Afghanistan

BBC News – A British soldier has been killed and four others injured in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said. The dead soldier was from the 1st Battalion the Grenadier Guards. The five were hit by an explosion after clashes with Taleban forces during offensive operations in Garmsir …

By Guy Dinmore and Rachel Morarjee, Financial Times The US is proceeding with plans for a big crop-spraying programme to destroy opium poppies in Afghanistan, in spite of resistance from the government of President Hamid Karzai and objections from some senior US military officers who fear it will fuel the …

AFP – A suicide attacker struck a police patrol close to the governor’s office in Afghanistan’s southern city of Kandahar, wounding at least three policemen, an officer said. Remains of the bomber, who had been on foot, were scattered across the road, which was immediately cordoned off by police, an …

By Patrick Worsnip, Reuters Britain lobbied U.N. officials on Thursday with a proposal for the world body to lead a comprehensive “campaign plan” for peace in Afghanistan, where NATO-led troops are struggling against Taliban insurgents. Defense Secretary Des Browne said the United Nations was best placed to coordinate a peace-building …

AFP – A rowdy protest of about 200 people, half of them women wearing burqas, demanded that parliament reinstate a female MP suspended for comparing her colleagues to animals. The demonstrators marched in the eastern town of Jalalabad to the offices of the United Nations where they were to hand …

A roadside bomb in northwestern Afghanistan has killed a Finnish solder and wounded four Norwegians, military officials say.  

AFP – Finland lost its first soldier in Afghanistan when a bomb struck a foot patrol in the normally peaceful north, while another Taliban suicide bombing hit the capital and killed a policeman. The new attacks linked to a spreading Taliban insurgency came as Germany transported home the bodies of …

BBC News – A suicide bomber has killed two people and injured at least four others in the Afghan capital, Kabul, police say. The bomber, who was riding a motorbike, blew himself up next to highway police guarding a road construction project. Nato said a separate bomb blast in the …

AFP – Fresh attacks claimed the lives of four more members of Afghanistan’s fledgling security forces as officials said Tuesday a dozen more insurgents were killed in various clashes. The latest unrest, daily fare in a growing insurgency, came as the German foreign minister met President Hamid Karzai for talks …

By Sayed Salahuddin, Reuters The world must remain engaged in Afghanistan until the country manages to stand on its own feet or “terrorists” will strike again, President Hamid Karzai warned on Tuesday. The Taliban and allies such as the al Qaeda network have stepped up raids in the past 18 …