37 Afghan civilians killed in U.S. airstrike Nov 8, 2008
The worst one in years was on Aug. 22 when a U.S. airstrike in western Herat province, according to UN and Afghan government probes, claimed over 90 civilian lives. The incident prompted Afghan cabinet to pass a historic resolution, asking for a re-regulation of foreign troops' presence in the post-Taliban nation. (Xinhuanet, China)
More Afghan civilians killed in coalition strikes Nov 7, 2008
Pressure on the Karzai government has mounted this year from Afghans angry over prominent incidents of civilian deaths, including coalition strikes in August in Herat province, in western Afghanistan, that killed more than 30 civilians. Since then, the senior American military commander in Afghanistan, General David McKiernan, has tightened the rules around when NATO troops here may use lethal force. (International Herald Tribune)
Fresh US air raid kills Afghan civilians-officials Nov 6, 2008
HERAT, Afghanistan, Nov 6 (Reuters) - U.S.-led troops have killed at least seven civilians in an air strike in northwestern Afghanistan, officials said on Thursday, a day after the president said warplanes had killed 40 civilians in the south. President Hamid Karzai said the issue of civilian casualties was the biggest source of tension with his main backers, the United States, and called on President-elect Barack Obama to make it his top priority to stop the killings of innocents. (Reuters)
U.S. airstrike reported to hit Afghan wedding Nov 6, 2008
An initial American military inquiry into the August attack, in the western province of Herat, said only five to seven civilians had died when an American AC-130 gunship attacked the nighttime Taliban meeting, contradicting Afghan and United Nations reports that said that as many as 90 civilians had died. The ensuing furor among Afghans, including an angry protest by President Karzai, prompted the top American commander in the country, General David McKiernan, to order a second investigation,... (International Herald Tribune)
Taliban spurred attack on wedding, Afghan politician says Nov 6, 2008
During the past three months alone, more than 100 civilians have died in unplanned air strikes in southern Afghanistan, including at least 17 in Helmand province two weeks ago and 90 in Herat in August. A U.S. military investigation into that raid acknowledged the death of only 33 civilians. (Globe and Mail)
40 Afghan civilians killed in U.S.-led air strike Nov 6, 2008
A bloodiest one in years was on Aug. 22 when a U.S. airstrike in Shindand district of western Herat province, according to the UN and Afghan government probe, claimed over 90 civilian lives, which prompted the Afghan cabinet to pass a historic resolution asking for a re-regulation of foreign troops' presence in the post-Taliban nation. Afghan villagers pose with a bloody piece of cloth in Wocha Bakhta, Kandahar Province Nov. 5, 2008. (Xinhuanet, China)
Air strikes cause civilians casualties in S Afghanistan Nov 5, 2008
Hundreds of Afghan civilians have been killed in the U.S.-led war on terror in Afghanistan over the past seven years and the most bloody one killed 91 non-combatants including women and children in Shind and district of western Herat province in air strikes last August. Spiraling conflicts and Taliban-linked insurgency have claimed around 5,000 people with over 1500 civilians so far this year in strife-torn Afghanistan while Taliban insurgents have vowed to intensify assaults against interests... (Xinhuanet, China)
Karzai congratulates U.S. President-elect, calls for strategy change in Afghan war Nov 5, 2008
In a most bloody one, some 90 civilians including women and children were killed in a U.S. air strike in Shind and district of western Herat province on Aug. 22. The Afghan president, however, thanked the U.S. for its contribution to the rebuilding of the post-Taliban Afghanistan. (Xinhuanet, China)
Afghans find modest prosperity in once-banned trade – milk Nov 4, 2008
The Italian Provincial Reconstruction Team in the western city of Herat is planning a fourth. From family cows to dairy coop. (Christian Science Monitor)
Survivor tells of harrowing escape from Taliban bus hijacking Oct 26, 2008
The attack, which took place Oct. 16, went unnoticed by police until four days later, when clusters of dead bodies, some of them beheaded, were found by local residents in pockets along a rural section of highway that connects Kandahar city to far-flung Herat, a stretch that is virtually unpoliced. An Afghan demonstrator shouts anti-Taliban slogans yesterday in Laghman province, as he carries a portrait of a man from his community killed this week by the Islamic fundamentalists. (Globe and Mail)
Death stalks the highway to hell Oct 24, 2008
Insurgent tactic Over the past six months, security concerns about Afghanistan's main highway, or ring road - portions of which stretch from the capital in east-central Afghanistan to Kandahar in the south, and from there to Herat in the west - have risen dramatically. Last week, a bus carrying 50 people traveling from Kandahar to Herat was ambushed by Taliban forces ... Once a symbol of the Cold War struggle for influence - the Kandahar to Herat section was built by the Soviets, the... (Asia Times Online)
Qureshi says there are sanctuaries but only Pakistan will tackle them Oct 23, 2008
Spanta denied India was planning to send troops to Afghanistan or that there were 16 Indian consulates in Afghanistan, saying there were only four in Mazar-e-Shairf, Herat, Kandhar and Jalalabad. . (Daily Times, Pakistan)
Hit and miss with Afghan air strikes Oct 22, 2008
The worst case of civilian casualties was the killing by a C-130 gunship of as many as 95 civilians, including 50 children and 19 women, according to local tribal elders and Afghan government officials in the village of Azizabad in Herat province on August 22. The air attack came after US special forces had received intelligence that a Taliban commander was in Azizabad and had been unable to suppress it. (Asia Times Online)
AFGHANISTAN: Rights body accuses Taliban Oct 22, 2008
Gunmen associated with Taliban insurgents reportedly pulled 50 passengers off the bus on the Kandahar-Herat highway, beheading six and shooting dead 21 of them ... Up to 90 civilians were killed when US forces bombed a village in Herat Province on 21 August, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said in a statement. (AlertNet)
Taliban kill dozens in bus ambush, officials say Oct 20, 2008
The attack occurred Thursday on the main road running from the southern city of Kandahar to the western town of Herat, Qati said ... Thousands of Afghans travel every year to neighboring Iran to seek work, via the city of Herat ... "They were actually going to Herat, and from Herat they were going to Iran to work," he said. (International Herald Tribune)
News Briefs | Oct. 20 Oct 20, 2008
The attack took place on the main road connecting Kandahar to Herat, a town in western Afghanistan. The area is known by officials to be infested with the Taliban and attacks on military convoys are a frequent occurrence. (Washington University Student Life, MO)
Taliban behead up to 30 passengers Oct 20, 2008
The attack occurred on the main road from the southern city of Kandahar to the western town of Herat ... Thousands of Afghans travel every year to neighbouring Iran to seek work, via Herat. (Sydney Morning Herald -- World)
Afghanistan officials say 17 civilians killed in fighting Oct 19, 2008
But anger flared over the summer when Afghan authorities and human rights groups, backed by the United Nations, claimed that nearly 90 people died in a U.S. airstrike in Herat province. American officials have since acknowledged that more than 30 civilians were killed in the Aug. 22 strike in Herat's Shindand district but have not accepted the higher estimate put forth by Afghan authorities ... The U.S. military said forces involved in the Herat strike were operating in line with rules of... (Los Angeles Times)
* World News Quick Take Oct 19, 2008
Car bomb explodes in Herat. A suicide car bomb exploded outside a base of the NATO-led military force in the western city of Herat yesterday, wounding several troops, the alliance said. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
Who are the Taleban? Oct 18, 2008
They captured the province of Herat, bordering Iran, in September 1995. Exactly one year later, they captured the Afghan capital, Kabul, after overthrowing the regime of President Burhanuddin Rabbani and his defence minister, Ahmed Shah Masood. (BBC News -- South Asia)
Suicide bomber strikes in west Afghanistan Oct 18, 2008
A suicide car bomber struck international troops near the western Afghan city of Herat on Saturday, causing several casualties, officials said. Bomb attacks are relatively rare in or near Herat, one of the most peaceful and prosperous cities in Afghanistan and the main hub for booming trade with nearby Iran ... The bomber struck as a convoy of foreign troops was driving from the airport on the outskirts of Herat, regional police chief Rahmataullah Safai said. (International Herald Tribune)
Suicide car bomb wounds 3 in W Afghanistan Oct 18, 2008
KABUL, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- A suicide bomber driving an explosive laden car exploded himself next to a convoy of NATO-led peacekeeping force in Afghanistan's western Herat province Saturday, killing himself and wounding three soldiers, police spokesman in western region said. "It was 8:10 a.m. local time (GMT 0340) when a suicide attacker riding a car full of explosive device blew it up next to a convoy of Italian forces outside Herat airport, diverting an armored personnel carrier from the... (Xinhuanet, China)
Military: Afghan cop kills U.S. soldier Oct 17, 2008
The Afghan government says 90 civilians were killed during a U.S. special forces raid in a village in the western Herat province on Aug. 22. Karzai ordered a review of whether the U.S. and NATO should be allowed to use airstrikes or carry out raids in villages. (MSNBC -- International)
Analysts: Economic crisis won't hurt terrorists Oct 17, 2008
Afghan border policemen view confiscated opium and alcoholic drinks on the outskirts of Herat city, Afghanistan in 2007. Buoyed by years of record oil revenuesand Afghanistan's booming drug trade, al-Qaida and other Islamic terrorist groups are thought to have access to strongfunding sources. (MSNBC -- International)
Afghan officials say allied airstrike killed civilians Oct 17, 2008
The NATO command's concern about air strikes was heightened dramatically after an incident on Aug. 22 when an American AC-130 gunship attacked a suspected Taliban compound in the village of Azizabad in the western province of Herat, prompting claims by villagers that more than 90 civilians, the majority of them women and children, were killed. The American military under General David McKiernan, the top American commander in Afghanistan, initially insisted that only 5 to 7 civilians were killed,... (International Herald Tribune)
At least 17 civilians killed in NATO airstrike on Afghan village Oct 17, 2008
Killing of more than 90 civilians by U.S. troops air raid in western Afghan province Herat in a single day on Aug. 22 has drawn nationwide condemnations and demand for trial of those responsible for the bloody incident. The unrest southern Afghan province of Helmand has seen the surge and attacks of Taliban militants over the past week as over 118 militants were killed during the clashes. (Xinhuanet, China)
Government official, militants killed in Afghanistan Oct 14, 2008
In another incident, a Nepali working as a cook for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was kidnapped along with six Afghan colleagues in western Herat ... (Reporting by Ismail Sameem in Kandahar and Sharafuddin Sharafyar in Herat; Writing by Jonathon Burch; Editing by Jeremy Laurence). (Yahoo News)
Diplomat Says US Not Aiming For 'Military Victory' In Afghanistan Oct 11, 2008
The most recent incident, in August, caused the death of several dozen civilians in Herat Province, including many children. Why does the U.S. military continue to rely heavily upon air strikes in its fight against the Taliban. (EurasiaNet.org)
US admits higher Afghan raid toll Oct 10, 2008
US Central Command said 33 civilians, not seven, had died in the village of Azizabad in Herat province. While voicing regret, it said US forces had followed rules of engagement. (BBC News -- Americas)
Military Says U.S. Airstrike Killed 33 Afghan Civilians Oct 10, 2008
The statement from Lt. Gen. Martin Dempsey asserted that despite the civilian deaths, U.S. forces involved in the attack in western Herat province acted based on credible intelligence, in self-defense and in line with their rules of engagement. "We are deeply saddened at the loss of innocent life in Azizabad," Dempsey said. (Fox News -- Politics)
Intel report: Afghanistan facing 'downward spiral' Oct 10, 2008
Afghan national army arrive at the site of an explosion in the city of Herat, southwest of Kabul Afghanistan, Sunday, Oct 4, 2008. Police said a bomb exploded in front of Herat governor office in the city of Herat with no casualties. (Muscatine Journal, IO)
U.S. inquiry said to find raid killed 30 Afghan civilians Oct 8, 2008
In that account, American Special Forces troops and Afghan commandos called in airstrikes after they came under attack while approaching a compound in Azizabad, a village in the Shindand district of Herat Province. Among the militants killed, the military said at the time, was a Taliban leader, Mullah Sadiq. (International Herald Tribune)
Daily attacks against civilian targets on rise Oct 7, 2008
But the controversy over major incidents such as the alleged U.S. bombing on Aug. 22 of 90 civilians in Herat has overshadowed a steady rise in daily violence inflicted by all sides of the conflict. These smaller but more widespread incidents have transformed broad swaths of the countryside into a land of fear. (Globe and Mail)
How To Win Afghanistan's Opium War Oct 7, 2008
I remember flying from Herat to Kabul on a U.N. plane a few years ago and being depressed by the rarity of even a splash of greenery in the mud-colored landscape. Thirty years ago, what was Afghanistan's most famous export. (Slate)
Top Afghan policewoman killed Oct 5, 2008
In June, another woman police officer was gunned down in Herat province in a killing believed to have been the first of its kind. Kandahar is a key battleground of the Taleban insurgency, where Afghan and foreign troops are fighting the rebels. (BBC News)
The fight goes on, militants tell Pakistan Oct 3, 2008
A former ISI official and consul general in Herat in Afghanistan in the mid-1990s, Amir Sultan, also known as Colonel Imam and regarded as a father of the Taliban, is another figure who has been shuttling from the tribal areas to Islamabad in an attempt to end the rift between the armed forces and the Taliban. The militants are not responding positively to these efforts. (Asia Times Online)
'+weather_current+'°\;F/'+weather_current_celsius+'°\;C Oct 3, 2008
Melbourne, FL 32935 Last Updated: 10/03/08 08:46:36 EDT. C) Relative Humidity: 75% Barometer: 29. (Florida Today)
Labourers abducted in Afghanistan Sep 23, 2008
The workers and their drivers were kidnapped in the Bara Boluk area, close to the Iranian border, as they were travelling to Herat, said Mr Amin. "Negotiations are under way by elders to release the innocent workers. We want to solve this issue peacefully without involving the military," he said. (BBC News -- South Asia)
Peace Day lowers Afghan violence Sep 22, 2008
And in the western province of Herat, fighting continued yesterday in a battle that began with a militant attack Saturday that killed 11 police, said Sayad Gul Chesti, the district chief. Still, the push for peace was largely successful considering that US and NATO forces shelved offensive operations and that 2008 has been the most violent year in Afghanistan since the 2001 US-led invasion that ousted the Taliban's hard-line Islamist government. (Boston Globe)
INTERVIEW-Karzai to discuss Afghan casualties with Bush Sep 21, 2008
In August, a U.S.-led coalition air strike in western Herat province killed more than 90 civilians, mostly women and children, the Afghan government and the United Nations said. The U.S. military is investigating the incident. (AlertNet)
Gates backs Afghan border strikes Sep 19, 2008
US forces have promised to review an inquiry into an air raid last month in the province of Herat which was blamed for the deaths of scores of civilians. Figures released by the UN on Tuesday showed that there had been a sharp increase in the number of civilian casualties in Afghanistan this year. (BBC News -- South Asia)
US 'must cut' Afghan casualties Sep 18, 2008
Earlier this month US forces were embarrassed by the emergence of video evidence indicating scores of civilian deaths in the province of Herat. They said they would review an inquiry into the air raid last month which has been blamed for the deaths. (BBC News -- Americas)
Afghan civilian death toll undermines US support Sep 18, 2008
BLAMES U.S.: Afghan woman shows photos of family members she says were killed in Aug. 22 air raid in Herat Province ... Last month up to 96 civilians were killed in the western province of Herat, sparking protests around the country. (Christian Science Monitor)
Former Afghan provincial police chief killed Sep 18, 2008
In the western Herat province's Shindand, another roadside blast wounded three more policemen, said Noor Khan Nekzad, a regional police spokesman. Militants have killed more than 720 police in the last six months. (WSVN-TV Miami, FL)
An anatomy of collateral damage Sep 17, 2008
On the night of August 21, a memorial service was held in Azizabad, a village in the Shindand District of Afghanistan's Herat Province, for a tribal leader killed the previous year, who had been, villagers reported, anti-Taliban ... He reportedly owned a private security company which worked for the US military at the airport and also a cell phone business in the town of Herat ... The UN mission in Afghanistan then dispatched its own investigative team from Herat to interview survivors. (Asia Times Online)
NATO Commander Orders Lethal Force Review to Cut Afghan Civilian Deaths Sep 17, 2008
August was a ``particularly deadly month'' with 330 civilians killed, including the 92 deaths reported in Herat. The U.S. disputes the Herat death toll, though is sending a team to review its initial probe that found between five and seven civilians were killed. (Bloomberg -- UK)
University of Hartford opens doors to engineering teachers from Herat University Sep 17, 2008
The majority of the engineering faculty at Herat University - a major contributor to the engineering workforce in Afghanistan - held only Bachelor's degrees ... He arranged funding from World Bank and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to develop a program that, since its inception, has brought 11 engineering faculty members from Herat University to the University of Hartford on scholarship, where today they work toward graduate degrees and learn the teaching methods... (West Hartford News, CT)
* Taliban punishes man for assisting Afghan government Sep 16, 2008
AFP, KABUL AND HERAT, AFGHANISTAN Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008, Page 5. Taliban militants dragged a schoolteacher out of a mosque in Afghanistan and cut off his ears as punishment for working for the government, an education official said. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
Father of children shot by Canadians facing Taliban threats Sep 16, 2008
This grew worse in recent weeks after a massive U.S. air strike in Herat province killed 90 civilians including 60 women and children. (). (Globe and Mail -- International)
Pentagon chief arrives in Afghanistan Sep 16, 2008
A bombing in August by the U.S.-led coalition in western Herat province opened a rift between coalition forces on the one hand and the Afghan government and the U.N. on the other. Adm. (International Herald Tribune -- Arts)
US needs to concentrate inside Afghanistan Sep 15, 2008
An air strike in Herat province last month killed dozens of people but the US investigation concluded that most were Taliban while the Afghan government and the United Nations say up to 90 civilians died, including children. Najib, a policeman who asks not to be identified beyond his first name for fear of losing his job, reflects the general anger. (The Post)
Afghan governor is killed in blast Sep 14, 2008
Overnight, five rockets landed near a UN compound in the western province of Herat but caused no damage, an official said. That attack came hours after authorities were forced to close the province's only airport briefly after two rockets landed on its perimeter, again without causing casualties or damage. (Boston Globe)
Afghans arrested over disputed air strike deaths Sep 13, 2008
Anger has mounted over the Aug. 22 raid in the village of Azizabad in western Herat's Shindand district in which the Afghan government says more than 90 people, mostly women and children, were killed, an allegation backed by the United Nations ... The U.S. military said its investigation of the operation in the Shindand district of Herat found that a top Taliban commander was among the insurgents killed. (Reuters India)
Keep Up The Good Work Sep 12, 2008
Indian engineers are reconstructing the 42 MW Salma dam project in the Herat province. Indian technicians have restored and modernised telecommunication networks across Afghanistan. (India Times, India)
Afghan-Pakistan militant nexus Sep 11, 2008
They constantly threaten traffic on the highway that connects Kandahar with Herat. Kandahar, Quetta. (BBC News)
Karzai backs U.S. strategy on militants in Pakistan Sep 11, 2008
Anger has mounted in Afghanistan over civilian casualties, particularly after an operation in the western province of Herat in which the Afghan government says more than 90 civilians died. Karzai said ultimately control of Afghanistan must revert to Afghans as foreign troops could not stay indefinitely. (Yahoo News -- Top Stories)
Leaders say they stand together Sep 10, 2008
However, the Afghan leader welcomed a decision by the US military to dispatch a high-level team to reinvestigate an Aug. 22 air strike in western Herat Province that his government says killed 90 civilians. The United Nations has backed up the Afghan claim; the US military has acknowledged killing seven civilians in the raid. (Boston Globe)
U.N. Says U.S. Airstrikes Killed 90 Afghan Civilians Last Week Sep 10, 2008
An Afghan doctor, left, examines Zinat Gul's wounded hand, who allegedly was wounded by a U.S. air strike in Shindand district, as her mother looks on at a hospital in Herat, east of Kabul, Afghanistan, on Monday ... Kai Eide, the top U.N. official in Afghanistan, said local officials and residents in the western province of Herat corroborated reports that 60 children and 30 adults had been killed in an Aug. 21 military operation led by U.S. Special Operations forces and the Afghan army ... The... (Yahoo News -- Afghanistan)
NATO bomb kills, wounds 12 civilians in E Afghanistan Sep 10, 2008
The U.S.-led Coalition forces, according to investigation reports by Afghan government, in a joint operation with Afghan army carried out air raids against the suspected hideout of Taliban militants in western Afghan province of Herat, leaving some 90 civilians dead in last August. Both ISAF and the U.S.-led Coalition forces have committed such "mistakes" during operations since their deployment here nearly seven years ago and claimed many civilian lives. (Xinhuanet, China)
US to review Afghan attack case Sep 9, 2008
The US had earlier said that no more than seven civilians died in the attack on the western province of Herat ... US forces had originally said seven civilians were killed in a "successful" US raid targeting a Taleban commander in Azizabad village in Herat's Shindand district. (BBC News -- Americas)
3 Coalition Troops Killed In Afghan Blast Sep 9, 2008
Afghan and U.N. officials say some 90 civilians were killed in a U.S. special forces operation in the western Herat province on Aug. 22. A U.S. military investigation found that seven civilians were killed, but after a number of videos of victims surfaced last week, Gen. David D. McKiernan, the top NATO commander in Afghanistan, ordered a review of those findings. (CBS News -- Iraq)
Evidence of air strike in Afghanistan seems to rebut U.S. account Sep 9, 2008
A 25-year-old Afghan woman at a hospital in Herat said she had been wounded in an American airstrike. According to witnesses at her village, the attack killed 90 civilians. (International Herald Tribune -- Technology)
Afghans say will open graves to show civilian deaths Sep 9, 2008
Relatives of Afghans killed in a U.S.-led coalition raid in western Herat province offered on Tuesday to dig up graves to support claims of large-scale civilian deaths. The August 22 air strike in Shindand district has outraged Afghans and opened a rift between coalition forces on the one hand and the Afghan government and the U.N. on the other, which both say that more than 90 civilians were killed. (International Herald Tribune -- Health)
Afghans ready to open graves to prove civil deaths Sep 9, 2008
AZIZABAD, Afghanistan Sept 9 (Reuters) - Relatives of Afghans killed in a U.S.-led coalition raid in western Herat province on Tuesday offered to dig open graves to back up claims of large-scale civilian deaths. The August 22 air strike in Shindand district has outraged Afghans and opened up a rift between the coalition forces on the one hand and the Afghan government and the U.N. on the other, which both say that more than 90 civilians were killed. (AlertNet)
U.S. Has New Details On Afghan Casualties Sep 8, 2008
Italian soldiers with the NATO- forces secure the area after a suicide attack near the city of Herat, east of Kabul, Afghanistan on Sept. 7, 2008 ... But a U.S. investigation released Tuesday said only up to seven civilians and 35 militants were killed in the operation in the western province of Herat ... Nek Mohammad Ishaq, a provincial council member in Herat and a member of the Afghan investigating commission, has said that Afghanistan's intelligence service has photographs and videos of the... (CBS News)
