Foreign Fighters in Pakistan's Tribal Regions Plan Attacks in Afghanistan: Captured Al-Qaeda Member
25 May 2011
A Moroccan al Qaeda operative captured in Afghanistan told coalition forces earlier this month that foreign fighters were "converging" in Pakistan in hopes of carrying out attacks across the border in Afghanistan, the International Security Assistance Force said late Monday. The unnamed captive, who is described as a "Germany-based Moroccan al Qaeda foreign fighter facilitator," was captured by coalition and Afghan forces on May 8 in southeast Afghanistan. "After...
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Afghanistan One of Ten Countries "Least at Peace": Global Peace Index 2011
25 May 2011
Embroiled in conflict and instability for much of the past two decades, Afghanistan remained far from peaceful during 2010. It was a year of intensified armed conflict, with a surge of activity by pro-government forces and increased use of improvised explosive devices and assassinations by anti-government elements. The UN estimates that 2,777 civilians were killed during the year (up from 2,400 in 2009) amid continued confrontation between the NATO-supported...
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Insurgents Briefly Capture District in East but Are Pushed Back by NATO, Afghan Troops
25 May 2011
Hundreds of Taliban fighters attacked and briefly seized parts of a district in Afghanistan's remote and mountainous northeast on Wednesday, provincial officials said, with gunfights raging for hours between insurgents and Afghan troops. Jamuladdin Badr, the governor of Nuristan province near the border with Pakistan, told Reuters the Duab district center had "fallen into the hands of insurgents," but most of it was recaptured within hours by Afghan...
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Gunmen Kill Head of Girls' School in Eastern Logar Province
25 May 2011
Taliban gunmen have killed the headteacher of a girls' school near the Afghan capital after he ignored warnings to stop teaching girls, government officials have said. Khan Mohammad, the head of the Porak girls' school in Logar province, was shot dead near his home on Tuesday, said Deen Mohammad Darwish, a spokesman for the Logar governor. "He was killed because he wanted to run the school," Darwish said. Mateen Jafar, the education director in Logar,...
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