Baghlan Locals Divided over the Role of Local Police (ALP)
08 March 2011
[Afghanistan Analysts Network] AAN returns to the story of the local police (ALP) of Baghlan and particularly the group of Hezb-e Islami fighters who, supported by the US Special Forces, had reconciled and become local police in summer 2010, and were decimated in a Taleban attack in September. Some locals have accused this group of committing crimes. Others however claim they were heroically protected by them. AAN’s Gran Hewad unpacks this...
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NATO, Afghan Forces Detain Insurgent Leaders
17 February 2011
EXCERPT: "NATO and Afghan forces captured leaders of an insurgent group in eastern Afghanistan, including one believed to be linked to last month's suicide attack on a Kabul supermarket, the coalition said Thursday. Insurgent attacks elsewhere killed three, including a NATO service member. The detainees were identified as members of Hizb-i-Islami, a militant group made up of loyalists of regional warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. Among those captured was...
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Escalation in Kunduz: Who Are the Insurgents in NE Afghanistan?
14 January 2011
[pdf], German Institute of Global and Area Studies, 1 December 2010
EXCERPT: "Although approximately 5,000 US soldiers were transferred into Northern Afghanistan in the first half of 2010 and there have been initial military successes, the intensity of the insurgency in the Kunduz region has not diminished. Instead, there has been a continuing escalation...
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Pakistan-Afghanistan to Hold Peace Jirga; Militants Vow to Keep Fighting
06 January 2011
, AFP, 5 January 2011
EXCERPT: "Pakistan and a visiting delegation of Afghan officials charged with trying to broker peace with the Taliban have agreed to hold a peace 'jirga' between the two countries, Islamabad said on Thursday. A spokesman for Pakistan's foreign ministry said the decision was made during a visit to the capital by two dozen members of Kabul's High Committee for...
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Afghan Insurgent Faction Backs Regional Gas Pipeline
20 December 2010
Afghan Insurgent Faction Says Backs Gas Pipeline, Reuters, 19 December 2010
EXCERPT: "An Afghan insurgent faction has voiced its backing for construction of a multi-billion dollar gas pipeline through Afghanistan and even pledged to provide security on a project stalled for over a decade by politics and violence. Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India this month signed a preliminary agreement to push ahead with the "TAPI"...
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Report Reveals Political Deals behind Appointments of Governors
07 December 2010
Report Reveals Political Deals Behind Governors Appointments, Tolo News, 4 December 2010
EXCERPT: "Afghan governors have been appointed based on political deals, supports from government factions and pressures, a latest report by Kilid Group found. The report has found that former Jihadi leaders, some top Afghan government officials and foreign countries with huge military engagement in Afghanistan play a crucial and influential role...
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Hezb-i-Islami Offers Ceasefire Terms
18 November 2010
Afghan Rebel Group Offers Truce Terms, BBC News, 17 November 2010
EXCERPT: "A leading Afghan insurgent group has told the BBC it would agree to a ceasefire if US-led coalition forces stayed in their main bases. Hezb-e-Islami, viewed as the country's most important rebel group after the Taliban, said they had already held talks with the Americans. Habib-ur-Rahman, son of Hezb-e-Islami chief Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, said his father was...
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Hezb-i-Islami Claim Suicide Bomb Attack on NATO Convoy in Kabul
12 November 2010
, The Canadian Press, 12 November 2010
EXCERPT: "A suicide car bomber blew himself up as a NATO convoy passed by his vehicle on the outskirts of the Afghan capital on Friday, wounding two troops, officials said. The Afghan Defence Ministry said an Afghan soldier and a NATO service member were wounded in the blast. NATO confirmed the attack took...
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Interview with Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
08 November 2010
Hekmatyar auf Deutsch [blog], The Kings of War, 6 November 2010
EXCERPT: "German public TV channel ZDF has interviewed Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. Snippets of the interview were broadcast yesterday in their heute-journal, and can be viewed here. It is unclear when they will broadcast more. Hekmatyar said some obvious things that are to be expected. Like: 'It is a reality that America has lost the war, it can only withdraw now.' He...
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Battle Story Raises Questions about Local Militia Program, Reconciliation Process: Analyst
18 October 2010
[blog], Afghanistan Analyst Network, 18 October 2010
EXCERPT: "In March 2010, heavy fighting broke out in the northern Baghlan province between Hezb-e Islami fighters and the Taleban. On 7 October 2010, a German soldier was killed by a suicide bomber in the same area. The connection between both events is another example how the establishment of 'militias' (even though they are not called so)...
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