According to Afghan government officials, an Afghan boy was beheaded by Taliban militants in southern Kandahar province and another Afghan girl was beheaded in eastern Kapisa province of Afghanistan.
Kandahar provincial governor spokesman Jawid Faisal confirming the report said Taliban militants beheaded the Afghan boy to avenge from his brother who is serving in Afghan national police forces.
Mr. Faisal further added the Afghan boy was only 12 years old and was a resident of Zherai district, and was beheaded by Taliban militants while he was on his way to Panjwai district.
He said Taliban militants left the beheaded body of the Afghan boy near the roadside.
This comes as Taliban militants earlier beheaded a 14 years old Afghan boy in Zherai district over espionage charges to Afghan government, provincial governor spokesman Jawid Faisal said.
In the meantime Abdul Hakim Akhundzada district chief for Tagab in eastern Kapisa province said they have founded a beheaded body of a 7 years old Afghan girl from a garden whose legs were also amputed.
Mr. Akhundzada said the girl was killed last evening in Jalu Khel village and it is yet not clear who committed the crime.
He said no one has complained to security forces regarding the murder of the girl.
LASHKARGAH (PAN): Three militants have been killed in two separate explosions caused by their own bombs in southern Helmand province, police said on Friday.
Two insurgents were killed in Sistan area of Marjah town when the bomb they were planting on a road went off prematurely late on Thursday night, police spokesman Farid Ahmad Farhang told Pajhwok Afghan News.
Another insurgent was killed in a similar incident the same night in the Nawa district, according Farhang, who said police arrested a fourth suspected bomb planter after the blast.
On Thursday, two policemen were shot dead by gunmen on a motorcycle in the limits of the sixth police district of Lashkargah, the provincial capital.
from Pajhwok by Pajhwok Report on Aug 31, 2012 - 14:44
SANAA, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- Suspected al-Qaida gunmen shot dead a senior intelligence officer in an attack in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa on Thursday, an interior ministry official said.
"Major Yehya Badi of the Political Security Agency was gunned down in Habra street in central Sanaa Thursday afternoon in an attack carried out by two masked al-Qaida gunmen on a motorcycle," the official, who led an investigation into the incident, told Xinhua.
"They fled the scene after Badi fell dead," he said on condition of anonymity, citing testimonies of eyewitnesses.
The attack came one day after a U.S. drone strike killed five al-Qaida operatives on a vehicle in a desert area in the Yemeni southeastern province of Hadramout.
Several intelligence and security members have been targeted in Sanaa and other major cities in a string of high-level assassinations since a U.S.-backed offensive drove al-Qaida militants out of their main strongholds in southern restive province of Abyan two months ago, where the militants had controlled for nearly a year during political turmoil that eventually forced the replacement of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh with his deputy Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
The United States and neighboring oil-rich Saudi Arabia have beefed up anti-terror cooperation since Hadi took office to help his administration overcome security challenges and combat resurgent branch of al-Qaida network in particular.
KABUL, Afghanistan – An Afghan and coalition force killed two armed
insurgents during an operation in Sayyid Karam district, Paktiya
province, yesterday.
During the operation, the security force observed multiple armed
militants engaging in insurgent activity. After ensuring there were no
civilians nearby, the security force engaged with a precision airstrike,
killing two.
Post-strike assessments determined no civilians were harmed and there was no damage to civilian structures.
In other International Security Assistance Force news throughout Afghanistan:
East
An Afghan and coalition force detained several suspected insurgents
during an operation to arrest a Haqqani bomb maker in Pul-e ‘Alam
district, Logar province, today. The Haqqani leader facilitates the
construction of improvised explosive devices and directs their use in
Pul-e ‘Alam district.
In Gelan district, Ghazni province today, an Afghan and coalition
security force detained many suspected insurgents during an operation to
arrest a Taliban leader. The Taliban leader manages the finances,
supplies and the movement of foreign fighters into the area.
Also today in Gelan district, an Afghan and coalition security force
detained several suspected insurgents during a search for a Taliban
leader, today. The Taliban leader plans and coordinates attacks against
Afghan and coalition forces in southern Ghazni.
Afghan and coalition forces confirmed the Aug. 29 arrest of a Taliban
leader during an operation in Andar district, Ghazni province. The
detained Taliban leader prepared and conducted attacks targeting Afghan
and coalition forces. In addition, he facilitated the movement of
weapons and supplies, including improvised explosive devices, throughout
Andar district.
BAGRAM, Afghanistan - Afghan and coalition forces killed eight
insurgents, detained 15 and cleared seven improvised explosive devices
during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours,
Aug. 30.
Ghazni Province
Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces found and safely cleared an IED in Giro District.
Khowst Province
Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces detained an
insurgent during an engagement in Gurbuz District. The detained suspect
was transferred to a base for questioning.
Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces found and safely
cleared two IEDs, one in Sabari District and one in Tanai District.
A coalition airstrike killed three insurgents and wounded three in
Baraki Barak District who were emplacing an IED. The wounded received
medical care and were transferred to a base for questioning.
Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces killed an insurgent during an engagement in Muhammad Aghah District.
Nangarhar Province
Afghan National Army soldiers and coalition forces detained 11
insurgents who were conducting an illegal checkpoint in Khugyani
District. The detained suspects were transferred to a base for
questioning.
Paktika Province
Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces found and safely
cleared two IEDs, one in Sar Rowzah District and one in Omnah District.
A coalition airstrike killed four insurgents in Sar Rowzah District in
response an imminent threat posed to Afghan National Security Forces and
coalition forces.
Lance Corporal Mervyn McDonald, 30, and Private Nathanael Galagher, 23,
were killed when their helicopter crashed in Helmand province in
Afghanistan. Picture: Australian Defence Force
Two soldiers killed in Afghanistan chopper crash named
THE chief of the defence force has named two Australian soldiers killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan.
The men were among five soldiers killed in two separate incidents this week.
Defence chief David Hurley named the two soldiers killed in the crash as
Private Nathanael Galagher, 23, from Wee Waa in NSW and Lance Corporal
Mervyn McDonald, 30, from Carnarvon in Western Australia.
Lieutenant General Hurley said Private Galagher enlisted in the army in 2007. He was on his second deployment to Afghanistan.
"He is survived by his partner, parents and sister," Gen Hurley told reporters in Canberra. Lance Corporal McDonald enlisted in the army in May 1999. He served for five years, left in 2004 and then re-enlisted in 2005.
He was deployed to East Timor and was on his sixth deployment to Afghanistan.
"Corporal McDonald is survived by his fiancee, his mother and stepfather and three brothers," Gen Hurley said.
The families of three men killed in an insider attack by a member of the
Afghan National Army are not yet ready to have their personal details
released.
"We all feel this loss deeply," the general said.
General Hurley said Sergeant Hek Matullah, the man believed to be
responsible for shooting the three diggers and wounding two others at a
patrol base in the Baluchi Valley this week, arrived in Oruzgan province
in mid-July, after completing induction training in Kandahar.
"We are not yet aware of any relationship he has with the Taliban," he said.
As well as an Australian investigation into the incident, Afghan
national security forces have also established a joint team with
international forces to conduct its own investigation.
General Hurley said all Australian personnel had now adopted "enhanced force protection measures, including some relocations".
General Hurley added: "Today and tomorrow are normally days of lulls in
activity being Friday - a day of prayer for the Islamic religion.
"That gives us a bit of time to reset for the coming week."
The general said the Taliban had claimed responsibility for all insider attacks - also known as green on blue - in Afghanistan.
"The evidence does not necessarily support this," he said.
"But regardless of these motives, these attacks will be used by the
insurgency to undermine our confidence and our relationship with the
ANSF."
The relationship between Australian and Afghan soldiers was based on
trust, which was hard to build and maintain, the general said.
"This most recent incident has challenged that trust," he said.
"We will continue to work with our Afghan partners to strengthen our relationship and improve their capability."
General Hurley said he had spoken with International Security Assistance
Force (ISAF) chief General John Allen on Thursday and he would be in
contact with him again on Friday.
"It is fair to say that there is a range of emotions in the ADF today," General Hurley said.
"That's understandable in the circumstances."
But he said advice from Australian commanders on the ground in Afghanistan should give reassurance.
They say that there is a positive relationship in the operating basis," he said.
The members of the Afghan National Army share our sense of outrage at this attack.
The ANA has been proactive... and is actively working to capture Hek Matullah."
General Hurley says it is often hard to determine the motives for
insider attacks because the perpetrator either evades capture or is
killed.
"But what our analysis shows, there is a variety," he said.
"Yes, there is some outside influence - there's no doubt that Taliban play into that.
"But yes, there are also a range of cultural responses that come into play as well.
"And unless you actually find the person and can talk to them as to what drove it, you really don't get the evidence."
General Hurley said he believed adequate counselling systems were in place to help other soldiers.
"I haven't received any call yet that we should beef that up. At the moment I think we've probably got the right mix."
The US Treasury Department has added eight Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) leaders
to the list of specially designated nationals. "Today's action against
LeT is Treasury's most comprehensive to date against this group and
includes individuals participating in all aspects of LeT's operations -
from commanders planning attacks to those managing LeT's relationships
with other terrorist groups," David S. Cohen, Treasury's undersecretary
for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement.
The LeT terrorists designated by Treasury include Sajid Mir, the
"project manager" responsible for coordinating the November 2008 siege
of Mumbai. Mir's phone conversations with the Mumbai attackers were
intercepted by authorities. Mir has been identified as a former senior
figure in Pakistan's military and intelligence establishment.
Mir was profiled by Sebastian Rotella in a study published by ProPublica.
Rotella reported that Jean-Louis Bruguiere, a French judge who has
conducted extensive counterterrorism investigations, concluded "that
Sajid Mir was a high-ranking officer in the Pakistani Army and
apparently also was in the ISI." Mir achieved the rank of major before
leaving the Pakistani Army for some unknown reason.
Mir's reach has extended into the US. Treasury found that Mir recruited four LeT operatives in Virginia and "cleared them for LeT's militant training, and directed them to monitor and research US target sites."
Also designated by the Treasury Department today was Talha Saeed, the
son of LeT founder and chieftain Hafiz Saeed. In April, the US
government issued a reward of $10 million for information leading to the capture of the elder Saeed.
Hafiz Saeed was close to Osama bin Laden, and documents recovered in the al Qaeda master's Abbottabad, Pakistan compound reportedly show
that the two kept in touch until shortly before bin Laden's demise in
May 2011. The documents also show that bin Laden may have reviewed
surveillance reports prepared by LeT operative David Headley in
anticipation of the attack on Mumbai. Headley subsequently pled guilty
to terrorism charges in a US court. Sajid Mir was one of the LeT
facilitators who handled Headley.
The other LeT leaders designated by Treasury are: Amir Hamza, a LeT
propagandist; Abdullah Mujahid, LeT's "senior paramilitary commander for
Afghanistan" since 2008;
Abdullah Muntazir, who also works for LeT's media and propaganda wing;
Qari Muhammad Yaqoob Sheikh, who leads LeT's clerics; Hafiz Khalid
Walid, a top LeT political official; and Ahmed Yaqub, who is listed by Agence France Presse as LeT's "chief for Bangladesh and Nepal operations."
Washington Time
Kabul Time
London Time
