KABUL, Oct 16 (KUNA) -- Suspected Taliban in southern Afghanistan fired two rockets at an airbase stationing the US military but no one was killed or injured in the attack.
Coalition spokesman Colonel Jim Yonts said Sunday the attack damaged two aircrafts standing in the parking area.
He said the jets would be ready for operations soon.
Taliban, who have recently appointed three spokesmen to replace Mufti Latifullah Hakimi, who was arrested in Pakistan a fortnight back, did not issue comments on the fresh attack.
Taliban had stepped up attacks in the southern and eastern parts of the landlocked country ahead of the winter.
Two rockets were fired recently at Kabul City followed by the killing of an eminent scholar in the southeastern Khost province.
More than 13,000 people had been killed in violence in the country in 2005, which also proved the bloodiest for the US forces as they had lost 51 soldiers, while their total toll since 2001 has crossed the 200 figure.
Iraq: US bombs kill 70
Monday, October 17, 2005
By PETE BELL
US WARPLANES and helicopters have bombed two villages near the Iraqi city of Ramadi killing an estimated 70 insurgents, a US military spokesman said.
The attack came a day after a roadside bomb killed five US soldiers in Al-Bu Ubaid, a village just to the east of the city.
A group of about two dozen Iraqis had gathered round the wreckage of the US vehicle destroyed by the bomb and were hit by the US airstrikes.
The military said in a statement the crowd was setting another roadside bomb in the location of the blast that killed the Americans.
F-15 warplanes hit them with a precision-guided bomb, killing around 20 people, described by the statement as "terrorists".
But several witnesses said the people were civilians who had gathered to view the wreckage of the US vehicle.
The airstrike hit the crowd, killing 25 civilians, claimed Chiad Saad, a local tribal leader.
The other deaths occurred in the nearby village of Al-Bu Faraj.
The military said a group of gunmen opened fire on a Cobra attack helicopter that had spotted their position. The Cobra returned fire, killing around 10. The men ran into a nearby house, where gunmen were seen unloading weapons.
An F/A-18 warplane then struck the building with a bomb, killing 40 insurgents, the military said.
On Saturday, Iraqi citizens voted on ratification of a new constitution for the country. The count is still taking place, but exit polls indicate the constitution will be approved.
The official result is expected to come late this week.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2005480113,00.html