6 US Soldiers, 23 Afghanis Killed in Afghanistan War Attacks, December 12, 2010

6 US Soldiers, 23 Afghanis Killed in Afghanistan War Attacks

December 12, 2010

Suicide bombing kills 6 NATO troops in Afghanistan

By Heidi Vogt And Mirwais Khan, Associated Press –

December 12, 2010

KABUL, Afghanistan –

An explosives-packed minibus blew up at the entrance of a joint NATO-Afghan base in southern Afghanistan on Sunday, killing six NATO troops and two Afghan soldiers as they prepared to head out on patrol.

NATO has claimed improvements in security after months of raids, patrols and strikes on insurgents in Kandahar province, but Sunday's blast — the deadliest attack on coalition troops this month — shows the area is still far from safe.

The assault comes days ahead of a major White House review of its Afghan strategy following President Barack Obama's decision last year to send 30,000 American reinforcements in a bid to reverse gains by the Taliban since they were ousted from power in the 2001 U.S.-led invasion.

Afghan officials said Sunday's suicide attack took place in Kandahar's Zhari district, where Mullah Mohammad Omar organized the Taliban in the early 1990s. Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi claimed responsibility for the blast, saying the group was retaliating for attacks on its fighters in the area in recent months.

U.S. and Afghan forces launched a major operation in September to secure Zhari, a lush farming region of irrigation canals and grape vineyards that the Taliban have used as a staging area for attacks in nearby Kandahar city and other parts of the south.

Zhari has remained insurgent territory despite five major NATO operations in recent years. In 2006, a Canadian-led force launched a concerted push in Zhari and nearby Panjwai district, driving out the Taliban but at a cost of 28 coalition lives. Months later, the Taliban were back.

In Sunday's attack, a suicide bomber drove a minibus into the entrance of the coalition base just as troops were preparing vehicles to move out on a morning patrol, said Gen. Abdul Hamid, the Afghan army chief for Kandahar province.

"They were leaving the compound and at that moment, the minibus attacked and they hit right at the entrance of the base," Hamid said.

NATO said that the six service members had been killed in an insurgent attack and did not disclose their nationality. Most coalition forces in the south are American.

___

Khan reported from Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Roadside bomb kills 15 civilians in Afghanistan

The Daily News, Pakistan, Sunday, December 12, 2010

* NATO forces kill seven members of private security company

* Six injured in car bomb blast outside Kandahar police HQs

KANDAHAR:

A roadside bomb planted by the Taliban killed 15 civilians in southern Afghanistan and a shootout with NATO forces killed seven people in the east on Saturday, authorities said.

The roadside bomb struck on Friday afternoon as a pickup truck carrying villagers to a nearby bazaar rolled over the bomb in Helmand province, Daoud Ahmadi, spokesman for the provincial governor, said on Saturday.

NATO forces have poured troops into Helmand and Kandahar, making some progress in routing the Taliban. But fighting and insurgent attacks have continued there as well as in the volatile eastern provinces such as Paktia.

In Paktia on Saturday, about 500 people gathered and shouted “Death to Americans!” amid local reports that a NATO operation killed seven members of a private security company.

NATO said it was investigating the shootout, which occurred after coalition forces detained a suspected insurgent and tried to clear the area. NATO forces then shot a man who approached them armed with an assault rifle.

“Multiple other armed individuals then engaged the force, which resulted in a total of seven individuals killed,” NATO said in a statement. “The security force takes civilian casualty allegations seriously and is currently accessing who the individuals were.”

Also Saturday, a car bomb exploded outside a police headquarters in Kandahar, wounding six people and blowing out
the windows of buildings
up to a kilometre away, officials said. ap

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