Suicide attack in Afghan

At least 20 civilians and an American soldier have been killed in a suicide car bomb attack against a US convoy in eastern Afghanistan, officials said.

The attack happened near Jalalabad, the capital of the eastern Nangarhar province.

At least 55 others have been wounded and taken to hospital, officials said.

A large number of foreign and Afghan troops are battling the Taleban in the south and east of the country and are routinely targeted by the militants.

The attacker detonated an explosives-laden vehicle close to the convoy on the road between the town of Torkham, on the Pakistani border, and Jalalabad, news agency AFP reported.

The incident took place near a wholesale fresh fruit market and an animal market in an area often packed with people, it said.

“One American soldier was wounded in the bombing and he died during transportation,” AFP quoted Major John Redfield, a spokesman for the US-led coalition as saying.

There are currently 33,000 US troops in Afghanistan.

US President George W Bush has announced that about 4,500 more soldiers would be sent to Afghanistan early next year.

 

US aid worker killed in Pakistan

Gunmen in Pakistan have shot dead an American aid worker and his driver in the north-western city of Peshawar. The men were killed just outside their office in the University Town area. It is not clear who the attackers were. Violence has surged in the north-west in recent months with a wave of attacks blamed on Islamist militants. A number of missile strikes inside Pakistan’s tribal areas by US troops based in neighbouring Afghanistan have fuelled anti-American sentiment. The BBC’s Mark Dummett in Islamabad says that the security situation across Pakistan has steadily worsened over the past few years, with Taleban militants holding sway over a large stretch of North West Frontier Province (NWFP). But our correspondent says attacks of this kind on foreigners in Pakistan are rare. Across the border in Afghanistan aid workers and other foreigners have increasingly been targeted in recent months. Gunmen attacked the car of a US diplomat in Peshawar in August, but she survived unhurt. Our correspondent says that it is more common for militants in Pakistan to launch suicide bomb attacks against military or government targets. ‘Under investigation’ The US embassy has refused to identify the man until his next of kin are informed.

But an embassy spokesman confirmed that the victim was an American. He said the dead man was not a diplomat nor was he travelling on an official assignment. US media reports identified the aid worker as Stephen Vance. Earlier reports had given his name as Stephen David. Police say the American worked for a US-funded project to help develop the troubled tribal belt – a large swathe of which is now controlled by militants. Eyewitnesses say the aid worker and his driver were shot by a group of masked gunmen as they drove to their office in University Town, a wealthy suburb of the main city in north-west Pakistan. The attackers blocked the men’s vehicle in a narrow street with their own car before opening fire with automatic weapons, officials said. “Several bullets hit them, and they died in the vehicle,” police official Arshad Khan told the Associated Press. Bombings Meanwhile, two Pakistani security officers were killed and several others were injured in a suicide attack in north-western Pakistan, officials said.

Peshawar was hit by a suicide bombing on Tuesday

The suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden car into a temporary security forces camp in Shabqadar area of Charsadda district, 25km north of Peshawar. Areas close to Peshawar – the biggest city in north-west Pakistan – are known to be Taleban and al-Qaeda strongholds. The region has been hit by several bombings and suicide attacks recently. On Tuesday, a suicide bomber walked up to the gate of a stadium in Peshawar and blew himself up. The attack happened as the governor of North West Frontier Province left after a sports tournament. He was unhurt but at least one man was killed and three people were injured.

 

300 feared dead in Pakistan quake

300 feared dead in Pakistan quake

The army has reached some survivors but thousands still await relief

Officials say they fear that up to 300 people have in an earthquake in Pakistan’s south-west Balochistan province. Up to 50,000 people are thought to be homeless following the 6.4 magnitude tremor on Wednesday. Since the quake, there have been many aftershocks, frightening people in villages and towns across a wide area. Rescuers are still scrambling to reach thousands of survivors who have spent two cold nights in the open. See a map of the affected area The official death toll is 215, but officials fear that more people than that have died, says the BBC’s Charles Haviland in Islamabad. Many people buried their close relatives soon after their deaths, making any accurate count difficult. A health officer in Ziarat has also stressed that some remote villages have not yet been has surveyed. Aftershocks Some survivors say that many villages away from main roads have only slowly and belatedly been receiving food, blankets and tents from the relief teams sent by the government. Military helicopters are being used to reach mountainous and remote locations, where some villages have been cut off by landslides. “The earthquake destroyed our houses, but now the government’s slow response is killing us,” said Moosa Kaleem, a survivor in Ziarat, the worst-affected area, told the Associated Press news agency.

The quake crushed hundreds of vulnerable houses

“We cannot spend another night in this chilling weather, especially the kids.” Several hundred aftershocks have been felt since the main earthquake. “I know these are aftershocks and not new earthquakes, and I also know these tremors may continue for a while but it is hard to convince children that they will be safe,” Amjad Aziz, a teacher in Ziarat who has been sleeping in his car since the quake, told AP. The aftershocks have also been felt in the city of Quetta. There, hospital patients – including people injured in the quake – are lying on the ground or on beds in the open air, as staff do not consider it safe to stay indoors. The shocks are still causing widespread alarm, and some people have left the city for rural areas. Activists with hard-line Islamic organisations were first to reach some of the most remote parts with relief supplies. Among them was Jamaat-ud-Dawa, designated a terrorist group by the US government for its links to Kashmiri Muslim separatists. The same group also helped survivors of a huge quake that devastated northern Pakistan in October 2005, killing up to 80,000 people. Balochistan is home to a long-running separatist movement, but has so far been spared the level of violence seen in the north-western tribal areas bordering Afghanistan. In 1935, Quetta suffered almost complete destruction in an earthquake which claimed the lives of about 30,000 people. Pakistan sits atop an area of seismic collision between the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates, the same force that created the Himalayan mountains.

 

Pakistanis flee into Afghanistan

Pakistanis flee into Afghanistan

Many people have fled Bajaur for refugee camps

The UN’s refugee agency says 20,000 people have fled Pakistan’s tribal area of Bajaur for Afghanistan amid fighting between troops and militants. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees says almost 4,000 families have crossed into Afghanistan’s Kunar province. Some 300,000 others have been displaced by fighting, although Pakistan says many have found shelter in the region. The country’s military has launched an offensive in Bajaur and says it has killed more than 2,000 militants. However, the UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, believes that the majority of those who have left will return home after fighting stops in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata). Cross border attacks Announcing its estimates of the numbers of people who have crossed the border into Afghanistan, the UNHCR in Afghanistan said more than 600 families had left Pakistan for Kunar in recent weeks. Villagers taking on the Taleban Displaced by ‘war on terror’

A spokesman said the organisation would look out for the welfare of the displaced if they were unable to return home before winter sets in. “It’s very difficult to predict the security situation on the other side of the border but what we hope is that the security gets better and people will be able to go back,” Nadir Farhad told Reuters news agency. “But if it continues, we will definitely provide them with… assistance… so we can get them through the winter months.” The UNHCR says most of the 20,000 who have fled over the border are Pakistanis, but a few thousand are Afghans who have been living in Pakistan. Recently the UNHCR asked donors for more than $17m (39.4m) in aid to help about 250,000 people displaced by fighting and floods in north-western Pakistan. They said money was needed to provide relief items like tents, blankets and plastic sheets. Dangerous situation Pakistan’s army is engaged in a fierce campaign against militants in the north-west of the country. Attempts by the government in Islamabad to negotiate with militants in areas along the border with Afghanistan appear to have failed, correspondents say. The country has been hit by a spate of recent suicide bombings widely blamed on militants – including a devastating attack this month on the Marriott hotel in Islamabad. The bombing killed more than 50 people, most of them Pakistanis. Militants use the tribal areas as a base for operations in Pakistan and across the border in Afghanistan. The Taleban and al-Qaeda are believed to operate in these border areas after being pushed out of Afghanistan. Their presence in the border regions have prompted a number of US attacks inside Pakistan. Those attacks have angered Pakistan’s government, and there have been incidents around the border involving Pakistani troops firing warning shots at US helicopters.

 

Pakistanis flee into Afghanistan

Pakistanis flee into Afghanistan

Many people have fled Bajaur for refugee camps

The UN’s refugee agency says 20,000 people have fled Pakistan’s tribal area of Bajaur for Afghanistan amid fighting between troops and militants. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees says almost 4,000 families have crossed into Afghanistan’s Kunar province. Some 300,000 others have been displaced by fighting, although Pakistan says many have found shelter in the region. The country’s military has launched an offensive in Bajaur and says it has killed more than 2,000 militants. However, the UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, believes that the majority of those who have left will return home after fighting stops in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata). Cross border attacks Announcing its estimates of the numbers of people who have crossed the border into Afghanistan, the UNHCR in Afghanistan said more than 600 families had left Pakistan for Kunar in recent weeks. Villagers taking on the Taleban Displaced by ‘war on terror’

A spokesman said the organisation would look out for the welfare of the displaced if they were unable to return home before winter sets in. “It’s very difficult to predict the security situation on the other side of the border but what we hope is that the security gets better and people will be able to go back,” Nadir Farhad told Reuters news agency. “But if it continues, we will definitely provide them with… assistance… so we can get them through the winter months.” The UNHCR says most of the 20,000 who have fled over the border are Pakistanis, but a few thousand are Afghans who have been living in Pakistan. Recently the UNHCR asked donors for more than $17m (39.4m) in aid to help about 250,000 people displaced by fighting and floods in north-western Pakistan. They said money was needed to provide relief items like tents, blankets and plastic sheets. Dangerous situation Pakistan’s army is engaged in a fierce campaign against militants in the north-west of the country. Attempts by the government in Islamabad to negotiate with militants in areas along the border with Afghanistan appear to have failed, correspondents say. The country has been hit by a spate of recent suicide bombings widely blamed on militants – including a devastating attack this month on the Marriott hotel in Islamabad. The bombing killed more than 50 people, most of them Pakistanis. Militants use the tribal areas as a base for operations in Pakistan and across the border in Afghanistan. The Taleban and al-Qaeda are believed to operate in these border areas after being pushed out of Afghanistan. Their presence in the border regions have prompted a number of US attacks inside Pakistan. Those attacks have angered Pakistan’s government, and there have been incidents around the border involving Pakistani troops firing warning shots at US helicopters.

 

Pakistan ‘fires on Nato aircraft’

Pakistan ‘fires on Nato aircraft’

US action across the Pakistan border has raised tensions

Nato forces in eastern Afghanistan say their helicopters have been fired upon by a Pakistani military checkpoint. The Western alliance said its aircraft had not crossed into Pakistani airspace when they came under fire over Khost province, news agency AP reports. The incident comes amid growing tension over a number of recent incidents at the Pakistan-Afghan border. Earlier this week, Pakistani troops fired warning shots at US helicopters near the border, local officials said. And on Wednesday, a drone believed to be operated by the CIA crashed inside Pakistan. In a statement on the latest incident, Nato’s International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) said there had been no damage or casualties. Routine operations “Isaf helicopters received small-arms fire from a Pakistan military checkpoint along the border near Tanai district, Khost, September 25 while conducting routine operations in Afghanistan,” it said in a statement. “At no time did Isaf helicopters cross into Pakistani airspace,” it added. Isaf said it was working with the Pakistani military to resolve the incident.

Local tribesmen in the area told the BBC that two helicopters were trying to cross into Pakistani territory near Ghulam Khan, in North Waziristan, when Pakistani troops at posts near the border fired at them. Major Murad Khan, of the Pakistani military, told the BBC that they were still checking the incident. Correspondents say there is growing anger in Pakistan at US forces in Afghanistan allegedly violating Pakistani sovereignty. Ground assault There has been tension between the two countries since 3 September when the US conducted its first ground assault in Pakistani territory on what it said was a militant target in South Waziristan. Pakistan reacted angrily to the action, saying 20 innocent villagers had been killed by US troops. Local officials have said that on two occasions since then Pakistani troops or tribesmen have opened fire to stop US forces crossing the border. The claims have not been officially confirmed. The US and Nato have called on Pakistan to do more to curb militants operating in the border area. The BBC’s Syed Shoaib Hasan says that the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan is very unclear. There is an imaginary border called the Durand line which each side marks differently. Our correspondent says that, in reality, the border is marked by a 3-4km (1-2 miles) stretch of no man’s land. Pakistan says this is its territory and Afghanistan makes similar claims.

 

Pakistan recovers ‘US spy drone’

Pakistan recovers ‘US spy drone’

Surveillance drones have been widely used by Nato in Afghanistan

The Pakistani army is investigating the wreckage of a suspected US spy plane found near the Afghan border, but has rejected claims it was shot down. A military spokesman told the BBC that the drone was recovered on Tuesday in the South Waziristan tribal area and the wreckage was being examined. The spokesman said the crash appeared to have been due to a malfunction. The US military has confirmed a drone crashed but said it occurred in eastern Afghanistan due to engine failure. US Army Captain Christian Patterson told the Reuters news agency that the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was being operated by US armed forces when it crashed. “It was recovered immediately after it went down,” he said. “It wasn’t close to the border.” Meanwhile, fighting between Pakistani troops and Taleban militants is continuing in the tribal region of Bajaur. In Quetta, capital of south-western Balochistan province, a young girl was killed in a suicide bombing. About a dozen military personnel were also injured in the assault on an army vehicle. ‘Detailed investigation’ The drone found on the Pakistani side of the border was discovered in the Zohba mountain range in Waziristan, a Taleban and al-Qaeda stronghold. Locals living in a village at the foot of the range say they were looking for wood on the mountainside when they came across the plane. “It was rather small for a plane,” one villager told the BBC, adding: “It couldn’t be more than 10 feet long.”

Locals say five men carried the drone down off the mountainside and informed the army. Soldiers then took the aircraft away, as well as other debris from the site where it had crashed. “A surveillance UAV, while flying over the Pak-Afghan border yesterday [Tuesday] night, crash-landed on this side of the border… apparently due to malfunctioning,” a Pakistani military spokesman said. “The wreckage of the UAV has been recovered from the site by the security forces personnel and the matter is under detailed investigation,” the spokesman said in a statement. The statement did not say who the drone belonged to, but security officials said they were in no doubt it was an American aircraft. The BBC’s Dilawar Khan says this is the second such crash in the region in recent years. Two years ago, a similar drone crashed near the town of Miranshah in North Waziristan. The latest crash comes amid recent reports that Pakistani troops have opened fire to prevent the US forces from operating inside Pakistan. Different account “No firing was heard in the area so there is no question of it being shot down,” a senior Pakistani security official told AFP. Tensions in the border region are rising

But some residents gave a different account. “The tribesmen fired at the drone and it fell out of the sky,” one unnamed resident told AFP. US President George Bush said on Tuesday that he wanted to help Pakistan protect itself. He was speaking moments before his first meeting with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari at the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. Mr Bush did not refer directly to the controversial US strikes in Pakistan that have caused bilateral tensions. There is growing anger in Pakistan at the US forces in Afghanistan violating Pakistani sovereignty.

 

US marks seventh 9/11 anniversary

US marks seventh 9/11 anniversary

Advertisement US flag is unfurled on the site of the 9/11 attacks in New York US President George W Bush has led commemorations of the seventh anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, which left nearly 3,000 people dead. Moments of silence were held at the times four hijacked passenger planes hit the Twin Towers in New York, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field. In Washington, Mr Bush dedicated a new memorial at the Department of Defense to 184 people killed there. “The worst day in America’s history saw some of the bravest acts,” he said. “Since 9/11 our troops have taken the fight to the terrorists abroad so we do not have to face them here at home,” he added. “Thanks to the brave men and women and all those who work to keep us safe there has not been another attack on our soil in 2,557 days.” Names of those who died in the attacks were read out in New York Enlarge Image

The attacks, which triggered the US-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, and the Bush administration’s “war on terror”, are regarded as the defining moment of the president’s time in office. In downtown Manhattan, thousands of people gathered as relatives of victims from more than 90 countries read out a roll call of the 2,751 people killed in New York. City Mayor Michael Bloomberg opened the memorial event, describing 9/11 as a “day that began like any other and ended as none ever has”. Silences were observed at the moments each of the Twin Towers was struck and fell. Rivals’ unity Barack Obama and John McCain, the Democratic and Republican nominees in November’s presidential election, are due to attend a ceremony at Ground Zero in New York to lay wreathes in honour of the victims. 9/11: THE NEW FRONTIER In pictures: Remembering 9/11 Mapping the militant nexus New patterns of militancy Voices from unstable borders More coverage throughout the day on BBC World News and BBC World Service BBC World Service coverage

In a joint statement, the two men vowed to come together “as Americans” and suspend their political campaigns for 24 hours. Mr McCain earlier attended a ceremony at Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where he paid tribute to the bravery of the United Flight 93 passengers who took on the hijackers. He said: “The only means we possess to thank them is to try to be as good an American as they were. We might fall well short of their standard, but there is honour in the effort.” The presidential rivals’ joint appearance is to be followed by another in the evening at a Columbia University forum to discuss their views on public service. 11 September 2001 is a day many around the world will never forget Press mulls 9/11 legacy 9/11: The four hijacks In graphics: How towers fell

For Mr Bush, however, it is the last time he marks the anniversary as president. “The president thinks about 9/11 every single day when he wakes up and before he goes to bed,” White House press secretary Dana Perino said on the eve of the anniversary. Seven years after the attacks which shocked the world, Ground Zero is a construction site. After years of delays and disagreements over how to commemorate the dead, work has finally begun on a memorial and a new skyscraper – the Freedom Tower – which is due to be completed by 2012. On the eve of the anniversary, a top US military commander warned new tactics were needed to win the conflict in Afghanistan, which the US and its allies invaded three months after 9/11. They aimed to topple the Taleban and hunt down Osama Bin Laden, who the US believes masterminded the attacks. Admiral Mike Mullen believes insurgents are launching attacks from neighbouring Pakistan, and US-led forces must target their “safe havens” in that country.

 

US marks seventh 9/11 anniversary

US marks seventh 9/11 anniversary

Advertisement US flag is unfurled on the site of the 9/11 attacks in New York US President George W Bush has led commemorations of the seventh anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, which left nearly 3,000 people dead. Moments of silence were held at the times four hijacked passenger planes hit the Twin Towers in New York, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field. In Washington, Mr Bush dedicated a new memorial at the Department of Defense to 184 people killed there. “The worst day in America’s history saw some of the bravest acts,” he said. “Since 9/11 our troops have taken the fight to the terrorists abroad so we do not have to face them here at home,” he added. “Thanks to the brave men and women and all those who work to keep us safe there has not been another attack on our soil in 2,557 days.” Names of those who died in the attacks were read out in New York Enlarge Image

The attacks, which triggered the US-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, and the Bush administration’s “war on terror”, are regarded as the defining moment of the president’s time in office. In downtown Manhattan, thousands of people gathered as relatives of victims from more than 90 countries read out a roll call of the 2,751 people killed in New York. City Mayor Michael Bloomberg opened the memorial event, describing 9/11 as a “day that began like any other and ended as none ever has”. Silences were observed at the moments each of the Twin Towers was struck and fell. Rivals’ unity Barack Obama and John McCain, the Democratic and Republican nominees in November’s presidential election, are due to attend a ceremony at Ground Zero in New York to lay wreathes in honour of the victims. 9/11: THE NEW FRONTIER In pictures: Remembering 9/11 Mapping the militant nexus New patterns of militancy Voices from unstable borders More coverage throughout the day on BBC World News and BBC World Service BBC World Service coverage

In a joint statement, the two men vowed to come together “as Americans” and suspend their political campaigns for 24 hours. Mr McCain earlier attended a ceremony at Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where he paid tribute to the bravery of the United Flight 93 passengers who took on the hijackers. He said: “The only means we possess to thank them is to try to be as good an American as they were. We might fall well short of their standard, but there is honour in the effort.” The presidential rivals’ joint appearance is to be followed by another in the evening at a Columbia University forum to discuss their views on public service. 11 September 2001 is a day many around the world will never forget Press mulls 9/11 legacy 9/11: The four hijacks In graphics: How towers fell

For Mr Bush, however, it is the last time he marks the anniversary as president. “The president thinks about 9/11 every single day when he wakes up and before he goes to bed,” White House press secretary Dana Perino said on the eve of the anniversary. Seven years after the attacks which shocked the world, Ground Zero is a construction site. After years of delays and disagreements over how to commemorate the dead, work has finally begun on a memorial and a new skyscraper – the Freedom Tower – which is due to be completed by 2012. On the eve of the anniversary, a top US military commander warned new tactics were needed to win the conflict in Afghanistan, which the US and its allies invaded three months after 9/11. They aimed to topple the Taleban and hunt down Osama Bin Laden, who the US believes masterminded the attacks. Admiral Mike Mullen believes insurgents are launching attacks from neighbouring Pakistan, and US-led forces must target their “safe havens” in that country.

 

‘Missile’ kills six in Pakistan

‘Missile’ kills six in Pakistan

At least six people have been killed in a missile strike in the Pakistani tribal area of South Waziristan, near the Afghan border, officials have said. The missile, reportedly fired from Afghanistan, hit a house next to a mosque in the village of Azam Warsak. A Pakistani security official said it was not clear if the missile had been launched by Taleban militants or Nato-led forces fighting them. Pakistan has protested at recent Nato strikes in which civilians were killed. Local residents told a news agency that the missile struck a house belonging to a local tribesman and suspected militants used to stay there. Other villagers said they had heard jets coming from Afghanistan before the strike. Earlier this month, Nato-led forces in Afghanistan said they fired into Pakistan after coming under attack from there by suspected militants. Nato said it had closely co-ordinated with Pakistan’s military, who agreed to help if firing from Pakistan continued. Nato has rejected reports of a build-up of international forces on the Afghan side of the border. In recent months the US and its allies have pledged hundreds of millions of dollars in military and other forms of assistance to help Pakistan’s new government tackle militancy in border tribal areas. Earlier this month, US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates said he was considering sending additional troops to Afghanistan to counter the flow of insurgents from Pakistan. The move is in response to growing US frustration with what it sees as Pakistan’s lack of action against the pro-Taleban militants operating along the border with Afghanistan. The US is also concerned about peace deals that Islamabad has been signing with some of the radical groups in the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas

Police inspect the scene, Terrorists are trying to destabilise the country : Murat Mercan, AK Party