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BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, Jan. 6, 2009 – U.S. soldiers are training new Afghan security guards in an effort that is bringing them more help at traffic checkpoints. Army Sgt. Aaron Duncan, Company A, 201st Brigade Support Battalion, explains a traffic control point to Afghan security guards. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Charles Brice  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Soldiers from 1st Infantry Division’s Company A, 201st Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, taught the specialized training at Forward Operating Base Fenty in northeast Afghanistan. The training included tactics, techniques and procedures for working traffic control points and...

British, Afghan and coalition forces battled the Taliban at close quarters, knee-deep in mud, over Christmas in fierce trench battles reminiscent of the First World War, it has emerged. The offensive in Afghanistan's central Helmand province involved more than 1,500 troops and was one of the largest operations mounted by Royal Marines since the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said. It was fought over 18 days around the town of Nad-e-Ali to capture four key Taliban strongholds. Some of the Royal Marines taking part trudged more than 60km through mud with packs on their backs...

THE Australian Defence Force has breached its environmental and safety guidelines in Afghanistan, allowing raw sewage to overflow at its Tarin Kowt base and using accommodation that could pose a fire hazard to troops. The accusations come from John Roberts, a former Australian army officer and until recently a contractor at Tarin Kowt in Oruzgan province where Australian troops are stationed, The Australian reports. Mr Roberts said he saw the ADF flout its environmental guidelines between 2005 and last August by allowing the dumping of raw sewage from its troops into nearby open holding ponds that then overflowed, threatening to...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18, 2008 – As the U.S. military works to improve security along a supply line that passes through Pakistan en route to Afghanistan, the pathway continues to be a viable means of logistics, a Pentagon official said today. Taliban militants reportedly have torched about 300 trucks laden with supplies, including military vehicles, in five attacks last week alone. But roughly 150 truckloads of supplies continue to traverse the route each day, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said today. “While we are still evaluating how to not only improve the security along that line, but [also] other lines that we...

WASHINGTON — The United States and NATO are planning to open and expand supply lines through Central Asia to deliver fuel, food and other goods to a military mission in Afghanistan that is expected to grow by tens of thousands of troops in the months ahead, according to American and alliance diplomats and military officials.The plan to open new paths through Central Asia reflects an American-led effort to seek out a more reliable alternative to the route from Pakistan through the strategic Khyber Pass, which was closed by Pakistani security forces on Tuesday as they began an offensive against militants...

NATO's vital supply link through the Northwest Frontier Province has been shut down as the Pakistani military launched an operation to clear the Taliban from the area. "Supplies to NATO forces have temporarily been suspended," Tariq Hayat Khan, the Khyber agency's political agent, told reporters. The main road between Peshawar and the border town of Torkham has been closed as the military launched attacks using "artillery, tanks and, helicopter gunships," Geo News reported. It is unclear if the operation is being led by the Army or the paramilitary Frontier Corps.

After months of increased attacks on supply trucks, U.S. and NATO officials are scrambling for alternative routes to sustain its forces in land-locked Afghanistan. Today, three-quarters of NATO provisions bound for Afghanistan must travel through the deteriorating security environment in neighboring Pakistan. If U.S. and NATO leaders intend to establish new routes for the mission, they will have to make concessions to surrounding countries including Iran and Russia. Militants operating in and around the Pakistani tribal region of Khyber Agency have repeatedly hijacked supply vehicles entering Afghanistan. Earlier this month, gunmen torched more than 160 vehicles near the Pakistani border...

KABUL, Afghanistan – A record 151 U.S. forces died in Afghanistan in 2008, the deadliest year yet in a seven-year war that military officials say is likely to get even bloodier in 2009, as thousands more American troops pour into the country.

Canadian Soldier Killed in Afghanistan CEFCOM NR–08.045 - December 27, 2008 OTTAWA – One Canadian soldier was killed and three others were injured when their armoured vehicle was struck by an explosion in Zharey District about 12:45 p.m. Kandahar time, December 26, 2008. The fallen soldier is Private Michael Freeman of 3rd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment based at CFB Petawawa. All members of Task Force Kandahar are thinking of the family and friends of our fallen comrade during this time of sorrow. The dedication and sacrifice of soldiers like Private Michael Freeman is helping to make a difference in...

A Royal Marine was killed in southern Afghanistan on Christmas Eve, the Ministry of Defence said today. The serviceman, from 42 Commando, died from enemy fire while on a mission in the Nad-e-Ali district near Lashkar Gah in Helmand province. Commander Paula Rowe, the Task Force Helmand spokeswoman, said: “The death of this Royal Marine is a tragic loss and coming so close to Christmas, this is particularly poignant. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends at this dreadfully sad time.” Next of kin have been informed.

Christmas for the Commandos in Afghanistan was always going to be different - but no one could have predicted just how different. One minute they were singing carols at dusk beneath a mellow sun in the baked bare wasteland of Helmand province while wearing festive Santa hats, the next they were firing mortars after their Christmas Day service came under attack from the Taliban. So rapid was the reaction of Royal Marines of 40 Commando that within less than a minute of the first "contact" from the Taliban's machine guns, they had sprinted the 200 metres to their mortar lines...

War On Terrorism: The Pentagon will add thousands of troops to Afghanistan next summer, setting up the smart war Barack Obama prefers. We hope he won't one day regret his choice and pull troops out too soon.In October 2002, as President Bush and Congress were finalizing plans to invade Iraq and topple Saddam Hussein's brutal regime, Obama told participants at an anti-war rally in Chicago that he didn't "oppose all wars," but was certainly against "a dumb war" that is "based not on reason but on passion, not on principle but on politics." If Obama is indeed against dumb wars...

KABUL, Afghanistan — The top U.S. military officer said Saturday that the Pentagon could double the number of American forces in Afghanistan by next summer to 60,000 – the largest estimate of potential reinforcements ever publicly suggested. Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that between 20,000 and 30,000 additional U.S. troops could be sent to Afghanistan to bolster the 31,000 already there. This year has been the deadliest for U.S. forces in Afghanistan since the 2001 invasion to oust the Taliban for hosting al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. Suicide attacks and roadside bombs have become...

KABUL (Reuters) – The United States is looking to send 20,000 to 30,000 extra troops to Afghanistan by the beginning of next summer, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Saturday. Washington is already sending some 3,000 extra troops in January and another 2,800 by spring, but officials previously have said the number would be made up to 20,000 in the next 12 to 18 months, once approved by the U.S. administration. "Some 20 to 30,000 is the window of overall increase from where we are right now. I don't have an exact number," Admiral Mike...

CFB/ASU Wainwright, Alberta – The CU170 Heron Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) tactical system will soon be replacing the French-made CU161 Sperwer currently being used in Afghanistan by the Canadian military. “The Heron offers far greater endurance, altitude and speed than the Sperwer,� said Major Andrew McCorquodale of the Directorate of Air Requirements at National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa. The advanced UAV capability will help protect Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan by “delivering the intelligence data to commanders in the field that they need. It empowers commanders. UAVs allow us to know where the ‘bad guys’ are. Often, we know that better...

The soldier, from the 1st Battalion The Rifles was hit by enemy fire in Southern Helmand. An MoD spokesman said the soldier was taking part in an operation against enemy forces in the district of Nad-e-Ali. He received immediate medical care at the scene and was taken by helicopter to the military hospital at Camp Bastion for further treatment but died of his wounds. The spokeswoman for Task Force Helmand, Commander Paula Rowe, said: "The death of this soldier has left everyone in Task Force Helmand deeply saddened. Whilst words cannot ease their devastating loss, our heartfelt condolences go to...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15, 2008 – Afghanistan is making progress, and despite challenges, it can rely on America to help it defeat terrorists and grow its fledgling democracy, President George W. Bush told Afghan President Hamid Karzai in the capital city of Kabul today. “There’s been good progress made, but there are a lot of tough challenges” ahead in Afghanistan, said Bush, who made a surprise visit to Afghanistan following his unannounced visit to Baghdad yesterday. “I told the president that you can count on the United States -- just like you’ve been able to count on this administration, you’ll...

U.S. and Afghan soldiers in Zabul Province give high marks to the Lithuanian Special Forces, who like to ride these captured Taliban motorbikes to sneak up on, and chase Taliban fighters. The “LithSof” are on their way to becoming living legends: Both Afghans and Americans report that the Taliban are afraid of the Lithuanians. Stories about them are filled with dangerous escapades and humor. Americans say that the Lithuanians are sort of a weaponized version of Borat, who think nothing of sauntering around a base in nothing but flip-flops and underwear. “They look like mountain men. They never shave, sometimes...

Just caught the tail end of a breaking report on Fox that President Bush has arrived in Afghanistan after his surprise trip to Iraq.

Gordon Brown is considering rejecting an expected request from Barack Obama, the US President-elect, to send 2,000 more British troops to Afghanistan to join the surge of US forces confronting the Taleban. Britain is expected to come under considerable pressure from Mr Obama when he becomes President in January to send another battle group of 1,500-2,000. Turning down such a request would open a rift between Britain and the US. British military chiefs have also been clamouring for reinforcements for the beleaguered troops in the southern Afghan province of Helmand. Senior military officers have begun drawing up plans for boosting...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14, 2008 – Coalition and Afghan forces killed at least two enemy fighters, detained 32 suspects and seized weapons in Afghanistan during operations last week, military officials said. Coalition forces killed one militant and detained sixteen suspected militants during operations targeting a group known as Hizb-e-Islami Gulbuddin, or HIG, and Taliban commanders in Kabul and Zabul provinces Dec. 12. In Surobi District, some 30 km northeast of Kabul, coalition forces detained eight suspected militants, including a HIG commander, known for trafficking weapons and explosives into the Afghan capital and conducting attacks against civilians and security personnel. Troops also...

KABUL — The men around Lindsey Graham ignored his powerful political title — U.S. senator — and instead addressed him by rank — colonel.

Oh, and by the way, they'll be receiving 10 Silver Stars for their trouble. From the Washington Post. After jumping out of helicopters at daybreak onto jagged, ice-covered rocks and into water at an altitude of 10,000 feet, the 12-man Special Forces team scrambled up the steep mountainside toward its target -- an insurgent stronghold in northeast Afghanistan. "Our plan," Capt. Kyle M. Walton recalled in an interview, "was to fight downhill." But as the soldiers maneuvered toward a cluster of thick-walled mud buildings constructed layer upon layer about 1,000 feet farther up the mountain, insurgents quickly manned fighting positions,...

Three Canadian soldiers killed and one injured in AfghanistanCEFCOM NR 08.043 - December 14, 2008OTTAWA – Three Canadian soldiers were killed and one was injured when an improvised explosive device detonated near an armoured vehicle during a patrol in the Arghandab District. The incident occurred approximately 14 kilometers west of Kandahar City at about 9:00 a.m., Kandahar time, on 13 December 2008. Killed in action were Corporal Thomas James Hamilton, Private John Michael Roy Curwin, and Private Justin Peter Jones. These soldiers were all from 2nd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment based at CFB Gagetown, New Brunswick, and served as...

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan–Three more Canadian soldiers died Saturday after an improvised explosive device detonated on a stretch of road just west of Kandahar city, pushing Canada's death toll from the Afghan mission to 103. The Canadian Forces did not immediately release the names of the dead soldiers or their hometowns as it continued efforts to reach all next-of-kin Saturday, but a spokesperson said all "primary family members" had already been contacted. The latest deaths come just eight days after Warrant Officer Robert Wilson, Cpl. Mark McLaren and Pte. Demetrios Diplaros were killed when their armoured vehicle struck an IED while on...

Two SAS squadrons are to switch from Iraq to Afghanistan next year to mount one of the biggest covert operations for decades against the Taleban leadership and opium smugglers, who help to fund insurgents. They plan to mount a combined operation with the Special Boat Service (SBS), the Royal Marines’ equivalent of the Army’s elite regiment, which is leading covert missions in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan. The SAS served with distinction in Afghanistan during the early years of the campaign from 2001. It became involved in highly unusual formation assaults on the Taleban and al-Qaeda terrorists, and also in...

Japan has announced it is extending its military mission in Afghanistan by another year. The decision was taken despite fierce resistance from the opposition. The Japanese navy provides logistical support to the international coalition in Afghanistan, including refuelling warships in the Indian Ocean.

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Dec. 11, 2008 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today he wants to send two combat brigades to Afghanistan by summer in addition to the brigade combat team already scheduled to deploy there in January. In an interview with reporters traveling with him, Gates discussed the way forward in Afghanistan before landing here with plans to visit troops and meet with senior leaders. The secretary will meet today with Army Gen. David D. McKiernan, commander of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces Afghanistan, and with commanders in the country’s southern region. Commanders on the ground...

Pakistani employees inspect burnt out trucks at a NATO terminal outside the north-western Pakistan city of Peshawar. Taliban militants have destroyed more than 90 trucks loaded with supplies destined for United States-led troops fighting in Afghanistan. More than 200 Taliban gunmen stormed the supply depot in the Pakistani city of Peshawar in the early hours of the morning. One security guard was killed, several others were disarmed. The militants fired rocket-propelled grenades and then doused the trucks in fuel before setting them alight. Several US military Humvee vehicles were also destroyed. By first light, the depot was still smouldering....

By Faris Ali PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani militants attacked a parked convoy of trucks carrying military vehicles for Western forces in Afghanistan near Peshawar early on Sunday, destroying 96 trucks, police said. Security guards said they were overpowered by more than 200 militants who attacked two terminals on the ring road round the northwestern city of Peshawar, where the trucks carrying Humvees and other military vehicles were parked. "It happened at around 2.30 a.m. They fired rockets, hurled hand grenades and then set ablaze 96 trucks," senior police officer Azeem Khan told Reuters. Most of the fuel and other...

Pakistani militants torch Humvees for western forces By Faris Ali PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Hordes of Pakistani militants set on fire 96 trucks carrying Humvees and military vehicles for Western forces in Afghanistan in a raid in the northwestern city of Peshawar on Sunday, police said. Security guards said they were overpowered by more than 200 militants who attacked two terminals on Peshawar's ring road, where trucks carrying Humvees and other military vehicles were parked. "It happened at around 2.30 a.m.. They fired rockets, hurled hand grenades and then set ablaze 96 trucks," senior police officer, Azeem Khan, told Reuters.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Militants blasted their way into two transport terminals in Pakistan on Sunday and torched more than 160 vehicles destined for U.S.-led troops in Afghanistan, in the biggest assault yet on a vital military supply line, officials said.

PRIME MINISTER HARPER PARTICIPATES IN “TREES FOR TROOPS” Provides an additional 35 minutes of free phone time for overseas Canadian Forces personnel CFB PETAWAWA – The families of Canadian Forces Personnel serving overseas will be receiving Christmas trees thanks to a generous donation from the Canadian Christmas Tree Growers Association. “Nothing sustains the morale of our brave men and women in uniform more than the knowledge that the people back home appreciate the often difficult and dangerous work they do for us,” said Prime Minister Stephen Harper who participated in the ‘Trees for Troops’ event. “This is a genuinely kind...

The Pentagon has begun a massive building operation to construct new barracks and facilities in Afghanistan for 20,000 extra US troops that will pour into the country early next year. The surge of additional forces, to combat the perilous and rapidly deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan, comes amid growing tensions between the US and Britain over the possible deployment of extra UK troops - and the performance of British soldiers already there. There are 8,100 British troops in Afghanistan, mostly deployed in the southern Helmand province, where the Taleban insurgency has been the most fierce and effective. The US has...

News ReleaseThree Canadian soldiers killed in AfghanistanCEFCOM NR 08.040 - December 5, 2008OTTAWA – Three Canadian soldiers were killed as a result of an improvised explosive device attack on their armoured vehicle during a joint patrol with Afghan National Army soldiers in the Arghandab District. The incident occurred approximately 15 kilometers west of Kandahar City at about 9:00 a.m., Kandahar time on 5 December 2008. The Canadian soldiers were participating in a vehicle patrol with their Afghan colleagues when their vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device. The three soldiers were killed instantly by the explosion. Killed in action...

A report by Germany's Parliament found forces in Afghanistan got through more than 1.7 million pints of beer and 92,000 bottles of wine last year. They are already on track to top those figures this year, with 901,000 pints of beer and 56,000 bottles of wine being shipped in the first six months. US forces are not allowed to drink, while British soldiers are allowed only small quantities while off-duty. Earlier this year, another report found that 40 per cent Germany's 3,600 soldiers in Afghanistan were overweight. This has prompted Reinhold Robbe, Parliamentary Commissioner for the armed forces, to observe:...

One American serviceman died in Afghanistan in November, a dramatic drop from earlier months that the U.S. military attributed to their campaign against insurgent leaders, operations by Afghan and Pakistani forces and the onset of winter. Twice this year, monthly U.S. death tolls in Afghanistan surpassed the monthly toll in Iraq, highlighting the differing trends in the two war zones: Security in Iraq has improved while it has deteriorated in Afghanistan.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Gunbattles and airstrikes by NATO and Afghan troops killed 53 militants in Afghanistan, including a wanted Taliban commander who tried to hide from soldiers under a woman's burqa, officials said Saturday. The U.S. forces targeting the commander surrounded a house Friday in Ghazni province and ordered everyone inside to leave, a military statement said. Six women and 12 children left the building, but while soldiers were questioning the women they discovered one was actually a man dressed in a burqa, the traditional all-encompassing dress that most Afghan women wear. The man, later identified as the targeted...

DEFENCE has named Lieutenant Michael Fussell as the latest Australian soldier to die in Afghanistan. Lt Fussell was killed by an improvised explosive device detonation in Afghanistan yesterday. The 25-year-old was a member of the Sydney-based 4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment and was conducting a dismounted patrol when he and his team were struck by the device. Lt Fussell was not married and had no children.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 26, 2008 – Coalition and Afghan forces killed 32 militants and captured 10 suspected militants today and yesterday during operations to disrupt terrorist networks in Afghanistan, military officials said. Coalition forces were fired on today while clearing a compound believed to be a command and control center for roadside bombs in Kandahar province. Forces returned fire, killing 15 insurgents and detaining six. Also today, militants fired on coalition and Afghan forces with machine-gun and rocket-propelled grenade fire in Helmand province. The forces returned fire, killing seven militants. During the operation, forces protected more than 300 local villagers from...

FARAH PROVINCE, Afghanistan — In the city of Shewan, approximately 250 insurgents ambushed 30 Marines and paid a heavy price for it. Shewan has historically been a safe haven for insurgents, who used to plan and stage attacks against Coalition Forces in the Bala Baluk district. The city is home to several major insurgent leaders. Reports indicate that more than 250 full time fighters reside in the city and in the surrounding villages. Shewan had been a thorn in the side of Task Force 2d Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force Afghanistan throughout the Marines’...

Top officers have met repeatedly to consider deploying 15,000 Marines to join the 30,000 U.S. troops already there to fight the Taliban and other insurgents.Reporting from Marine Headquarters At Al Asad, Iraq -- Marine Corps leaders are devising a plan to send thousands of additional combat troops to Afghanistan to wage aggressive warfare against the Taliban that they expect could take years. The Marines would like to deploy more than 15,000 troops if Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, newly named head of the U.S. Central Command, approve. About 2,300 Marines have already been sent...

Afghan forces and their allies killed 17 suspected militants in an air assault on what they called a "known insurgent safe haven" in Kandahar province, the Afghan government and the U.S. military announced in a joint statement Sunday. NATO forces in Afghanistan also announced Sunday they had killed a senior Taliban commander they identified as Mullah Asad. Mullah Asad died November 19 in what the International Security Assistance Force called a targeted operation. ISAF said it had confirmed his death on Sunday. ISAF said he was a senior Taliban operational commander for southern Helmand linked to attacks on Afghan army...

“We have shared our daily life with two US units for quite a while - they are the first and fourth companies of a prestigious infantry battalion whose name I will withhold for the sake of military secrecy. To the common man it is a unit just like any other. But we live with them and got to know them, and we henceforth know that we have the honor to live with one of the most renowned units of the US Army - one that the movies brought to the public as series showing “ordinary soldiers thrust into extraordinary events”....

hockingly positive views of our forces in Afghanistan are revealed in this translation of a post by a French OMLT (Operational Mentoring Liaison Teams) infantryman working with our toops there. A couple of brief excerpts: Heavily built, fed at the earliest age with Gatorade, proteins and creatine - they are all heads and shoulders taller than us and their muscles remind us of Rambo. Our frames are amusingly skinny to them - we are wimps, even the strongest of us - and because of that they often mistake us for Afghans. [....] Each man knows he can count on the...

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in an interview to AP that the exit routes practiced through Turkey and Jordan would determine “what the challenges might be.” Both governments support the effort. DEBKAfile’s military sources report that the US army chief’s statement marks the beginning of the American withdrawal from Iraq. While he is still following the orders of President Bush, Mullen said he was clearly aware of president-elect Barack Obama’s plan to withdraw the US army from Iraq in 16 months. This development is a negative augur for Israel’s strategic situation; after Lebanon and...

A British Army soldier has been killed by a road bomb in southern Afghanistan. The Gurkha soldier was taking part in a routine road patrol in Musa Qala, Helmand province, when the vehicle in which he was travelling struck an improvised explosive device (IED). A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said the soldier was a member of the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Gurkha Rifles and that next of kin had been informed. The death, on Saturday afternoon, is the 301st for British forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, and comes as United States President-Elect Barack Obama seeks a surge...

KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- A senior al Qaeda leader in Afghanistan who escaped last year from Bagram prison has been captured, U.S. military sources said Monday. Abu Nasir al-Qahtani was among six people arrested last Monday during a raid by coalition and Afghan forces in Khost province, the sources said. A coalition military press release issued at the time of al-Qahtani's arrest described him only as a "known al Qaeda terrorist" and said he was taken into custody along with Saudi and Pakistani nationals. Al-Qahtani was one of four al Qaeda detainees who escaped from the high-security detention facility at...

Two Royal Marines have been killed in southern Afghanistan from a roadside explosion while they were travelling in one of the latest heavy-armoured vehicles sent out by the Ministry to provide extra protection for the troops. The two Marines died instantly as the device, believed to be a bomb or a landmine, struck their Jackal vehicle which was designed to be mine-resistant. Their deaths bring to 300 the number of servicemen and women killed in Afghanistan (124) and Iraq (176) since the two campaigns began.

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, Nov. 13, 2008 – While many young men his age are just thinking about their next step in life, 19-year-old Army Pvt. Ryan Masterson is keeping an eye on the airspace in a combat zone. Army Pvt. Ryan Masterson, aviation operations specialist with the 1st Infantry Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team, responds to a call from an outlying unit. Masterson tracks the airspace for all the brigade’s units so they get supplies and air support when needed. U.S. Army photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Masterson, from McHenry, Ill., is an aviation operations specialist for...