Christmas-2010: civilians killed in US-led attack
Mirko Wallmann | 24.12.2010 22:02 | Guantánamo | Analysis | History | Terror War | Cambridge
2 Afghan civilians killed in US-led attack ...... US-led foreign troops in Afghanistan have killed two Afghan civilians during a raid in Kabul, further intensifying security risks to the civilian population in the country. The incident took place early Friday in Block 4 of the Afghan capital when NATO forces attacked a construction company. Two of the company's security personnel were killed and two others were injured. NATO has claimed that the attack was aimed at a suspicious militant base, but Afghan police say no militants were in the area. Thousands of civilians have lost their lives in attacks by US-led NATO forces occupying Afghanistan since 2001 in supposed effort to bring security to the war-ravaged nation.
NATO troops in Afghanistan
The western military alliance often claims that their operations target militants, but most of their victims on the ground turn out to be civilians.
In face of the growing civilian casualties, the Afghan government has recently renewed calls for further measures to avoid civilian deaths during US-led military operations.
Civilian casualties have been a frequent source of tensions between Kabul and the US-led foreign forces. The United Nations says the death toll of Afghan civilians this year is 20 percent higher than in 2009, with over 2,400 civilians killed in the country from January to September. ....... MORE:
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/156909.html ......... NATO has warned that foreign soldiers are expected to face more violence in 2011. With the growing casualty rate of Afghan civilians and foreign troops in Afghanistan this year, public opinion in the United States and other countries are increasingly turning against the US-led war. Fri Dec 24 - http://www.presstv.ir/detail/156909.html
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In face of the growing civilian casualties, the Afghan government has recently renewed calls for further measures to avoid civilian deaths during US-led military operations.
Civilian casualties have been a frequent source of tensions between Kabul and the US-led foreign forces. The United Nations says the death toll of Afghan civilians this year is 20 percent higher than in 2009, with over 2,400 civilians killed in the country from January to September. ....... MORE:
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/156909.html ......... NATO has warned that foreign soldiers are expected to face more violence in 2011. With the growing casualty rate of Afghan civilians and foreign troops in Afghanistan this year, public opinion in the United States and other countries are increasingly turning against the US-led war. Fri Dec 24 - http://www.presstv.ir/detail/156909.html Related Stories:
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http://www.presstv.ir/detail/156584.html US-led forces kill 5 Afghan civilians
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/156578.html
Mirko Wallmann
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Christmas 2010: scores of civilians deliberately murdered in Taliban atatck
25.12.2010 07:51
At least 40 people have died in a suicide bomb attack on a large crowd receiving aid in north-west Pakistan.
The blast took place in the town of Khar in the Bajaur region, in tribal areas close to the Afghan border - a Taliban and al-Qaeda stronghold.
About 1,000 people displaced by fighting had been receiving food at a distribution centre.
Reports say at least another 50 people have been injured and the death toll could rise.
'Safe' area
Saturday's bombing was the latest in a string of recent attacks in Pakistan's north-west.
No group has so far said it carried out the attack on the centre, used by the World Food Programme and other aid agencies to distribute food to conflict-affected people in the region.
"I myself have counted 40 bodies but the death toll could rise as several wounded people are in critical condition," Dosti Rehman, an official at the main government hospital in the region, told Reuters news agency.
Dozens of injured people are being taken to hospital by helicopter.
Continue reading the main story
Analysis
image of Aleem Maqbool Aleem Maqbool BBC News, Islamabad
Bajaur is a place where the army has carried out numerous operations and declared several times that they have cleared the area of militants.
But once again the militants have proved that they can strike back.
At the end of a very bloody year in Pakistan there have been attacks on all types of targets. The militants haven't really shied away from anything.
We have had sporting venues hit - at the beginning of the year more than 100 died in an attack on a volleyball match - and mosques and market places have also been targeted.
A lot of Pakistanis are now wondering how the army and the government are going to deal with this better in the future.
Most of the victims are believed to be civilians who had fled the fighting between Taliban militants and the Pakistani army, the BBC's Aleem Maqbool in Islamabad reports.
The tribal district of Bajaur, where the attack took place, has seen several military operations to clear it of insurgents - the army had previously declared the operations a success, and the area safe for the displaced to return to, our correspondent adds.
Among recent other attacks, at least 11 Pakistani soldiers and 24 militants were killed on Friday after some 150 Taliban fighters attacked five Frontier Corps checkpoints in the neighbouring Mohmand tribal region.
Earlier this month, a suicide bomb attack in Mohmand left at least 40 people dead.
A double suicide bombing in Mohmand in July killed more than 100.
Pakistan has faced growing US pressure to launch a major ground offensive in the nearby tribal region of North Waziristan, considered a haven for Islamist insurgents.
Islamabad has denied accusations that it is not doing enough to fight the Taliban in the north-west, pointing out that more than 2,400 of its soldiers have died fighting militants since 2002.
Pakistan supported the Taliban regime in Afghanistan from 1996-2001, but later became an ally of the US when it led an invasion in 2001.
Are you in the town of Khar? If you have any information about the attack to share with the BBC, please send us your details using the postform below. Your contact details will not be published.
Send your pictures and videos to
Why we are fighting
Christmas 2010: scores of civilians deliberately murdered in Taliban attack
25.12.2010 10:56
Pakistan suicide bombing kills dozens
At least 40 people have died in a suicide bomb attack on a large crowd receiving aid in north-west Pakistan.
The blast took place in the town of Khar in the Bajaur region, in tribal areas close to the Afghan border - a Taliban and al-Qaeda stronghold.
About 1,000 people displaced by fighting had been receiving food at a distribution centre.
Reports say at least another 50 people have been injured and the death toll could rise.
'Safe' area
Saturday's bombing was the latest in a string of recent attacks in Pakistan's north-west.
No group has so far said it carried out the attack on the centre, used by the World Food Programme and other aid agencies to distribute food to conflict-affected people in the region.
"I myself have counted 40 bodies but the death toll could rise as several wounded people are in critical condition," Dosti Rehman, an official at the main government hospital in the region, told Reuters news agency.
Dozens of injured people are being taken to hospital by helicopter.
Continue reading the main story
Analysis
image of Aleem Maqbool Aleem Maqbool BBC News, Islamabad
Bajaur is a place where the army has carried out numerous operations and declared several times that they have cleared the area of militants.
But once again the militants have proved that they can strike back.
At the end of a very bloody year in Pakistan there have been attacks on all types of targets. The militants haven't really shied away from anything.
We have had sporting venues hit - at the beginning of the year more than 100 died in an attack on a volleyball match - and mosques and market places have also been targeted.
A lot of Pakistanis are now wondering how the army and the government are going to deal with this better in the future.
Most of the victims are believed to be civilians who had fled the fighting between Taliban militants and the Pakistani army, the BBC's Aleem Maqbool in Islamabad reports.
The tribal district of Bajaur, where the attack took place, has seen several military operations to clear it of insurgents - the army had previously declared the operations a success, and the area safe for the displaced to return to, our correspondent adds.
Among recent other attacks, at least 11 Pakistani soldiers and 24 militants were killed on Friday after some 150 Taliban fighters attacked five Frontier Corps checkpoints in the neighbouring Mohmand tribal region.
Earlier this month, a suicide bomb attack in Mohmand left at least 40 people dead.
A double suicide bombing in Mohmand in July killed more than 100.
Pakistan has faced growing US pressure to launch a major ground offensive in the nearby tribal region of North Waziristan, considered a haven for Islamist insurgents.
Islamabad has denied accusations that it is not doing enough to fight the Taliban in the north-west, pointing out that more than 2,400 of its soldiers have died fighting militants since 2002.
Pakistan supported the Taliban regime in Afghanistan from 1996-2001, but later became an ally of the US when it led an invasion in 2001.
Are you in the town of Khar? If you have any information about the attack to share with the BBC, please send us your details using the postform below. Your contact details will not be published.
Send your pictures and videos to
Why we are fighting
Why we are fighting the Taliban
Christmas 2010: scores of civilians murdered in Taliban suicide attack
25.12.2010 13:52
At least 40 people have died in a suicide bomb attack on a large crowd receiving aid in north-west Pakistan.
The blast took place in the town of Khar in the Bajaur region, in tribal areas close to the Afghan border - a Taliban and al-Qaeda stronghold.
About 1,000 people displaced by fighting had been receiving food at a distribution centre.
Reports say at least another 50 people have been injured and the death toll could rise.
'Safe' area
Saturday's bombing was the latest in a string of recent attacks in Pakistan's north-west.
No group has so far said it carried out the attack on the centre, used by the World Food Programme and other aid agencies to distribute food to conflict-affected people in the region.
"I myself have counted 40 bodies but the death toll could rise as several wounded people are in critical condition," Dosti Rehman, an official at the main government hospital in the region, told Reuters news agency.
Dozens of injured people are being taken to hospital by helicopter.
Continue reading the main story
Analysis
image of Aleem Maqbool Aleem Maqbool BBC News, Islamabad
Bajaur is a place where the army has carried out numerous operations and declared several times that they have cleared the area of militants.
But once again the militants have proved that they can strike back.
At the end of a very bloody year in Pakistan there have been attacks on all types of targets. The militants haven't really shied away from anything.
We have had sporting venues hit - at the beginning of the year more than 100 died in an attack on a volleyball match - and mosques and market places have also been targeted.
A lot of Pakistanis are now wondering how the army and the government are going to deal with this better in the future.
Most of the victims are believed to be civilians who had fled the fighting between Taliban militants and the Pakistani army, the BBC's Aleem Maqbool in Islamabad reports.
The tribal district of Bajaur, where the attack took place, has seen several military operations to clear it of insurgents - the army had previously declared the operations a success, and the area safe for the displaced to return to, our correspondent adds.
Among recent other attacks, at least 11 Pakistani soldiers and 24 militants were killed on Friday after some 150 Taliban fighters attacked five Frontier Corps checkpoints in the neighbouring Mohmand tribal region.
Earlier this month, a suicide bomb attack in Mohmand left at least 40 people dead.
A double suicide bombing in Mohmand in July killed more than 100.
Pakistan has faced growing US pressure to launch a major ground offensive in the nearby tribal region of North Waziristan, considered a haven for Islamist insurgents.
Islamabad has denied accusations that it is not doing enough to fight the Taliban in the north-west, pointing out that more than 2,400 of its soldiers have died fighting militants since 2002.
Pakistan supported the Taliban regime in Afghanistan from 1996-2001, but later became an ally of the US when it led an invasion in 2001.
Why we are fighting the Taliban
Hide 3 hidden comments or hide all comments