News, August , 2007
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Editorial Note: The following news reports are summaries from original sources. They may also include corrections of terminology and Arabic names. |
41 Afghanis, 6 NATO Soldiers Killed, Including 4 US, an Australian, and a Dutch
Editorial Note:
In the past, many of the casualties were Afghani civilians despite claims they were Taliban fighters.
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AP Headline: 6 Westerners Killed in Afghan Fighting; France Says It Will Bolster Force in Country
By CHRIS BRUMMITT Associated Press Writer
Aug 28, 2007, 2:24 AM EDT
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) --
Fighting between NATO troops and Taliban fighters killed eight soldiers - including six Westerners - in eastern and southern Afghanistan, where resistance attacks are running at their highest level since the U.S. invasion, officials said Monday.
Reports from officials Monday and Tuesday indicated 29 alleged Taliban fighters also were killed in several recent clashes.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Monday he was adding 150 military trainers to a 1,000-person contingent in Afghanistan after months of speculation about France's commitment to the international force.
"I decided to reinforce the presence of our trainers in the Afghan army, because it is (the Afghan army) that must first of all wage and win the fight against the Taliban," Sarkozy said in opening an annual conference of French ambassadors, his first as president.
Speculation that France could withdraw troops surfaced after it pulled out 200 special forces in December, and after Sarkozy said during the campaign that France had no reason to stay long-term.
There have been more Taliban attacks on Afghan and Western troops in recent months than at any time since U.S. forces invaded in 2001.
In the Netherlands, defense chief Gen. Dick Berlijn said a Dutch sergeant was killed by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan Sunday night near the town of Deh Rawod.
Gunmen shot and killed another NATO soldier during a foot patrol in eastern Afghanistan the same day, NATO said. On Monday, a third NATO soldier was killed and another wounded when Taliban fighters ambushed them using rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons in eastern Afghanistan, NATO said.
NATO did not release the soldiers' nationalities, but most NATO troops in the east are American.
Another ambush Monday killed three members of the U.S.-led coalition and two Afghan soldiers in eastern Kunar province, a statement from the coalition said. It said the coalition soldiers were advisers to the Afghan army, but did not identify them.
On Tuesday, officials said U.S.-led coalition and Afghan troops had battled suspected Taliban fighters in two separate clashes in southern Afghanistan, killing up to 19 Afghanis. The clashes occurred Monday in the Musa Qala district of Helmand province and Shah Wali Kot district in neighboring Kandahar province.
A purported Taliban spokesman said the militants will resume face-to-face talks with South Korean officials on Tuesday on the fate of 19 Korean church volunteers kidnapped as they traveled by bus from Kabul to the former Taliban stronghold of Kandahar.
The Taliban movement has demanded the withdrawal of around 200 South Korean troops currently in the country and the release of Taliban prisoners in exchange for the captives' freedom.
Afghan police, meanwhile, killed six suspected members of Taliban during a one-hour gunbattle in Paktika province, which borders Pakistan, late on Sunday, said Ghamia Khan, a spokesman for the provincial governor. He gave no more details.
In the southern Zabul province, Afghan and coalition troops clashed with Taliban fighters in Daychopan district Sunday, killing four suspected members of Taliban and wounding four others, said Fazel Bari, the Daychopan district chief.
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