49 Afghanis Killed in War Attacks, Including 33 by NATO forces

49 Afghanis Killed in War Attacks, Including 33 by NATO forces

Editor's Note:

In the past, despite claims of NATO forces of killing Taliban fighters, there were many Afghani civilians deaths to the extent that even the puppet president Karzai expressed his own outraged.

In the AP news report below, Taliban fighters were originally referred to as militants or insurgents. It is inaccurate to use the term insurgents to refer to fighters resisting foreign occupation. The term should be used when fighters revolt against their own sovereign and independent government, which does not apply to the NATO-occupied Afghanistan.

Bomb blast kills three policemen in Afghanistan

Afghanistan News.Net
Wednesday 2nd July, 2008 (IANS)

Kabul, July 2 (Xinhua) At least three policemen were killed Wednesday when a suicide bomber blew himself up near a convoy of the provincial governor in Afghanistan's south-western province of Nimroz, officials said.

Governor of Nimroz Ghulam Dastagir Azad was on his way back to the provincial capital Zaranj after visiting a construction project in Khash Rod district when the blast took place.

Two civilians were also killed in the attack.

No militant group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.

Coalition: 33 (Taliban fighters) killed in Afghanistan

1. July 2008, 01:12
By STEPHEN GRAHAM, Associated Press Writer

Helicopters and a bomber attacked insurgents massing in eastern Afghanistan under cover of darkness, killing an estimated 33 people, the U.S.-led coalition said Tuesday.

Reconnaissance aircraft spotted "large groupings" of (alleged Taliban fighters) armed with heavy machine-guns and rocket-propelled grenades on Monday night in Khost province, the coalition said.

"After positively identifying the (alleged Taliban fighters), coalition forces engaged them with attack helicopters and a close air support bomber, killing approximately 33 (alleged Taliban fighters)," spokesman 1st Lt. Nathan Perry said.

Fighting between (alleged Taliban fighters) and security forces is intensifying in the southern half of Afghanistan. More than 2,100 people died in the violence in the first six months, according to an Associated Press tally.

An Afghan army officer said the clash in Khost began when Taliban (fighters) attacked coalition and Afghan forces patrolling in Tani, a district on the border with Pakistan.

Col. Mohammed Israr, a battalion commander in Khost, said Afghan intelligence reports put the number of (alleged Taliban fighters) dead at about 20.

Israr also said that the group of about 50 (alleged Taliban fighters) had crossed from Pakistan, where some Taliban and al-Qaida (fighters) seek refuge, and retreated in that direction under heavy coalition fire.

However, Perry said the clash took place about five miles from the frontier and "did not involve Pakistan."

Most of those killed in the violence this year have been (alleged Taliban fighters), who suffer heavy losses when caught in the open by coalition aircraft. However, foreign troop deaths are also rising as militants get more effective at ambushes and roadside bombings.

At least 45 international troops died in Afghanistan in June, the deadliest month since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion to oust the Taliban.

Police said a roadside bomb killed four officers and seriously wounded two others on Monday as they drove to the aid of colleagues under militant attack near Tirin Kot, the capital of Uruzgan province.

In neighboring Zabul province, police said they killed five Taliban fighters who attacked a police post in Daichopan district before dawn Tuesday.

The U.S.-led coalition said its troops shot dead one (alleged Taliban fighter) and detained four during an operation Monday to disrupt Taliban activities in southwestern Nimroz province.

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