03 Jul 05

Twenty-five killed in US air raid on Taleban compound
(Erada) US warplanes bombed the village of Chechal in the eastern province of Kunar, where an American special forces team went missing last week. According to provincial officials, the airstrike left 25 dead and many others injured. US military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Jerry O'Hara said the airstrike, which took place on the evening of July 1, targeted an insurgent compound. Meanwhile an Afghan security official, in an interview with BBC, said that the US warplanes bombed the village twice. The second airstrike, which resulted in the deaths of many innocent civilians, hit villagers were trying to help those injured in the first raid.
(Erada is an independent daily run by the Afghan Media and Resource Centre.)

Five Pakistanis detained in south
(Anis) Five Pakistanis suspected of plotting attacks in southern Afghanistan have been arrested, Afghan police said on June 30. They were caught the previous day after crossing from Pakistan into Zabul province and travelling by bus to Kandahar province, the former Taleban stronghold, provincial police chief Allahyar said. The men were seized on a tip-off from US-led Coalition forces who had kept them under surveillance, said Ghulam Mohammed Agha, chief of police in Shahr-e-Safa district where the arrests were made.
(Anis is a state-run daily published mostly in Dari.)

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UN marks disarmament milestone
(Cheragh) The disarmament and demobilisation phases of the UN-backed Disarmament Demobilisation and Reintegration programme, DDR, in Afghanistan ended on June 30, the United Nations announced on June 30. The reintegration of former combatants will take another year. The DDR has processed a total of 61,417 former Afghan militia members, of whom 52, 509 have been given a reintegration assistance package so far. DDR started in November 2003 with Japan as the lead nation and major donor, and has so far cost the international community more than 100 million dollars.
(Cheragh is an independent daily run by the Development and Democracy Association.)

Refugee protest in Khost
(Arman-e-Milli) Internally displaced people, IDPs, from various parts of Afghanistan who have temporarily settled in the southern province of Khost have staged a protest in the provincial capital. They asked provincial officials not to take away the land they had been given for temporary settlement. They have been allowed to live in an area two kilometers outside Khost city, but the government recently asked them to leave. The protesters said that they should either be given plots of land or be allowed to stay where they are.
(Arman-e-Milli is independent daily.)

Taleban commanders to swap guns for places on ballot
(Outlook) In the western province of Ghor, 20 Taleban commanders have surrendered to the government. The commanders reportedly want to stand in upcoming parliamentary and provincial council elections. They handed in their arms to the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration programme. Earlier, the Afghan electoral commission had asked the armed commanders to surrender their arms and cut off their links with militias ahead of the elections. The Afghan parliamentary elections are scheduled for September 18.
(Outlook is and independent daily published in English.)

Arms seized in Herat
(Hewad) Security officials in the western province of Herat said they seized a cache of arms and ammunition in Enjil and Guzra districts of the province. A press officer for the provincial police headquarters, Colonel Abdul Rauf, said police had seized more than 250 light and heavy arms, including landmines, over two days. The confiscated arms were handed over to the local office of the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration programme. Abdul Salam Yarzada, a resident of Herat, complained that armed gangs were active in Enjil district, and the police had no control over them.
(Hewad is a state-run daily published mostly in Pashto.)

04 Jul 05

Six killed in blast in Paktika
(Erada) A roadside bomb in the southern province of Paktika has killed six members of the Afghan security forces. Mohammad Ali Khil, the police chief of Paktika province, was injured by the blast, reports said. According to interior ministry spokesman Lutfullah Mashal, four of those killed were national policemen and two others were soldiers of the Afghan National Army. Gulab Mangal, governor of Paktika, blamed the blast on remnants of the ousted Taleban regime and said an army and police convoy was on its way to a carry out mission when the bomb went off.
(Erada is an independent daily run by the Afghan Media Resource Centre.)

Afghan cleric gunned down in Kandahar
(Anis)A pro-government cleric, Mawlawi Mohammad Nabi Sabah, head of the education department of Kandahar's religious council, died after he was shot by an unidentified armed group on June 3. Two motorcyclists opened fire on him near his home and made off. Sabah was first taken to the Mirwais hospital and then transferred to a hospital run by Coalition forces, but died a few hours. In early June, his colleague Mawlawi Fayaz was assassinated after he criticised the Taleban and voiced support for President Hamed Karzai.
(Anis is a state-run daily published mostly in Dari.)

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Seven murders in a week raise security concerns
(Arman-e-Milli)General Nasiruddin Hamdard, security chief for the northern zone, blamed the existence of militias and the incompetence of police for the rising crime rate in Mazar-e-Sharif, the provincial capital of Balkh region. Agha Rahim, from the northwestern province of Faryab, who had come to the Mazar-e-Sharif to sell his animals, was killed by unidentified armed men. A day later, Mohammad Nasim was stabbed to death and the culprits managed to escape. In the latest incident, a former commander of the dissolved 8th Corps, Mohammad Kabir, was gunned down by motorcyclists in a broad daylight. Hamdard also confirmed two murders in the Shirabad area and two more in Chemtal district of Balkh province. Residents of Mazar-e-Sharif have expressed serious concern at the increasing frequency of criminal acts.
(Arman-e-Milli is an independent daily.)

World Bank finds more cash for major community project
(Cheragh) The World Bank on June 30 approved a 28 million US dollar grant to continue supporting the Afghanistan National Solidarity Programme, NSP, which provides resources for reconstruction and development activities at community level and strengthening local governance. The NSP was launched in 2002 and has already received 117 million dollar grant from the World Bank's International Development Association. In addition, the program received 42 million dollars from the Afghan government.
(Cheragh is an independent daily run by the Development and Democracy Association.)

Five suspected Taleban killed, nine captured
(Hewad) Afghan National police, with assistance of US-led Coalition Troops, have killed five suspected Taleban militants and detained nine others in southern Zabul province since June 2, an interior ministry spokesman said. "Five Taleban militants were killed and nine other armed Taleban were captured as police launched a cleanup operation in Mizan district Saturday morning," said Daad Mohammad Rasa. The operation took place in the Kariz Kohichniar area, adjacent to the troubled Mian Nashin district in Kandahar where over 100 people, including 77 Taleban rebels, were killed in vicious fighting a week ago.
(Outlook is an independent daily published in English.)

Radio correspondent reportedly arrested in east
(Outlook) Intelligence officials arrested a Radio Liberty correspondent, Rohullah Anwari, in the eastern province of Kunar on June 3. The head of Kunar's intelligence directorate, Nurestani, and Kunar governor Nur Mohammad Wafa refused on comment on the arrest, reports said. The head of Radio Liberty's office in Kabul, Amin Mudaqiq, also said he was not aware of this, but confirmed that Anwari was their correspondent. But locals believe that Anwari was arrested after he contacted Taleban spokesman Latif Hakimi and Mullah Ismail, a Taleban commander, following the US helicopter crash in the region.
(Outlook is an independent daily published in English.)