KABUL, Afghanistan, Aug. 17, 2008
Dozens Dead In Afghan Violence
Police Forces Beefed Up In Kabul As Violence Surges Beyond Capital
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An Afghan National Army soldier stands near a damaged vehicle after an explosion in the outskirts of Kabul, Aug. 16, 2008. A bomb struck the convoy of Afghanistan's education minister, wounding one person after they were returning from distributing books to nomad children. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
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Fast Facts Afghanistan Learn about the people, economy and history.
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Interactive Assault On Al Qaeda The manhunt on the Afghan-Pakistan border.
The rest of the country saw a surge in violence. Officials said several clashes in Afghanistan's south and east killed 73 Taliban fighters and five private security guards, while a roadside blast killed 10 policemen.
The Interior Ministry said the beefed-up police force in the capital would search buildings as well as cars to "create an environment of trust and prevent any disruptive actions by the enemy."
The security increase comes a day before the country celebrates the 89th anniversary of its independence from Britain. Any breach of security during the celebration would be an embarrassment for President Hamid Karzai's government.
In April, gunmen fired on Karzai at a military parade in Kabul, killing three people, including a lawmaker.
Ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary said more than 5,000 extra police had been drafted for what he described as the biggest operation of its kind in Kabul since 2001, when U.S.-led forces ousted the Taliban government.
Teams of police stopped vehicles at checkpoints around the city. Kabul so far has been spared the drumbeat of violence that has afflicted other parts of the country, though it suffered spectacular bomb attacks this year against an international hotel and the Indian Embassy.
Bashary declined to discuss whether officials are worried that militants are now at the city's gates.
However, a string of recent high-profile attacks indicate how the resurgent Taliban and other militant groups have gained a foothold in neighboring provinces.
In an ambush last week, insurgents wielding assault riffles gunned down three female aid workers about an hour's drive south of Kabul.
To the west, insurgents have been regularly attacking U.S.-led coalition and NATO supply convoys, burning fuel trucks and killing NATO and coalition soldiers. To the east, the Tag Ab valley of Kapisa province has become the scene of near-daily clashes and air strikes by the U.S.-led military coalition.
Afghan and NATO officials insist that the nearly seven-year effort to bring stability to Afghanistan is progressing.
However, the security operation in Kabul is the second time this year that authorities have taken extraordinary measures to reassure Afghans that the Taliban are not able to assail a major city.
In June, Afghan and NATO commanders scrambled thousands of troops to clear militants from a strategic valley within striking distance of Kandahar, Afghanistan's main southern city.
Overall, insurgent attacks jumped by 50 percent in the first half of 2008, according to recent data from the Afghanistan NGO Safety Office, a Kabul-based group that advises relief groups on security.
More than 3,200 people - mostly militants - have been killed in insurgency-related violence this year, according to an Associated Press count based on figures from Western and Afghan officials.
Most of the violence still takes place in the south and east, where Taliban sympathies run strongest and militant bases in neighboring Pakistan are closer at hand.
In the latest violence:
(AP/Kent Porter, The Press Democrat)
© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Add a Comment See all 16 Comments
- Afghanistan seems to have gotten much worse this year.If we are ever going to see less people joining against the US, we should improve their lives by helping them by making sure nobody is hungry or going without water on a regular basis. Why did we go into Afghanistan in the first place, all of the highjackers on 911 was from Saudi Arabia.
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- I think I can hear Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi cheering from here. Maybe we''ll "lose" this war too.
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- Osama Bin Laden prefers violence. 88 Persons are killed in the fighting before Independence Day. Osama said, "I would rather the Police and Taliban were all dead. They are common people. Afghanistan must be reserved for the elite". Bin Laden made it clear that the land is for growing exotic poppies, not villages. His isomizing opium mill is at full capacity producing tar heroin. Osama is making hand over fist selling the illicit narcotic. Addicts everywhere hunger for the potent drug.
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- Why the heck are we even in Afghanistan? Afghanistan never threatened the US, neither did Iraq. All we need to do is find Bin Laden, and he''s been hiding in Pakistan (I think) being protected by Musharrif. What a waste of money and lives for essentially, no reason.
The lives of 3,000 people are important, absolutely, but we''ve lost more than 4,000 and endless billions in ridiculous wars with no substantiation. - Reply to this comment
- GOSH I sure hope no poppy growers or drug lords were hurt. After all America has sworn to protect them since that evil Osama Bin Laden nearly closed them down. They owe George Bush big time.
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- Is Obama REALLY the best you can come up with ?
The guy''s an unknown, charismatic liar.
Posted by RosieOD4Prez at 06:03 PM : Aug 17, 2008
How you can call an "unknown" a liar?
I mean, c''mon...gotta know somebody to know they are a liar, do you not?
On the other hand, McCain''s involvement in the "Keating Five" is extremely well known... - Reply to this comment
- BUSH SHOULD BE THE ONE OVER THERE PLAYING WITH
THE EASTERN COUNTRIES INSTEAD OF GUYS........
IT WILL NEVER END OVER THERE SO FACE IT WE ARE
NOT GONNA CLAIM VICTORY WE NEED TO COME HOME - Reply to this comment
- ask your kids
Posted by jamesm12341 at 10:55 AM : Aug 17, 2008
What an utterly stupid comment - Reply to this comment
- "Maybe we should have a "surge" in Afganistan (sic) - liberalme
DO I hear a far left liberal conceding that the surge worked in Iraq ?
How many months did you bad mouth that decision ?
And your favorite political org, MOVEON, called the General that thought up the brilliant life saving plan a name for his efforts. None of yor politicians were willing to give it a chance - they just wanted to cut and run.
Truth is, the Democrats never have any inspirational leaders. Every time the Republicans do less than stellar, you nominate someone like Obama, or Jimmy.
Is Obama REALLY the best you can come up with ?
The guy''''s an unknown, charismatic liar.
Posted by RosieOD4Prez at 06:03 PM : Aug 17, 2008
You forgot to copy and paste the rest of what I posted--the oh wait we don''t have enough troops part!!
Truth is, the Democrats never have any inspirational leaders----
Posted by RosieOD4Prez
And by God, we know what an inspriation Bush has been--the epitomy of EVIL!!!!! - Reply to this comment
- I guess this is another Republican version of "success" since the bar has been lowered to where it can''t be lowered any further in Iraq.
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- "Maybe we should have a "surge" in Afganistan (sic) - liberalme
DO I hear a far left liberal conceding that the surge worked in Iraq ?
How many months did you bad mouth that decision ?
And your favorite political org, MOVEON, called the General that thought up the brilliant life saving plan a name for his efforts. None of yor politicians were willing to give it a chance - they just wanted to cut and run.
Truth is, the Democrats never have any inspirational leaders. Every time the Republicans do less than stellar, you nominate someone like Obama, or Jimmy.
Is Obama REALLY the best you can come up with ?
The guy''s an unknown, charismatic liar. - Reply to this comment
- Funny, is it not?
Old Donald Rumsfeld closed base after base in America and restructured our military in the name of "high mobility quick reaction forces" - both frankly to reduce expenses so Bushie could slam another tax cut into America''s back - and what are our major problems in Iraq and Afghanistan?
Not enough boots on the ground... - Reply to this comment
- How can "the Militants" TERRORISTS lose when they have the News Media to continually spread their propaganda?
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- The only way to take care of violence in the middle east is to bomb them back to the stone age. Complete annialation,these people have no clue how to govern or progress like most humans.When you still belong to "tribes" something is wrong.Start with one country and turn it into a parking lot,trust me the rest of the dune ***** will fall in line.
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- How does it feel to be loved by people you despise?
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- Maybe we should have a "surge" in Afganistan---oh wait--do we have enough troops?
Hey Lars--Rev Wright LOVES his fellow hate monger bigots, in fact he has joined forces with James Manning in a MEGA HATE WHITES church, but they will accept your membership because your hate is equal to theirs. - Reply to this comment
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