U.S. military probing alleged soldier killings of Afghan civilians
KABUL, Afghanistan - The U.S. military has launched a criminal investigation into allegations that a small number of U.S. soldiers were responsible for the unlawful deaths of as many as three civilians in
Afghanistan, the military said Thursday. FULL POST
Navigating Kabul's streets
Kabul is a city clogged with an estimated 4 to 5 million people and traffic to match that human crush. Traffic in Afghanistan's capital city is notoriously awful. CNN's Michael Holmes gives a first-person account (as a passenger, of course) of a commute to work through the Kabul streets.
Part found from Afghan plane crash
Kabul, Afghanistan - A satellite has spotted part of the plane that crashed in the mountains of Afghanistan with 44 people aboard, an official with the country's Transport and Aviation Ministry said Thursday. FULL POST
U.S. military officers among dead in Kabul attacks
KABUL, Afghanistan — U.S. Defense Department officials have identified five U.S. soldiers, including a colonel and two lieutenant colonels, killed by a suicide bomb in Afghanistan's capital this week.
The Tuesday blast killed at least a dozen civilians, five U.S. troops and a Canadian service member, officials said. It occurred on a busy road near a NATO-led military convoy and a registration center for the Afghan Army.
The five U.S. soldiers are Col. John M. McHugh, 46, of New Jersey; Lt. Col. Paul R. Bartz, 43, of Wisconsin; Lt. Col. Thomas P. Belkofer, 44, of Ohio; Staff Sgt. Richard J. Tieman, 28, of Pennsylvania; and Spc. Joshua A. Tomlinson, 24, of Louisiana. FULL POST
A dangerous job in Kandahar
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — It takes guts to be a policeman in Kandahar. You're a prime target for the Taliban, the local population has little trust in you and until recently you were ill-trained and ill-equipped.
All of the above may have changed only slightly but police commanders say things are at least moving in the right direction.
Mohammad Shafiq Afzali is police commissioner in charge of six provinces. Little surprise, he rarely finds time to leave Kandahar. He acknowledges the support of the locals is lacking but insists it's changing as the image of the police is improving.
"Before police were getting $40 to $50 a month, now they're getting around $250. When anyone's financial problems are solved they no longer want to do dishonest things," he says. FULL POST
