News, August , 2007

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60 Afghanis Killed by NATO-led Forces, Taliban Movement Received $20 Million for Releasing South Korean Christian Missionaries

Editorial Note:

In the past, many of the casualties were Afghani civilians despite claims they were Taliban fighters.

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AP Headline: Suicide Bomber Kills 1 by Kabul Airport

By FISNIK ABRASHI Associated Press Writer

Aug 31, 2007, 5:35 AM EDT

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- 

A Taliban suicide bomber in a car blew himself up near the gates of the Afghan capital's airport Friday, killing one Afghani soldier and wounding six other people, officials and witnesses said.

The blast, apparently aimed at a convoy of cars carrying foreigners, missed its intended target and tore into a group of soldiers waiting at a checkpoint outside the military wing of Kabul International airport, witnesses said.

The soldiers were scheduled to fly to Italy for training at a NATO base, said a soldier who declined to give his name because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi, a defense ministry spokesman, said at least one Afghan soldier was killed and two others were wounded in the attack, the latest in a wave of insurgent-led violence in the country.

Other officials at the site of the blast said one soldier was killed and at least six others - four soldiers and two civilians - were wounded.

"A car drove fast and blew up next to crowd a people, including Afghani National Army soldiers," said Mansur, a witness who only gave a single name. "A lot of people were left laying on the ground."

Ambulances ferried those injured, while NATO and Afghan troops secured the site of the blast. The debris from the car destroyed in the blast was scattered around a wide area, next to the heavily protected entrance of the airport's military wing.

An Afghani noncommissioned officer said the bomber tried to ram a convoy of cars carrying foreigners. Instead, most hit were members of the Afghani National Army, on their way for training in Italy, he said.

"All the shrapnel came toward us," said the officer, who also declined to give his name.

Another soldier walked away from the scene holding a pair of bloodied boots and two green berets worn by Afghan National Army members.

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Associated Press Writer Rahim Faiez contributed to this report.

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AP Headline: 60 Suspected Afghan Militants Killed

By RAHIM FAIEZ Associated Press Writer

Sep 1, 2007, 6:41 AM EDT

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- 

Afghan police and foreign forces killed around 60 alleged Taliban fighters, many in the region where the Taliban Movement recently released a group of South Korean church workers they had been holding, authorities said Saturday.

Meanwhile, South Korea's foreign minister defended direct negotiations with the Taliban to free the hostages amid concern the move violated international principles and could spur more abductions.

Police attacked a group of Taliban fighters late Friday who were planning to strike security forces in the central Afghan province of Ghazni, killing 18 and arresting six others, said provincial police Gen. Ali Shah Ahmadai.

Taliban fighters abducted 23 South Koreans in Ghazni district six weeks ago. They killed two male hostages, released two women last month and the final 19 were freed last week after the Taliban Movement held unprecedented negotiations with the government in Seoul. They left Afghanistan Friday and were due in South Korea early Sunday.

South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon on Saturday emphasized that South Korean negotiators were tasked with protecting the "innocent lives of hostages." He also denied claims that South Korea paid a ransom to the Taliban Movement, saying "there is no such thing," according to Yonhap news agency.

(The Iraqi newspaper Sotaliraq reported on September 1, 2007 that a Taliban leader announced that the Taliban Movement received $20 million in return for the release of the South Korean Christian missionaries, see below - ccun.org Editor).

South Korea drew praise at home for saving the remaining hostages, but many in the country are also concerned that its international reputation may suffer because of the direct talks - considered a breach of the widely accepted international principle of not negotiating with terrorists.

Further embarrassing Seoul, the Taliban Movement has claimed that the kidnapping of the South Koreans were "successful" and vowed to continue with similar actions.

In southern Helmand province on Friday, a combined police and U.S.-led coalition patrol came under attack with mortar, rocket-propelled grenade and small-arms fire. In the fight that ensued, "almost two dozen" alleged Taliban fighters were killed, the coalition said in a statement Saturday.

No Afghan or coalition soldiers, or civilians, were killed, the statement said.

The fighting took place in Musa Qala district, parts of which have been under the control of Taliban fighters for several months.

U.S.-led troops and Afghan security forces also raided compounds late Friday in three villages in the remote Pitigal Valley border region, where intelligence showed that top Taliban leaders take refuge as they travel between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

More than 20 alleged Taliban fighters were killed and 11 others were detained, while officers also discovered a bomb-making factory, the U.S.-led coalition said in a statement.

It was not possible to independently verify the death tolls in the three incidents because travel in the areas is extremely dangerous. Taliban commanders were not available for comment.

The Taliban Movement ruled most of Afghanistan from the mid-'90s up until 2001, when they were ousted by a U.S.-led coalition following the Sept. 11 attacks.

They are now leading an increasingly bloody campaign against NATO occupation forces and their backed government. More than 4,200 Afghani people have been killed this year alone, according to an Associated Press count.

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Associated Press Writer Jae-Soon Chang in Seoul, South Korea, and APTN Senior Producer Fernando Sepe in Incheon, South Korea contributed to this report.

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