in February. “We do not believe that the risk to our personnel can be justified as necessary for the effective accomplishment of our safety mission.”

Slain radio operator was keen to see battle

Tom Blackwell The National Post Monday, May 28, 2007

A friend remembers Cpl. Matthew McCully's thirst for action

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Cpl. Matthew McCully had been in Afghanistan three months and was becoming frustrated, even "upset," that he had yet to do battle with the Taliban, a friend said yesterday.

Finally, this past week, he got his wish: He was to be part of Operation Hoover, a major push against insurgents in Zhari district, a volatile pocket 30 kilometres west of Kandahar.

The longed-for combat mission turned out to be his first and last.

"They (Cpl. McCully and colleagues) wanted to go out and they wanted to get on operations and initially they weren't getting that," said Pte. Daryl Janssen, a fellow radio operator and buddy of Cpl. McCully.

"For the first little while, he was kind of upset. ... So finally, when we started revving up for this assignment, he was getting excited. He was getting all his bits and bobs together. He wanted it."

The operation had barely begun on Friday, however, when Cpl. McCully unwittingly triggered an improvised explosive device and was killed instantly.

The death has left friends like Pte. Janssen shaking their heads in disbelief and sadness, and thinking differently about the prospect of fighting.

"You get this assumption in your head that, yeah, shit's going to happen, but it's not going to affect me," said Pte. Janssen.

"When we start rolling out again to places where I know Matty would have been sitting there waiting for me -- complaining about some piece of kit that he needed -- and he's not there, it's just going to kill me."

Another Canadian soldier was seriously injured in the same blast and has been transferred to the U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, for surgery, while an Afghan interpreter was more lightly wounded.

Friends learn to cope as 'perfectionist' dies in Afghanistan

MURRAY CAMPBELL May 28, 2007

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN -- At age 22, Daryl Janssen is coming to terms with the fact that he and his buddies have a dangerous job and that sometimes bad things happen.

On Friday morning, just after dawn, Corporal Janssen was on patrol as part of Operation Hoover, the massive assault on Taliban positions by 1,000 troops from Canada and other countries.

As a signaler, he heard the radio chatter about who might have been involved in a massive explosion that shook the ground about 8 a.m.

Even when he was pulled aside and told that the blast had killed a fellow signaler, Corporal Matthew McCully, he couldn't accept it.

"I didn't believe it," he said. "It was just too far from what I could believe."

However, barely 36 hours later he had to deal with the reality when he became one of the eight pallbearers who carried his friend's flag-draped casket on to a Hercules transport plane for the first stage of his long journey back to Canada.

Cpl. McCully, 25, was the 55th Canadian to die in Afghanistan since 2002.

The pallbearers looked the picture of lightheartedness as they stood in the soft pink twilight on Saturday evening on the tarmac at Kandahar Air Field, waiting for hundreds of soldiers to form a walkway to the plane.

Cpl. Janssen said the smiling, laughing young men were just trying to remember the good times they had shared.

"We can dwell on how upsetting the experience is or we can laugh and joke," he said. "And then when the job at hand comes, you know, you could tell that everybody was hurt badly. We lost a good man, a good person all around."

Cpl. McCully's commanding officer, Major Peter Sullivan, praised him as "a tremendously professional soldier."

But it took one of the guys who hung out with him at CFB Petawawa and in Afghanistan, Cpl. Janssen, to paint a fuller picture of the dead soldier.

He was fastidious with an impish sense of humour and would snap his fingers and say "that's it, I got it" when he solved a problem.

He was always complaining that he didn't have the right equipment to do his job.

In fact, he was fretting about his gear when the two last talked at the forward base at Ma'sum Ghar two days before Operation Hoover began.

"He was definitely a perfectionist," Cpl. Janssen said. "It was never good enough unless it was perfect."

That streak was evident in a recounting by another friend, Keith Beaudin, about a fight the pair had on the lawn outside a particularly exuberant house party two summers ago.

"The thing that pissed him off the most was not the fact that I beat him in the fight," Mr. Beaudin recalled in a Facebook entry, "but the fact that his new white Under Armour shirt was green from grass stains." In the wake of Cpl. McCully's death, there was much talk in Kandahar this weekend about professional soldiering and the acceptance of the risk the job involves.

Cpl. Janssen talked that talk, too, saying that "everybody is shaken up, but we're all professional soldiers and everybody is acting accordingly."

But he admitted that losing a friend hurts.

"You get this assumption in your head that, yeah, you know, shit's going to happen, but it's not going to affect me like that, and then you lose a buddy," he said.

"It doesn't even sink in, you know, but I know when we start rolling out again to places where Matty would have been sitting there waiting for me, complaining about some piece of kit that he needed, and he's not there, that it's just going to kill me."

Provincial govenor of Pakita donates land to 26 injured deminers

Source: United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS)

Kabul, 28 May 2007 – H.E. Mr. Rahmatullah Rahmat, the Governor of the province of Paktia, has donated land to 26 deminers who were the victims of mine accidents. Governor Rahmat, who signed the official documents on 16 May, said that he greatly appreciated the deminers' work throughout Afghanistan.

"Demining is the most difficult and the most important work in the country," he said. "It paves the way for development, reconstruction, and investment, and it contributes to stability and peace. The work of deminers should be respected, and Afghan authorities have to look after their deminers, especially those who have lost their limbs while working".

The 26 deminers were all wounded in Paktia province during mine clearance activities. They have since returned to their homes, but most are unemployed and face challenging living conditions. The deminers and their families will be able to use the land to build new homes and generate needed income through farming or raising livestock.

"Most of the deminers have been part of mine action for almost two decades and have devoted and risked their lives to clear Afghanistan," said Mohammad Sediq, the Chief of Operations of the United Nations Mine Action Center for Afghanistan (UNMACA), which oversees mine action on behalf of the Government of Afghanistan. "Hard work and dedication must have its rewards. I'm extremely happy about the Governor's initiative to honour our deminers who were injured during their work."

[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.]