Afghanistan

KABUL (Reuters) – Afghan and NATO-led forces killed or wounded scores of Taliban insurgents in a joint air and ground operation in southern Afghanistan, the Afghan Defence Ministry said on Sunday.

Two soldiers with the US-led coalition were killed in southern Afghanistan when their vehicle struck a mine planted on a busy road, the force announced.

LONDON, March 22 (Xinhua) — French President Nicolas Sarkozy is expected to inform British Prime Minister Gordon Brown next week of France’s plan to send some 1,000 more troops to Afghanistan, reported the Times on Saturday.

SHAJOY, Afghanistan (Reuters) – Afghan police backed by U.S. troops killed three Taliban fighters and captured three more in a 40-minute gun battle in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, a Reuters witness said.

UNTIED NATIONS: The Security Council has extended the mandate of the UN mission in Afghanistan by one year, giving the world body central role in coordinating humanitarian activities being carried out by various bodies in the war-ravaged country.

KABUL, Afghanistan – Vice President Dick Cheney met with Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai on Thursday to discuss ways the country’s fragile government as it faces rising threats from al-Qaida and Taliban militants.

They said the victims, from the families of two brothers, were all civilians, but the U.S. military said the two brothers were involved in conducting bombing operations using improvised explosive devices.

KABUL (Reuters) – Scores of prisoners rioted in a high-security Kabul jail and at least nine people were wounded in an exchange of gunfire as Afghan police tried to restore order, sources in two foreign aid agencies said on Wednesday.

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFP) — NATO war planes killed a dozen Taliban rebels in southern Afghanistan after bombing the vehicle in which they were travelling, the alliance said Tuesday, rejecting claims several civilians were killed.

KABUL (Reuters) – An air strike by foreign forces has killed more than 30 people, including civilians, in Afghanistan’s southern province of Helmand, two members of parliament from the area said on Tuesday.