4 Afghans Killed in Peace Day Attacks, 3 NATO Soldiers Killed at Weekend

Four Afghans Killed in Peace Day Attacks

22. September 2008, 02:26
AFP -

Four Afghan security workers were killed in attacks over the weekend and rebels held about 100 civilians hostage for hours, authorities said Monday, accusing the Taliban of breaking a Peace Day truce.

The Afghan army and its international military allies (NATO occupation forces) had agreed to call off offensives against (Taliban resistance fighters) on the UN's International Peace Day on Sunday, with Taliban fighters also agreeing to halt attacks.

But Taliban-linked fighters shot dead an Afghan soldier in the southern province of Helmand, the defence ministry said in a statement.

An Afghan policemen was also killed in a gun attack in the northern province of Baghlan, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said.

Two security guards were meanwhile killed in the central province of Ghazni when Taliban fighters attacked a convoy of trucks supplying (NATO occupation forces), said provincial spokesman Ismail Jahangir.

A Taliban attacker also shot and wounded a district chief in the eastern province of Paktika before being gunned down by troops, the defence ministry said.

Taliban (allegedly) held more than 100 Afghans hostage for several hours on Sunday in Farah province in the west, a deputy provincial governor said.

"They were Afghan construction workers. They were kidnapped by Taliban in the morning but all were freed in the evening," Mohammad Younis Rasouli said.

ISAF said there had been 28 incidents across the country during the 24-hour Peace Day period.

The defence ministry also said there were several attacks on Sunday. Many did not cause much damage, the ministry said.

Afghans rallied in marches and sports and cultural events to call for peace on Sunday.

Three international soldiers, two Afghans killed in blasts

20. September 2008, 10:28
AFP -

Three international soldiers (from NATO occupation forces) and two Afghan civilians were killed Saturday when bombs struck patrols in separate incidents in Afghanistan, the international military forces said.

Two NATO soldiers were killed when a bomb hit their patrol in the east of the country, ISAF said.

And a trooper with the separate US-led NATO coalition was killed in a similar blast in the south that also left two Afghan civilians dead, the force said.

The forces did not release the nationalities of their casualties, leaving this to their home nations. The coalition also did not say who the Afghans were.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the Taliban militia has carried out a series of similar attacks in its drive to force out the international soldiers helping the Western-backed government.

At least 215 foreign soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan this year alone, most of them in insurgent attacks, according to an AFP tally. Around 220 died last year.

There are around 60,000 international soldiers in Afghanistan, most of them with the NATO-led force that operates alongside the smaller coalition.