Bomb kills US soldier in Afghanistan: NATO

Fri Feb 5, 5:32 am ET

KABUL (AFP) –

 A Taliban-style bomb attack killed a US soldier on Friday in western Afghanistan, NATO said.

NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said the death was caused by an IED, or improvised explosive device -- the crude bombs increasingly deployed by the Taliban in their insurgency.

"An ISAF service member from the United States was killed in an IED strike in western Afghanistan today," said the statement.

The death brings to 57 the number of foreign soldiers to die in Afghanistan since the beginning of this year, according to an AFP count based on a running tally kept by the independent icasualties.org website.

The vast majority of those deaths have been caused by IEDs, which have become the Taliban's main weapon against international and Afghan troops fighting their insurgency to topple the Western-backed Afghan government.

More than 100,000 foreign troops are leading the battle under US and NATO command, with another 40,000 arriving up to August as part of a surge that aims to flush the insurgents from populated areas and pave the way for development.

IEDs, cheap and easy to make with fertiliser and simple switches, are often buried by roadsides and detonated from up to two kilometres (one mile) away.

Their frequency and accuracy is impacting morale among foreign and Afghan troops, with military intelligence saying that IEDs are now responsible for up to 90 percent of international casualties.

Afghanistan: Blast at dog fight kills 3, wounds 26

Reuters – 

 By Noor Khan, Associated Press Writer –

Fri Feb 5, 8:21 am ET

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan –

 A motorcycle bomb struck a crowd watching a dog fight Friday in southern Afghanistan, killing at least three people and wounding more than two dozen others.

The blast on the outskirts of Lashkar Gah, capital of Helmand province, came as U.S. Marines and their NATO and Afghan allies are poised to launch a major offensive against the Taliban in the area.

The explosives-packed motorcycle was parked near the dog fight, according to deputy provincial police chief Kamal Uddin.

Health Department director Dr. Inayat Ullah Ghafari confirmed the casualty toll, saying seven children were among the 26 wounded.

Dog fighting was forbidden under the Taliban regime but has emerged as a popular pastime in many parts of Afghanistan after the hard-line Islamist movement was ousted in 2001.

Such competitions have been targeted in the past. More than 100 people were killed in a suicide bombing at a dog fight in the southern city of Kandahar.

No date has been set for the Helmand offensive to begin, but U.S. commanders have said they plan to capture the town of Marjah, 380 miles (610 kilometers) southwest of Kabul, this winter.

The Taliban, meanwhile, claimed responsibility for Thursday's bombing near a roadside hotel in Kandahar, which borders Helmand.

Police and hospital official said it was a suicide car bombing that killed six people and wounded 18 wounded.

The blast occurred near a major road that is frequently used by U.S. convoys and other officials and police said the bomber may have detonated his explosives prematurely.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi said in a text message that militants had detonated a roadside bomb near the hotel, killing 15 contractors and wounding seven. The Taliban frequently give higher death tolls and Ahmadi did not specify who the contractors were.

In other violence, a U.S. service member was killed by a bomb Friday in western Afghanistan, NATO said. The brief statement gave no further details.

NATO also said a helicopter contracted by coalition forces was hit by small-arms fire Friday in the eastern province of Kapisa.

One person suffered minor wounds, but the helicopter suffered no significant damage and landed safely at a military base, the international force said in a statement.

NATO Claims 32 Taliban fighters Killed In Afghanistan

(RTTNews) -

Afghan and NATO-led forces have killed 32 Taliban fighters in Khoshal Kali area of Nad Ali district of Afghanistan, spokesman for the provincial governor Daoud Ahmadi said Thursday.

Three government troops also died in the five-hour fighting on Wednesday night. Besides, a NATO soldier and three others were injured in the clash with the militants.

Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yousif Ahmadi, however, dismissed the official claim saying that there were no casualties in the Taliban ranks.

He said Taliban fighters attacked the combined forces as they were descending from helicopters in the Sayed Abad area of the district, killing eleven NATO soldiers.

Incidentally, it was on Wednesday that Afghan and the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) announced a joint military operation in the Taliban stronghold of Helmand in southern Afghanistan.

Currently, there are more than 110,000 US-led troops serving in Afghanistan with an additional 37,000 to be deployed shortly to fight the militants.

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Two policemen killed in Kust, 2 injured

By Zabihullah Mujahid

KHOST, Feb. 05 - A blast on Friday killed two policemen and wounded another two when their patrol vehicle was targeted by a roadside bomb in Sayed Khel area of Dwa Mandu district in Khost province.

A commander is said to have been among the dead.

  Feb05

Three Britons killed, one injured in Helmand

By Qari Yousuf Ahmadi HELMAND, Feb. 05 - At least three British soldiers were killed and another wounded on Thursday when a roadside bomb ripped in their foot patrol in Zangaliano area of Kajaki district, in Helmand province. A translator is said to have been among the dead. Last Updated ( Friday, 05 February 2010 10:54 )   Feb05

Heavy fighting ongoing in Helmnad

By Qari Yusuf Ahmadi

HELMAND, Feb. 05 - The face-to-face fighting in Helmand, which has been in progress for the past three days, is still going on in Khush Hal village, Nad Ali district on Friday.

As per the report from the Helmand province, the joint U.S-coalition-Afghan troops have gotten stuck in

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