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AFGHANISTAN UPDATE23 August 2007 No. 15: 16 - 22 August 2007 If you would like to receive this update, please email basic-wash at basicint.org with the phrase "subscribe to Afghanistan Update" in the subject line. Feedback on format and content is also gladly received. In particular we are keen to hear feedback of how useful you find this update. Please contact James Wilson by email at jwilson at basicint.org with comments or suggestions. Previous editions of BASIC's Afghanistan Update are available here. Summary:
U.S.-led forces began a new offensive in the Tora Bora region. The area was heavily bombed at the beginning of the coalition invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 by U.S. forces hunting Osama bin Laden. The offensive was aimed at hundreds of foreign fighters who are dug into positions in the mountainous region of Nangarhar province. The U.S. military was said to have received "credible reporting" of a sizeable Taliban force in the region before launching the latest offensive. The accuracy of intelligence information is proving to be a sensitive subject for the U.S. military in recent weeks following criticism of previous airstrikes in Afghanistan that have led to heavy civilian casualties. Violence has continued to rise sharply in the last two months in Afghanistan. Helmand has borne the brunt of battles between the Taliban and international forces. This week dozens of Taliban insurgents attacked an Afghan army base in the Sangin district of Helmand province. The ensuing gun battle left 10 militants dead and four others wounded. Two separate suicide car bomb incidents also left 24 civilians and six Afghan security guards dead in Kandahar City and Kabul. A series of high level officials have also been killed in Afghanistan this week, raising issues of safety for international officials in Afghanistan's major cities. British security expert Richard Adamson, 66, was killed in an apparent robbery attempt as he drove through Kabul. Mr. Adamson was manager of ArmorGroup, a British security firm with 600 staff in Afghanistan. A senior Afghan district chief was killed by a suicide bomber along with three of his children. Khariudin Achakzai, the chief of Kandahar's Zhari district, was coming out of his house in the city of Kandahar with five of his children when the bomber struck. The deaths mark a rise in violence that has seen more than 3,700 people, mostly militants, killed in insurgency related violence this year, according to an Associated Press tally of casualty figures provided by Western and Afghan officials. Britain intends to increase its troop commitment in Afghanistan to 7,700 by the end of the year, up from 7,000 today, and 3,600 a year ago according to Britain's ambassador to Kabul, Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles. The news comes at a time when conflicting reports suggest that the British army is winning the war in Afghanistan, while at the same time suffering heavy casualties in the fight. Gen. Sir Richard Dannatt, head of the British Army, told BBC television that forces are "stretched" but winning the tactical battle against the Taliban. However over the weekend the MOD released figures showing that almost half of frontline troops required significant medical treatment during this summer's fighting. In Helmand province around 700 battlefield soldiers have required treatment since April - almost half of the 1,500 on the frontline. The Conservative party led calls claiming that the MOD was deceiving the British public by not releasing the full number of British troops wounded in Afghanistan. The shadow defence secretary, Liam Fox, said there was a discrepancy over the recording of casualties and claimed that the rate was far higher than Government figures suggest. The Taliban released its first military-style field manual this week. The Daily Telegraph obtained copies of the manual that details how to spring ambushes, run spies and conduct an insurgency against coalition forces. The 144-page manual, "Military Teachings - for the Preparation of Mujahidin," is similar in content to those released by the British and U.S. military field manuals. Its publication highlights the extent of the Taliban's revival six years after it was deposed by the U.S.-led invasion. The manual is divided into 10 chapters and appears to be a collaborative effort by religious scholars and specialists in terrorist, logistical and intelligence tactics. It follows the release last year of a pocket-sized code of conduct booklet for Taliban militants. South Korea's defense minister has thanked the United States for its help in securing the release of two female hostages who had been held since mid-July. The militant hostage takers have killed two male hostages, and 14 women and five men are still being held. Reports have suggested that a second round of talks have stalled as the South Korean delegation has informed militant negotiators that they are unable to release eight Taliban prisoners held by Afghan authorities. The Taliban wants South Korean officials to pressure the Afghan government into releasing Taliban prisoners and has guaranteed the safety of the hostages while talks remain ongoing. In a separate incident a German woman was kidnapped Saturday in central Kabul while eating at a fast food restaurant. The International Herald Tribune reported that armed assailants snatched the women as she ate with her husband. Police opened fire on the kidnappers but initially failed to stop the incident. The woman was later freed Monday in a joint raid by Afghan intelligence services and the police in Kabul. The kidnappers were later identified as local criminals who had demanded a million dollar ransom for her safe release, and not Taliban militants. Finally, NATO reported this week that ISAF forces have discovered a significant weapons cache in Farah, Afghanistan. The hidden underground weapons bunker contained around 500 explosive rounds that could have been used to create improvised explosive devices (IED's). James Wilson
Stories and Links: US documents show Pakistan gave Taliban military aid, The
Guardian, 16/08 Pakistan's Taliban history, Philly.com, 17/08 Bomb kills Canadian soldier, The Star (Canada), 19/08
Harper praises military's humanitarian work in Afghanistan,
The Globe and Mail, 19/08 War on polio hits a wall in volatile Afghanistan, The
Boston Globe, 19/08 Afghan police free German woman, arrest 4 suspects; captive,
pregnant, to return home soon, International Herald Tribune,
20/08 Number of displaced Afghans could surge if conflict continues,
warns UN expert, UN News Centre, 20/08 Canada brings up troops at summit, The Washington Times,
21/08
Editorials, Transcripts and Reports: Secretary-General Appoints Bo Asplund of Sweden as his Deputy
Special Representative for Afghanistan, United Nations Biographical
Note, 16/08 Taking Aim At the Taliban, Time, 17/08 'It's bleak and ferocious, but is it still winnable?' The
Guardian, 19/08 |
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