Archive for the ‘Afghanistan’ Category

Jihad with your Duty Free? Afghan pilot shows 'Allah comes first' and shoots infidels in an 'argument'

UPDATE: Per earlier indications the reports we picked up that the troops were American are true. A US contractor has also been killed. If More we’ll update later.

Eight foreign troops have been killed after an Afghan air force pilot opened fire at Kabul airport during an argument, Nato has said.

The incident took place at a facility used by the Afghan air force at around 1100 local time (0630 GMT), the Afghan defence ministry said.

The pilot was also killed in the exchange.

The incident is the latest of a number of recent attacks on foreigners by Afghan security personnel. Read the rest of this entry »

Enjoy it while you can: Afghan wedding crackdown imminent as Kazai government moves to taliban-style restrictions

There’s an awful lot of flesh on display at Qasre Aros in central Kabul. Arms and shoulders are free to the elements, while necklines plunge daringly low on garish ballgowns made of every shade of synthetic material imaginable and encrusted with fake jewels.

Though the skin may be the orangey plastic of the dozens of mannequins lining the walls, the dresses are worn every night by real Afghan brides. But the days when brides-to-be would flock to the shops of central Kabul’s Shar-e-Now Park may be numbered. Conservative elements of Hamid Karzai’s government are pushing for far-reaching restrictions on weddings the likes of which have not been seen since the Taliban regime.

Under a law proposed by the justice ministry and soon to be considered by Karzai’s cabinet, “garments contrary to Islamic sharia” will be banned. Shops selling “outfits that are semi-naked, naked, transparent, or tight in a way that reveals part of the woman’s body” will be fined and, if they persist, closed down. Read the rest of this entry »

Hague expresses 'concern'..

...Ahmadinejad responds: "Sanction this, my British friend..."

.. but why act so surprised, Mr Hague?

The foreign secretary has condemned Tehran’s “completely unacceptable” behaviour after British Special Forces seized a shipment of suspected Iranian missiles intended for the Taliban.

The 48 rockets are understood to have been intercepted in Nimruz Province, in southern Afghanistan, on 5 February.

UK officials say technical analysis showed they had come from Iran.

William Hague said Iran’s actions were at odds with its claim to “support stability and security in Afghanistan”. Read the rest of this entry »

Feeling the love of Islam: Children wade through the ruins of their school, blown up by the Taliban in January, 2009

And I’m a banana:

The Taliban have abandoned their opposition to female education in Afghanistan, the country’s education minister has claimed.

Farooq Wardak told the UK’s Times Educational Supplement a “cultural change” meant the Taliban were “no more opposing girls’ education”.

Under the Taliban regime, women in Afghanistan were not allowed to work or get an education.

Mr Wardak made his comments while in London for the Education World Forum. Read the rest of this entry »

Time for a new approach? Police training in Afghanistan

Looks like this wasn’t ‘Sudden Jihad Syndrome’, but a planned and perfectly-executed Taliban attack (there appear to be conflicting reports on whether the murderer was a ‘genuine’ recruit or a Taliban imposter – we’ll keep you posted):

A gunman in an Afghan police uniform has killed six US service members in eastern Afghanistan, officials say.

The man opened fire during a training mission in Pachir Wagam district, Nangarhar province, said Nato. He was also killed in the incident.

US officials later confirmed that all six were Americans, but declined to give further details. Read the rest of this entry »