Afghanistan

Latest news on afghanistan

Afghanistan Abyss Awaits Obama

Obama's got to make some really bold decisions: Talking to Iran and Russia would be a start.

Gurkha killed in Afghanistan after bomb pierces Warrior

A Gurkha soldier has been killed by an explosive device that struck a Warrior armoured vehicle, the first fatal attack in Afghanistan on such a relatively robust troop carrier, defence officials said yesterday.The soldier, from 2nd Battalion the Royal Gurkha Rifles, was taking part in what the Ministry of Defence described as a "routine road move" when his Warrior was hit by the device.Although Warriors have been hit in fatal attacks in Iraq, it is the first time an attack on one has killed a British army soldier in Afghanistan. Warriors - tracked vehicles which weigh about 24 tonnes - can carry 10 fully equipped soldiers. Following the attacks in Iraq, some are being fitted with extra armour.Taliban fighters are concentrating their attacks on vulnerable and relatively isolated areas in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, where British troops are operating. It is also becoming clear that traditional assumptions that the fighting period in Afghanistan is limited to the summer months are no longer valid. The MoD said the Gurkha soldier was killed on Saturday in the Musa Qala district, north of the province. His next of kin have been informed. His death brings the number of British services personnel killed in Afghanistan since 2001 to 125. The soldier, who is expected to be named today, is the second Nepalese Gurkha from the battalion to have been killed in Afghanistan in just over two weeks. Yubraj Rai, 28, was killed on 4 November when his patrol was attacked near Musa Qala. More than 30 British soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan and Iraq while patrolling in lightly armoured Snatch Land Rovers, designed for anti-terrorist operations in Northern Ireland. Last week, two Royal Marines were killed near the Garmsir district of Helmand by an explosion that hit their new Jackal armoured vehicle, which is replacing the Land Rovers.These latest attacks suggest the Taliban's bombs are more powerful and more sophisticated. "If a bomb is big enough, it will go through anything," a defence source commented yesterday.British defence and intelligence officials suspect that fighters in Iraq, and now in Afghanistan, are using equipment or know-how provided by Iranian Revolutionary Guards. But they have no hard evidence about who is supplying the bomb-making equipment.Earlier this year, a coroner investigating the deaths of four soldiers killed when their Warrior was hit by a bomb in Iraq urged the government to improve the protection of armoured vehicles .The soldiers were travelling near Basra last April when their vehicle was targeted in an attack that left a crater 3ft deep.Defence analysts say that some Warriors remain vulnerable to explosives buried underground because they are less heavily armour-plated underneath.Afghanistan, page 22 ...#8805;AfghanistanMilitaryguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Dead Afghanistan marines named

Two Royal Marines killed in southern Afghanistan are named by the MoD as Robert McKibben and Neil Dunstan.

'Extra UK troops' for Afghanistan

Up to 2,000 more British troops are likely to be sent to Afghanistan next year, the BBC learns.

'Huge' Afghanistan drugs seizure

Officials in southern Afghanistan seize almost 18 tonnes of poppy seed, potentially enough to produce 30 tonnes of heroin.

Canadian reporter freed in Afghanistan

A Canadian CBC TV journalist is freed in Afghanistan four weeks after being kidnapped in the capital, Kabul.

Afghanistan bans street begging

The government in Afghanistan bans begging on the country's streets, saying beggars are vulnerable to crime.

First Gurkha dies in Afghanistan

A British Army soldier killed by enemy fire in Afghanistan is named as Yubraj Rai by defence officials.

UK soldier killed in Afghanistan

A British soldier has been killed by enemy fire in Afghanistan, according to the Ministry of Defence.

British Commander In Afghanistan Resigns Over 'Mobile Coffins' (AHN)

(AHN) - Another commander of U.K.'s troops in Afghanistan has resigned to protest the British military's delay in replacing soldiers' vehicles with bomb-proof ones. - Sat, 1 Nov 2008 00:34:22 GMT