Blasts Kill 5 NATO Soldiers In Afghanistan

Roadside Bombs Explode As Aid Groups Warn Of Spreading Violence

(CBS/ AP)  Roadside bombs killed five NATO troops in eastern Afghanistan on Friday, as 100 aid groups warned that violence in the country was spreading to once-stable regions and hindering humanitarian efforts.

Separately, a suicide bomber in southwestern Afghanistan killed three people, including two young girls, a provincial governor said.

The soldiers' deaths marked a bloody start to the month in what's already been a deadly year for U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, where a Taliban-led insurgency is raging nearly seven years after their fundamentalist Muslim regime was ousted in a U.S.-led invasion.

In response to the insurgency, the U.S. has started to divert reinforcements from Iraq to Afghanistan, though they currently comprise mostly of several helicopters and some combat engineers, reports CBS News national security correspondent David Martin. The overall Afghanistan troop surge could eventually total 10,000 soldiers.

Four of the NATO soldiers and a civilian died in Kunar province Friday, the alliance said in a statement. The fifth troop death was in Khost, another eastern province. The alliance did not release the nationalities of the soldiers. However, most of the troops in those areas are American.

The number of attacks in eastern Afghanistan have increased by 40 percent this year compared to the same period in 2007. Afghan officials complain that most of the militants fighting there are using Pakistan's tribal areas as a base for training and launching attacks.

Not only has the government of Pakistan failed to clean out the terrorist safe havens on its border, its intelligence service is actually working with some of the extremist groups, reports Martin.

"Pakistan views the current situation as untenable," Seth Jones, a Middle East expert for the RAND Corporation, told CBS News. "There's an Afghan government that is closely tied with India, Pakistan's mortal enemy. That situation is simply untenable."

Earlier this month, the CIA's deputy director confronted Pakistani officials with evidence their own intelligence service was behind the bombing of the Indian embassy in Kabul. On top of that, Pakistan's defense minister said President Bush had complained to the prime minister that Pakistani intelligence was giving militants advance warning of predator missile strikes, reports Martin.

A suicide bomber, meanwhile, blew himself up while being chased by police in the southwestern town of Zaranj in Nimroz province on Friday, said the provincial governor Ghulam Dastagir Azad. The attack killed three people, including two young girls, and wounded five other civilians.

The police wounded the man before he blew himself up, Azad said.

Militants regularly use suicide bombing in their attacks against Afghan and foreign troops in the country, but majority of the victims in such attacks have been civilians.

The Taliban-led insurgency is particularly strong in Afghanistan's south and east, but a statement Friday by the Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief noted that violence is now reaching other provinces, even those bordering the capital, Kabul, such as Logar and Wardak.

"Insecurity has spread to areas which were previously relatively stable in parts of north, northwest and central Afghanistan," it said.

Drawing on other recent reports, it said "aid organizations and their staff have been subject to increasing attacks, threats and intimidation, by both insurgent and criminal groups."

It cited a group that advises aid agencies on security that recently reported there were 2,056 insurgent attacks in the six months through June, a 52 percent increase from the same period of 2007. The report from the Afghanistan NGO Safety Office also said that 19 aid workers have been killed so far this year, compared to 15 in all of 2007.

ACBAR said initial estimates suggest more than 260 civilians were killed in July alone, higher than any other month in the last six years.

The statement also said that in the south violence has forced the closure of a large number of schools and health facilities, and "has caused significant levels of internal displacement."

It noted that parts of Afghanistan are experiencing "severe drought" and that food prices are rising as well, adding to the hardships of an already impoverished population.

"Increasing and spreading insecurity is jeopardizing the delivery of essential humanitarian assistance to these people and threatening their lives and livelihoods," the statement said.

Aleem Siddique, a top U.N. spokesman in Afghanistan, agreed that "the humanitarian challenge in Afghanistan continues to grow" but insisted that "we need the continued support of NGOs and the international community if we are to prevent further suffering."

"It is imperative that they remain committed to Afghanistan," Siddique said. "The needs of its people cannot be met by the government and the U.N. alone."

The groups involved in ACBAR also expressed concern about the impact of violence on civilians, and noted that airstrikes by international forces were adding to the civilian casualty toll.

1st Lt. Nathan Perry, a U.S. military spokesman, responded Friday, "Coalition forces make every effort to minimize the risk of any damage, injury or loss of life to noncombatants."

An Associated Press count based on accounts from Afghan and Western officials indicates that more than 2,700 people - most of them militants - have died in insurgency-related violence this year.

In other recent violence, five police were killed - and two others were wounded - in southern Kandahar province's Panjwayi district when a roadside bomb ripped through their vehicle on Thursday, according to district police official Bismullah Khan.

[unclesamurai]

Here''s a song for all you troubled minds. Confused about your own country and it''s brutal history?
http://muzic.com/song/968

[whiskyrokkr]

patriot12436
------------
Obama441 is an anti-american,terroist,jihadist P.O.S.
He has nothing good to say about our country. I agree with you on the target practice,that would be fun.

[patriot12436]

Well i tried cleaning my keyboard but it is still skipping so guess i have to buy a new one.

[patriot12436]

causeway-v
You and obama 4441 should grow some balls and come out to play with us. We enjoy target practice on the lies of you.

[patriot12436]

obama441
Your wrong
We hate those like you who are only degrading our country and teating it apart. We hate with a cause, a cause you have given us.

[randynason]

But we don''''t hate anyone worse than you.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by whiskyrokkr

-Not entirely true- There''s you, you pathetic tool.

[randynason]

Yeah- But the troop surge worked in Iraq, man. Hundreds of thousands are dead, refugees are breaking the economic backs of neighboring countries, cities are in ruin, there is no clean water or any electricity. But, look on the bright side: they now have freedom and democracy. -sarcasm-
Meanwhile, in Pakistan and Afghanistan...

[babooph]

Could the propaganda system please replay the video of Bush warning N Korea & Iran that the US can easily fight 2 more wars-The world has a great laugh at US expense.How about a replay of his video ""more & more Americans now have their own home" I really loved that one too.

[obama441]

The moves in oil, gold, and even wheat are all telling us something. First, they%u2019re telling us that the U.S. dollar is headed for the black pit of currency hell, where poorly managed fiat currencies go to suffer and die. And here%u2019s a question for you: how low will the dollar have to go before OPEC and oil producers like Russia start asking to be paid in a currency that isn%u2019t going down the toilet? How much lower would the greenback go if Russia%u2014the world%u2019s second-largest oil producer%u2014moved to price its crude in euros?

[obama441]

America is despised around the world not only because of the Iraq situation, but also because America is generally seen as a nation that has been greatly blessed, but, partly because of the filth that Hollywood exports around the world, is seen as an incredibly arrogant, and undeserving superpower. This has left America with few friends that would come to it''s financial rescue when the chips are down

[obama441]

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The nation''''s top automakers reported sharp drops in July sales that were much worse than expected, as high gas prices and a weak economy continue to bite the battered auto industry"...don''t hold on to your stocks,hold on to your socks!! HA,HA

[whiskyrokkr]

Obama441
---------
But we don''t hate anyone worse than you.

[obama441]

you hate your neighbor to the south,you hate your neighbor to the north,you hate Iran ,you hate Iraq,you hate Russia, you hate China,you hate north Korea,you hate Venezuela you hate Cuba, you hate Somalia, you hate muslims you hate Jews,you hate blacks sheesh you hate just about everybody in the world...well we don''t need your fat arsses anymore,your days are numbered tic,tic,tic....

[guadalcanal3]

causway5...WRONG...They weren''t Americans.

[whiskyrokkr]

Obama441
-------
You have a nice day too ---sucker..

[obama441]

I think you are talking about the Iranian Rial,not EUROS Posted by whiskyrokkr whatever,they got black gold,and all you got is a worthless piece of paper,have a nice day suckers......

[whiskyrokkr]

OBAMA441:

I think you are talking about the Iranian Rial,not EUROS

[obama441]

whiskyrokkr , lazareth ..HA,HA your friggin dollar is about to collapse..I love my EUROS.. suckers

[whiskyrokkr]

Lazereth was right. Obama441 is a anti-american,terrorist,jihadist.

[obama441]

Good news - 5 more dead scumbag americans Posted by causeway_v yeah 5 more "lazareth" kinda people we don''t have to worried about....