UK soldier killed in Afghanistan

17 July 2011 Last updated at 06:15 GMT The British soldier had been on a routine patrol in southern Afghanistan when he was killed A British soldier from 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's) has been killed in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence has said.

The soldier, who was in the Brigade Advisory Group, died on Saturday. His next of kin have been informed.

He was on a patrol with Afghan soldiers in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand Province when his team was fired on.

A report that the fatal gunshot was fired by an Afghan National Army soldier is being investigated.

It is not yet clear whether the Afghan man was a genuine member of the army or an insurgent posing as a soldier.

The British soldier, who has not yet been named, was tracking the progress of a foot patrol from his vehicle. The foot patrol was returning to the vehicle when both teams came under small arms fire.

The incident comes as the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) prepares to hand over control of some security operations to Afghan troops.

Task Force Helmand spokesman Lt Col Tim Purbrick, said: "A report that the fatal gunshot was fired by an Afghan National Army soldier is now the subject of a joint International Security Assistance Force and Afghan National Security Force investigation.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the soldier's family and friends."

The Afghan army has strict security screening procedures for its recruits, but there have been several incidents in which its personnel have fired on foreign soldiers.

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Dozens killed in Afghan fighting

6 July 2011 Last updated at 16:18 GMT Several remote police checkpoints have come under attack At least 78 people have been killed in heavy fighting between the Taliban and security forces in the Afghan province of Nuristan, officials say.

Provincial Governor Jamaludin Badar told the BBC that 33 border police had been killed in two days of clashes.

He said 40 insurgents and five civilians had also died after more than 150 heavily armed insurgents attacked from bases in Chitral in Pakistan.

Cross-border attacks are fuelling tensions between the neighbours.

The governments accuse one another of failing to contain the militants. Afghanistan also accuses Pakistan of launching hundreds of rockets into its territory.

Earlier on Wednesday, police in north-west Pakistan said that a group of more than 200 militants crossed the border from Afghanistan and attacked villages in Upper Dir in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The insurgents burned down a school and clashed with villagers.

Correspondents say it is difficult to corroborate the claims of either side, but it is not disputed that the militants have expanded their control in Nuristan in recent months and control the main road to the provincial capital.

Strongholds

According to intelligence officials in Nuristan, insurgents attacked border police checkpoints using heavy machine guns and rocket propelled grenades, in the district of Kamdesh.

The BBC's Bilal Sarwary in Kabul says that area of the border has seen a heavy presence of Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters in recent months. US forces withdrew from the area earlier this year.

Two senior security officials in Nuristan told the BBC that fighting started when Pakistani and Chechen insurgents crossed the border from Pakistan to attack police checkpoints.

Nato says that it has provided close air support on Tuesday night after the police observation posts came under attack.

"Our helicopters engaged the insurgents. But this is an Afghan-led operation and our forces are there to assist them,'' Captain Justin Brockhoff told the BBC.

The Taliban deny the attack was launched from Pakistan, insisting that the raid was carried out by militants based in Afghanistan.

Governor Badar said dozens of police were still missing and casualty numbers could rise.

"Our forces fought to the last bullet," he said.

"Some of the posts are high in the mountains and it is very difficult to send ammunition, water and food there."

Police say they are looking for 20 officers who either made a tactical withdrawal or were taken hostage.

Our correspondent says mountainous Nuristan, with its poor communications, has not been a traditional stronghold for the Afghan Taliban. But it does have a history of tribal extremism and militancy.

Officials in Nuristan say they have repeatedly warned of the worsening security situation. They accuse the government and Nato of failing to act, claims the authorities reject.

On Tuesday, outgoing Nato commander Gen David Petraeus said the focus of the war was shifting from Taliban strongholds in southern Afghanistan to the eastern border with Pakistan.

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Militants killed in Pakistan raid

22 June 2011 Last updated at 06:32 GMT At least five militants were killed when insurgents attacked a police checkpoint in north-west Pakistan.

The attack took place at the Sarband checkpoint near Peshawar city and involved more than 50 militants.

An official told the BBC that they were tipped off about the attack and hence did not suffer any major casualties.

In another attack, a blast at a police checkpoint in Jamrud town in the Khyber tribal area killed a policeman and wounded three others, officials said.

The number of attacks by militants in Pakistan has risen sharply since al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden was killed in a US commando raid last month.

At least 34 people were killed and 90 wounded after two explosions ripped through a market in the city of Peshawar about 10 days ago.

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Afghan policemen killed in attack

22 June 2011 Last updated at 07:33 GMT At least six Afghan policemen have been killed in an attack on a checkpoint in Ghazni province, officials have told the BBC.

The attack took place in the Qarah Bagh district, about about 120km (75 miles) south-west of the capital, Kabul.

The attack, which started on Wednesday morning, is still continuing.

Meanwhile the Taliban say they have carried out an attack at the main airport in Kandahar, where thousands of foreign troops are stationed.

A Taliabn spkesman told the Afghan Islamic Press that the attack caused "human and financial losses". However Nato says that the attack caused little damage and no casualties.

The latest violence comes just hours before US President Barack Obama is to unveil plans for an initial withdrawal of thousands of US troops from Afghanistan.

On Wednesday evening, he is expected to say on a prime-time TV address that 30,000 "surge" troops will begin leaving in July, according to US media reports.

The US currently has about 100,000 troops in Afghanistan.

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'Seven killed' by Afghan bomber

15 June 2011 Last updated at 08:39 GMT A suicide bomber in a car laden with explosives has killed himself and at least seven people in Afghanistan, the interior ministry has said.

The attack happened in Kapisa province, north-east of the capital Kabul.

Provincial spokesman Halim Ayar told the AP news agency that the attacker blew himself up about 200m from the office of Governor Azizul Rahman Tawab.

Meanwhile Vice President Karim Khalili and Interior Minister Besmullah Mohammadi escaped a rocket attack.

The mortar attack happened as they were visiting a new police training centre in Wardak province, officials said.

Correspondents say that both attacks, which occurred at about the same time, are a stark reminder that insurgents can strike with impunity across the country.

Mr Ayar said that four of the dead in the Kapisa attack were police officers and the remainder were civilians. At least seven wounded people were also civilians, he added.

"The leadership of the ministry of the interior of Afghanistan condemns this inhumane and cowardly suicide attack. Such attacks will never weaken the determination of the Afghan National Police," the ministry said in a statement.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told the AFP news agency that they had carried out the Kapisa attack, which he said had targeted the French ambassador to Afghanistan and French soldiers who were visiting the governor's office at the time.

French Ambassador Bernard Bajolet told AFP he was 15 minutes away when the attack happened and that his impending visit had been publicly known.

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