Saturday 04 June 2011

Afghanistan news, video and pictures

Latest news on Afghanistan, President Harmid Karzai's government and the British Army deployment in Helmand province where our soldiers are fighting the Taliban.

afghanistan latest

British soldier killed in insurgent attack in Afghanistan

A British soldier has been killed following an insurgent attack in southern Afghanistan.

04 Jun 2011

Afghan suicide bomber 'spent six years in London'

An unidentified British man appears on an al-Qaeda suicide video. 'Musa the British' Videograb from an al-Qaeda website: Afghan suicide bomber 'spent six years in London'

A suicide attacker who penetrated the Afghan defence ministry and killed three soldiers had spent six years living in London, intelligence officials have confirmed.

03 Jun 2011

Britain and US in drive to lift sanctions on former Taliban

Face-covered militants who they say are Talibans pose with an RPG in Zabul province, southern of Kabul, Afghanistan: Britain and US in drive to lift sanctions on former Taliban

The United Nations is set to rule on appeals by Afghanistan to remove sanctions on former members of the Taliban, as part of a growing effort by Britain and the United States to promote reconciliation with remaining insurgents.

03 Jun 2011

Military Cross and FA Cup 'cannot be compared'

Corporal Mark Ward has been awarded the Military Cross just weeks after presenting the FA Cup but says both are "phenomenal events".

01 Jun 2011

There might never be a good time to get out of Afghanistan

Afghanistan withdrawal: no significant pull out, says senior British general

If Britain and America are to withdraw their troops, they must do so on their own terms, writes Malcolm Rifkind.

31 May 2011

Hamid Karzai: Nato risks becoming 'occupying force'

Hamid Karzai has forbidden the use of Nato air strikes against houses and warned that the coalition risks being seen as an occupying power by Afghans.

31 May 2011

Hamid Karzai warns Nato not to act as occupier

The president of Afghanistan tells Nato-led forces that they must be more careful not to harm civilians.

31 May 2011

Karzai: Nato risks becoming 'occupying force' in Afghanistan

Nato risks becoming an "occupying force" in Afghanistan if aerial bombings which cause civilian casualties continue, Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, has claimed.

31 May 2011

Troops must stay in Afghanistan, Cameron warned

Exclusive: There must be no significant pull-out of troops until late 2012 if Nato is to hold gains, general tells David Cameron.

30 May 2011

Nato issues apology for bungled Afghan strike

International coalition admits killing civilians hours after Afghan president gives US “final warning” to change its tactics.

30 May 2011

Killed Marine's father queries Afghanistan operation

Marine Alexander’s father, Stuart, a sports journalist, questioned the role of the military in Afghanistan.

30 May 2011

Our frank, frustrated man in Afghanistan

Charles Moore reviews Cables from Kabul by Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles (Harper Press).

29 May 2011

Nato air strike 'kills 14 Afghan women and children'

A bungled air strike by Nato helicopters killed 14 women and children in Helmand province, local officials have said.

29 May 2011

Luxury property boom for Afghan capital sparks Kabul gold rush

Kabul is witnessing an unlikely boom in luxury properties as the billions spent in Afghanistan by the West begin to bear unexpected fruit.

29 May 2011

Bomb kills Afghan general & injures Nato commander

Afghan police general was among seven killed by a Taliban suicide bomber.

28 May 2011

Two Royal Marines killed in Afghanistan

Two Royal Marines from 42 Commando have been killed in the Nad Ali district of Helmand.

28 May 2011

Afghanistan: eight US troops killed in roadside bomb

Eight U.S. troops were killed by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan on Thursday in the deadliest single attack on foreign forces in a month, the U.S. military said.

26 May 2011

Troops reclaim Afghan district, 28 rebels dead

Coalition and Afghan troops on Wednesday retook control of a remote Afghan district in the northeast after fierce fighting that left 28 Taliban rebels dead, officials said.

25 May 2011

Britain to pay �7m for Afghan bank probe

Britain will pay £7 million for an audit of the murky Afghan banking system as fallout from the collapse of the country's biggest retail bank threatens to stall new aid projects.

24 May 2011

Special forces commando took on Taliban single-handedly

A special forces commando saved the lives of his colleagues in an act of "selfless bravery" during a raid on a Taliban stronghold after he took on the insurgents single-handedly, an inquest heard.

24 May 2011

Mullah Mohammad Omar: profile of the one-eyed Taliban leader

Mullah Mohammad Omar has been a fugitive for nearly a decade since his Taliban government was toppled with US help, but even before then he was a notorious recluse.

23 May 2011

Osama bin Laden dead: Mullah Omar 'on the run'

The fugitive leader of the Afghan Taliban movement has left his long-term hideout inside Pakistan and gone on the run according to the Afghan intelligence service.

23 May 2011

Taliban leader reported killed

An International Security Assistance Force spokesman in Afghanistan has said that he was not able to confirm yet if the reports of Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mohammad Omar's death were true.

23 May 2011

Mullah Omar not dead, say Taliban

The Afghan Taliban have denied reports that Mullah Mohammad Omar, their fugitive leader, has been killed inside Pakistan.

23 May 2011

Suicide bomber kills six Kabul medics while they eat lunch

A suicide bomber killed at least six trainee medics when he sneaked into Kabul's main Afghan military hospital and detonated inside a tent as they ate lunch.

21 May 2011