afghanistan

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Report Cites Torture in U.S. Prison

The United States operated a secret prison in Afghanistan as recently as last year, torturing detainees by chaining them to walls and forcing them to listen to loud music in total darkness for days, a human rights group alleged in a report released today.[...] "They were chained to walls, deprived of food and drinking water, and kept in total darkness with loud rap, heavy metal music, or other sounds blared for weeks," the report said. "Some detainees said they were shackled in a manner that made it impossible to lie down or sleep."

Pentagon to Seek $100 Billion More for War Costs

The Pentagon is in the early stages of drafting a request for up to $100 billion more for military costs in Iraq and Afghanistan, lawmakers say, a figure that would push spending related to the wars toward half a trillion dollars.

U.S. helicopters make emergency landings after enemy fire

Two U.S. helicopters made emergency landings after being hit by enemy fire, and an attacker blew himself up in a failed assault on coalition forces Sunday, officials said. Separately, three American soldiers were injured in a bomb blast.

US Military Admits It Burned Bodies

The U.S. military admitted on Saturday that its soldiers in Afghanistan had burned the bodies of two dead Taliban guerrillas and taunted insurgents about it, but had not meant it as a desecration. [...] "You allowed your fighters to be laid down facing west and burned. You are too scared to retrieve their bodies. This just proves you are the lady boys we always believed you to be," read one soldier identified as psyops specialist Sgt. Jim Baker.

Delays Hurting U.S. Rebuilding in Afghanistan

The U.S. has spent $1.3 billion on reconstruction, but Afghans say they see a wasteful, slow-moving effort.

Islamists and Mujahedeen Secure Victory in Afghan Vote

More than a month after the elections, nearly all provisional results have finally been released for Afghanistan's Parliament and provincial assemblies, cementing a victory for Islamic conservatives and the jihad fighters involved in the wars of the past two decades.

Editor given two years' jail for blasphemy

The editor of a women's magazine, Haqooq-i-Zan (women's rights), has been jailed for two years in Afghanistan after being convicted of publishing anti-Islamic articles, including one challenging a belief that Muslims who convert to other religions should be stoned to death.

Official linked to blowing up buddhas is elected

A former regional governor who oversaw the destruction of two giant 1,500-year-old Buddha statues during the Taliban's reign has been elected to parliament, election organisers said yesterday as results from two provinces were finalised.

AFGHANISTAN: Rights body warns of warlords' success in elections

"More than 80 percent of winning candidates in provinces and more than 60 percent in the capital Kabul have links to armed groups," AIHRC deputy chairman Ahmad Fahim Hakim said on Monday, adding some were notorious warlords.

Inquiry ordered into Taliban burning

The US military has said it found repugnant and would investigate a television report that claimed American soldiers in Afghanistan burned the bodies of two Taliban fighters and then used the action to taunt other fighters.

A front-row seat in the plodding war on the Taliban

For the next five days, I will have a front-row seat in what some call "The Other War," where 18,000 US troops continue fighting four years after ousting the Taliban government and sending Osama bin Laden into hiding. I will accompany a US Army squad carrying a mere 40 lbs. of body armor, notebooks, water, and MREs, while they carry up to 115 lbs. of "battle rattle" - guns, ammo, food, body armor, radios, and night-vision equipment.

19 Afghan Policemen Killed in Ambush

Suspected Taliban rebels ambushed a police convoy in southern Afghanistan and killed 19 officers, officials said today.

U.S. Soldier, 3 Afghans Killed in Attacks

Firefights in the country's east, meanwhile, killed a U.S. soldier and wounded three others, while an American special forces chopper was destroyed by fire as it made a hard landing during an offensive. All aboard escaped unhurt.

White House denies Bush God claims

A senior White House official has denied that the US president, George Bush, said God ordered him to invade Afghanistan and Iraq. [...] In the BBC film, a former Palestinian foreign minister, Nabil Shaath, says that Mr Bush told a Palestinian delegation in 2003 that God spoke to him and said: "George, go and fight these terrorists in Afghanistan" and also "George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq".

Four years on, Taliban vow to continue holy war

Four years after U.S. forces launched their offensive to overthrow the Taliban, the guerrillas vowed on Friday to continue their holy war to rid Afghanistan of foreign troops.

US troops kill four Afghan police with "friendly fire"

U.S. troops killed four Afghan policemen and wounded another after mistaking them for militants during an operation in southern Afghanistan in which two Afghan soldiers died, officials said on Friday.

U.S. to Repay Troops for Gear Bought

Under pressure from Congress, the Pentagon on Wednesday issued overdue regulations for reimbursing troops in Iraq and Afghanistan for body armor and other gear they bought to protect themselves.

Magazine Stories Called Un-Islamic; Editor Jailed

The editor of an Afghan women's rights magazine was jailed after a presidential advisor accused him of publishing un-Islamic material, including an article critical of punishing adultery with 100 lashes, officials said.

Disrepair Cited in U.S. Arms

The gap in military readiness in South Korea -- which the Pentagon and the Army said they have since fixed -- occurred as the Defense Department was hard-pressed to field equipment for war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Reimbursement Program for Troops Stalls

The Pentagon has not completed guidelines for allowing soldiers, their families and charities to be reimbursed for some combat equipment they bought for use in Iraq and Afghanistan, a year after the passage of legislation calling for such a program.

Kabul attack raises fear of al-Qaida link to Taliban

A suicide bombing outside an army base in the Afghan capital Kabul killed nine people and injured 28 yesterday, raising fears that insurgents are importing ruthless Iraqi-style tactics into Afghanistan.

MORE BAD APPLES: New Reports Surface About Detainee Abuse

Two soldiers and an officer with the Army's 82nd Airborne Division have told a human rights organization of systemic detainee abuse and human rights violations at U.S. bases in Afghanistan and Iraq, recounting beatings, forced physical exertion and psychological torture of prisoners, the group said.

New guns, new drive for Taliban

In the most violent year of their insurgency to date, the Taliban have gone on the offensive, launching more pitched battles in an effort to persuade the international community and Afghans that this remains very much a nation at war, says Mullah Gul Mohammad, a front-line commander for Jaish-e Muslimeen, a recently reconciled Taliban splinter group.

Karzai Wants End to U.S.-Led Operations

President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday challenged the need for major foreign military operations in Afghanistan, saying airstrikes are no longer effective and that U.S.-led coalition forces should focus on rooting out terror bases and support networks.

Karzai urges terror fight rethink

Afghan President Hamid Karzai says the US and other international forces need to reconsider their approach to bringing peace to Afghanistan. [...] He said there had to be a focus on "the sources of terrorism" where extremists get their training and inspiration.

Taking Stock of the Forever War

A terrorist leader four years ago, Osama bin Laden is now an ideology as well -- and a viral movement. Maybe it's time to stop fighting on the terrorists' terms.

UN's Annan: terrorism in Iraq worse than Afghanistan

The U.S.-led invasion of Iraq has turned the country into a new hub of terrorism worse than Afghanistan under Taliban, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Monday.

Afghans Decry Sentences for GIs

The Afghan government said Wednesday that it was disappointed with the "unexpectedly lenient" sentences U.S. military courts have imposed on American soldiers convicted of abusing two Afghan detainees who later died. A spokesman for President Hamid Karzai said U.S. military prosecutors should appeal the cases and push for harsher penalties.

Quelling Afghan violence remains distant goal- UN

The U.N. Security Council condemned on Tuesday a recent increase in attacks by al Qaeda, the Taliban and others that may disrupt Afghanistan's upcoming parliamentary and provincial elections.

4 U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan as insurgents step up attacks

A roadside bomb attack killed four U.S. soldiers and wounded three others in southern Afghanistan on Sunday as Taliban insurgents pressed an escalating guerrilla war nearly four years after their radical Islamic movement was swept from power.