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Daily Security Brief: October 30, 2011

Daily Security Brief: October 30, 2011

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30 Oct 2011 - 14:40
Daily Security Brief: October 30, 2011
author avatar
30 Oct 2011 - 14:40

HELMAND: Eight Taliban were killed and 12 others injured in a gunbattle with police in the Nawa district of southern Helmand province, officials said on Sunday.

The rebels ambushed police who were asking growers not to cultivate poppies in the district late on Saturday night, a statement from governor’s office said. 

The security officials came under attack in the Shor Shark area, the district chief, Haji Abdul Manaf, told Pajhwok Afghan News. One policeman was also injured, he said.

Police arrested four militants with a car, three motorbikes and two landmines while 58 farmers were also arrested on the charge of poppy cultivation, Manaf added.

According to the Nad Ali district police chief, Umar Jan Haqmal, they had cleared the western part of the district as a result of an operation.

Afghan and foreign forces often left the area after conducting several operations in the past, complained a local, Haji Rahmatullah. But Haqmal promised that they, unlike in the past, would not quit the area this time.

–Zainullah Setanikza

mas/mud    

ISLAMABAD: Four suspected Taliban insurgents were killed in a fresh drone strike in Pakistan border, on Sunday, an intelligence official said.

Another two people were wounded when the unnamed aircraft struck a vehicle in the Datta Khel area, about 30 kilometres west of Miranshah, a political administration official told Pajhwok Afghan News.

Speaking over the telephone from the restive region, Taslim Khan said the CIA-operated drone fired six missiles at the vehicle carrying suspected militants in the Doga village. A house was also damaged in the assault.

Local journalist Malik Mumtaz said two drones hovered over the village an hour after the missile strike. The victims were tribespeople, with no links to the fighters, he added. The injured were evacuated to a private hospital.

A day earlier, Pakistan Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani said his government had not allowed the United States to carry out drone strikes against any target in the country.

Such attacks were counterproductive because of the collateral damage was undermining the government’s efforts to muster public support against extremists and terrorists, he told Pakistani expatriates in Australia.

The United States had been told that unilateral military operations, such as the May 2 raid in Abbottabad to get Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, were unacceptable, Gilani said.

Qaisar Yousafzai

Mud

KABUL: An elder of the Barakzai tribe was shot dead by a guest at his residence in the Paghman district of central Kabul province on Sunday, an official said.

Haji Daud Khan, who served as administrative head of the Chora district of central Uruzgan province, was killed by his guest during lunch at his house, relative Sardar Mohammad said.

His cook and another guest were injured in the shooting, he said. Khan was a resident of the Sarkchala village of Uruzgan.

Crime branch police chief in Paghman, Col. Door Mohammad Khan, confirmed the incident, but declined giving further details. No one has so far claimed responsibility for the murder.

–Maiwand Fida

mm/ma/mud

KANDAHAR: The hajj director was injured along with a friend in a roadside bombing near Kandahar City, the capital of southern Kandahar province, on Sunday, an official said.

Maulvi Noorul Aziz was driving with his friend through Shorandam area where came under attack at around 12:30pm, the governor’s spokesman told Pajhwok Afghan News.

Zalmay Ayubi said Aziz and his friend were injured in the blast that damaged their vehicle. They were taken to the Mirwais Civil Hospital, according to Ayubi, who said nothing about the extent of the director’s injuries.

It was the second attempt on Aziz’s life in a week. He survived a similar attack in the Panjwai district. Aziz joined the peace process in Kandahar a year back. He had served as a Taliban-designated governor for Kunduz province.

Two hajj directors of Kandahar had been killed in insurgent attacks. There was no word from the Taliban about the latest attack on Aziz.

–Bashir Ahmad Naadem

ma/mud

ZABUL: The International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF) soldiers arrested three Taliban insurgents, including a commander, during an operation in southern Zabul province, the force said on Sunday.

The operation was carried out in provincial capital Qalat on Saturday night, the alliance said a statement.  

The statement did not identify the detainees, but said they were involved in mine attacks on foreign forces.

An official at the provincial police headquarters, speaking on condition of anonymity, said ISAF troops conducted the operation in Lomak and Garam Aab areas, arresting a number of people.

A Taliban spokesman Qari Yousaf Ahmadi claimed the fighters had launched a series of attacks on bases of foreign forces in Sewari and Shah Joi districts. But his claim was rejected by provincial security officials as baseless.

–Nasim Hotak

mas/ma

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