Deadly attacks strike Afghan town

28 July 2011 Last updated at 14:08 GMT Insurgents have carried out a gun and bomb attack in the south Afghan town of Tarin Kowt, Uruzgan province, leaving at least 22 dead, officials say.

They said the violence included three suicide bombings followed by fighting in a market, adding that all eight attackers had now been killed.

The dead include Ahmed Omed Khpulwak, a local BBC reporter.

The Taliban say they carried out the attack, which comes amid renewed violence in Afghanistan.

Nato says it is providing air support to Afghan forces in Tarin Kowt.

TV station stormed

Afghan intelligence officials said at least one bomb exploded near the governor's office and one near the offices of a security firm owned by a local militia commander. It is not clear where the third bomb was detonated.

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Ahmed Omed Khpulwak was one of those brave reporters who have created that bond of trust with the people”

End Quote Peter Horrocks Director, BBC Global News Most of the fighting took place near these offices, which are close to the main market and a building which houses a local radio and TV station.

The BBC's Bilal Sarwary says the market was attacked from four sides, but the siege was broken by elite forces.

Residents said heavy machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles were used by both sides.

Health officials said 22 people had been killed including three women and 40 injured, most of them civilians.

Among the dead is Ahmed Omed Khpulwak, a reporter for the BBC Pashto radio service as well as the Pajhwok news agency.

He was one of several people killed when the TV and radio station was attacked.

BBC Global News director Peter Horrocks said: "The BBC and the whole world are grateful to journalists like Ahmed Omed who courageously put their lives on the line to report from dangerous places."

Two soldiers were among the dead but no senior government officials have been harmed, officials said.

Continue reading the main story 27 July: Kandahar mayor Ghulam Haidar Hameedi killed in suicide attack at city hall18 July: Aide to President Karzai and former Uruzgan governor Jan Mohammad Khan killed along with lawmaker in an attack on his home in Kabul12 July: The president's brother Ahmad Wali Karzai shot dead in Kandahar home by his head of security'Doomsday' Eyewitness Mohammad Dadu, a butcher at the market, told the BBC: ''I didn't have time to close my shop. I saw two dead bodies and four injured people with blood on their clothes.

"It feels like doomsday. Everyday people came to the market to shop. But today people are here collecting the dead and injured bodies of their relatives. There is blood, smoke from explosives and everyone has fled the area."

Afghan militants have stepped up their attacks as Nato troops begin the handover of security to local forces in parts of the country.

On Wednesday the mayor of the volatile city of Kandahar was killed in a suicide attack.

Two weeks ago, President Hamid Karzai's influential half-brother, Ahmad Wali Karzai, was killed in the same city.

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Afghan officer 'plotted attacks'

30 July 2011 Last updated at 16:49 GMT An Afghan army officer has been arrested on suspicion of working for the Taliban and plotting suicide attacks, intelligence officials say.

The officer, named as Gul Mohammed, had confessed that he was working with Taliban commanders, they said.

Infiltration of the security forces by Taliban sympathisers is a major threat to security.

However, correspondents say it is extremely rare for an acting army officer to be accused in this way.

"The National Directorate of Security arrested Gul Mohammad... who was an officer with the Afghan National Army and was intending to organise suicide and terrorist attacks," said NDS spokesman Lutfullah Mashal, quoted by AFP news agency.

Mr Mashal was unable to give details about the officer's rank.

Unusual case

He said he was accused of plotting attacks in three areas of the capital Kabul where a number of international and Afghan military bases are located, as well as the Isaf headquarters and the defence ministry.

The BBC's Jill McGivering says infiltration of the Afghan army and police is a major concern, and there have been numerous instances in the past of uniformed officers attacking foreign troops who were training them and sharing facilities, she says.

In many of these cases, it was unclear whether the rogue officers were motivated by personal grudges or had been recruited by the Taliban, she adds.

The arrest comes amid a spate of militant activity including several killings of senior officials, as Nato hands over parts of the country to local security forces.

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Pakistan drone attacks 'kill 30'

12 July 2011 Last updated at 15:58 GMT Three drone attacks have killed at least 30 people in less than 24 hours in a volatile tribal region of north-western Pakistan, officials say.

At least 13 people died in a missile strike on a house on the North-South Waziristan border. Earlier, missiles killed 10 people in South Waziristan.

On Monday night, officials said seven died when a drone targeted a vehicle in the Gorwick area of North Waziristan.

The US says the region is home to al-Qaeda and Taliban insurgents.

It says militants who have found sanctuary in these areas are involved in attacks on Nato forces in Afghanistan. North and South Waziristan are regularly targeted by drone missiles.

Reports say the death toll could be even higher.

The attacks come shortly after the US announced a substantial cut of $800m (?500m) in US military aid to Pakistan. Pakistan's army spokesman said the cut would not affect its ability to combat terror groups.

On Tuesday, Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar responded by saying Pakistan could pull its troops back from the Afghan border region "if things become difficult" without the US aid.

"We cannot afford to keep the military out in the mountains for such a long period," he told Express 24/7 television.

'Strikes condoned'

Drone attacks have escalated in the region since President Barack Obama took office in 2008. More than 100 raids were reported in the area last year.

The US does not routinely confirm that it has launched drone operations, but analysts say only American forces have the capacity to deploy such aircraft in the region.

Pakistan publicly criticises drone attacks, saying they fuel support for militants. But observers say the authorities privately condone the strikes, although there have been recent signs that they want to limit the scope of such attacks.

A number of militants, some of them senior, have been killed in the raids, but many civilians have also died.

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Pakistan drone attacks 'kill 15'

28 June 2011 Last updated at 08:13 GMT Two US drone missile attacks have killed at least 15 people in the Pakistani tribal region bordering Afghanistan, officials say.

Twelve people were killed when a drone fired two missiles at a compound used by suspected militants in North Waziristan on Monday night, they added.

Earlier on Monday, another drone fired two missiles at a vehicle in North Waziristan, killing three people.

North Waziristan has been targeted by drone strikes for months.

The US says the region is home to several militant groups involved in attacks on Nato forces in Afghanistan.

On Monday night, drone missiles targeted a compound at the foot of a hill in the thickly-forested Mantoi area, some 40km (24 miles) north-west of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan.

The compound was being used by local militants affiliated with Hakimullah Mehsud's Tehrik-e Taliban group, officials said.

Earlier, three people were killed and two others injured when a drone fired two missiles at a vehicle which was travelling into Afghanistan in the Shawal region of North Waziristan.

Wazir tribespeople inhabit both sides of the border here and frequently move across the border.

But officials told BBC that those killed in the strike were militants. It is not clear which group they belonged to.

Drone attacks have focused on North and South Waziristan, where US officials believe many al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters find shelter.

Pakistan publicly criticises drone attacks, saying they fuel support for militants. But observers say the authorities privately condone the strikes.

The American military does not routinely confirm drone operations, but analysts say the US is the only force capable of deploying such aircraft in the region.

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Maoist attacks kill six in India

27 June 2011 Last updated at 05:00 GMT India's Maoist insurgency began in the late 1960s, in the remote forests of West Bengal state. Six security personnel have been killed and eight injured in two separate attacks by Maoist rebels in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh.

Four policemen died when a vehicle carrying them hit a landmine in Dantewada district.

And earlier on Sunday, two paramilitary soldiers were ambushed and killed by rebels in Kanker district, police said.

Maoist rebels say they are fighting for the rights of indigenous tribal people and the rural poor.

They are active in several eastern and central states. In one of the most deadly attacks last year, rebels killed 74 policemen in Dantewada.

India's prime minister has described the Maoist insurgency as the country's biggest internal security challenge.

Sunday's attacks happened in the restive Bastar region.

In the first attack, rebels ambushed a contingent of paramilitary soldiers belonging to the Border Security Force (BSF) in Kanker, killing two soldiers and injuring four others.

Police officials claimed that a number of rebels were also killed in the firefight, but only one body of a rebel was recovered from the spot.

Later in the day, a vehicle carrying policemen on a search operation hit a landmine in Dantewada.

Four policemen died in the explosion, and four others were injured in the blast which tore apart the vehicle.

The BBC's Salman Ravi in Raipur says Bastar is the most sensitive region of Chhattisgarh where Maoist insurgents control a large area.

During the last one month, Maoists have carried out many landmine explosions in the area, killing more than 30 security personnel.

A government offensive against the rebels - widely referred to as Operation Green Hunt - began in late 2009.

It involves 50,000 troops and is taking place across five states - West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa and Chhattisgarh.

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