Afghanistan

WASHINGTON — As the Bush administration struggles for a way to close the military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, a similar effort to scale down a larger and more secretive American detention center in Afghanistan has been troubled by political, legal and security problems, officials say.

THE CANADIAN PRESS KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – A pair of Canadian soldiers returning to establish camp for the night part way through an operation in southern Afghanistan were killed Sunday evening in a vehicle roll-over.

KABUL – Afghanistan’s Islamic council has told President Hamid Karzai to stop foreign aid groups from converting locals to Christianity and also demanded the reintroduction of public executions.

Most girls dream about about falling in love, getting married in a beautiful dress, and having a family. But for thousands of young Afghan girls, and millions more across Asia and Africa, marriage often comes before they are old enough for such dreams — and ends in nightmare.

TEHRAN (FNA) Afghanistan’s government called Thursday on Iran to delay its decision to expel more than a million Afghan refugees living there without proper documents.

A suicide bomber has killed six police and an Indian engineer in southeastern Afghanistan, a provincial official says.

HERAT, Afghanistan (AFP) — At least 16 Taliban rebels including a suspected would-be suicide bomber were killed in US-led and Afghan operations across insurgency-plagued Afghanistan, officials said Tuesday.

US military deaths, suicide bombings and opium production hit record highs in 2007. Taliban militants killed more than 925 Afghan police. But US officials insist things are looking up.

MA’SUM GHAR, Afghanistan – A Canadian soldier headed to the relatively cushy Kandahar Airfield for a little New Year’s rest and relaxation died early Sunday after his armoured vehicle struck an improvised explosive device.

KANDAHAR AIR FIELD, Afghanistan — The coalition field hospital at this sprawling base is taking in more and more injured children from Afghanistan’s war-ravaged South, Canadian staff say.