Shelter tries to help abused child brides
In disturbing video images, a 14-year-old girl is purportedly being flogged. She is alleged to have run away from a forced marriage in a remote village.
Just as disturbing to Dr. Sima Samar, chair of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission? "The other sad part I have to say was the reaction of the people," she says. "The lack of sensitivity of the people." FULL POST
British prime minister changes travel plans to avoid threat
British Prime Minister David Cameron changed his schedule at the last minute during his visit to Afghanistan on Thursday due to a possible threat, military sources said. Cameron was traveling by helicopter in Helmand province, a stronghold of the Taliban, one British military source said.
British commanders altered his travel plans due to "the operational situation" in the area, the source said. Cameron was not attacked and his party was never under direct threat, the source said. FULL POST
Drone strike kills 3 in Pakistan
Three people died in a suspected U.S. drone strike on a compound housing militants in the Pakistani tribal region, two Pakistani intelligence officials said Thursday. The location was Mir Ali in North Waziristan.
Related: U.S. official: Greater use of drones goes back to Bush era
McChrystal: Anti-Taliban ops will take longer than expected
[Update: 11:35 a.m. ET] American-led operations against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan will happen "more slowly than we had originally anticipated," the top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan told reporters Thursday. "I think it will take a number of months for this to play out. But I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. I think it's more important that we get it right than we get it fast," Gen. Stanley McChrystal said on the sidelines of a NATO meeting in Brussels, Belgium. Read the full story
BRUSSELS, Belgium — American casualties in Afghanistan are likely to continue to rise, particularly through the summer, the top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan told reporters Thursday.
"It's likely that our casualties and violence will continue to rise particularly through the summer months. They could rise well into the fall," Gen. Stanley McChrystal said on the sidelines of a NATO meeting in Brussels, Belgium. "We are pressuring the enemy and they are reacting to that," he said. FULL POST
UK's Cameron meets with Karzai in Kabul
Afghanistan is the most important foreign policy and national security issue facing Britain, Prime Minister David Cameron said Thursday while on an unannounced stop in Kabul. After meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Cameron said 2010 is the "vital year" for Afghanistan, when coalition forces must make progress in driving out al Qaeda and handing security back to local forces.
Wedding attack was carried out by suicide bomber
A bombing at a wedding ceremony in Afghanistan's Kandahar province was carried out by a suicide bomber wearing an explosives-laden vest, the interior ministry said Thursday. FULL POST
Officials: Taliban executes boy, 7, for spying
Suspected Taliban militants have executed a 7-year-old boy, accusing him of spying for the government, officials in southern Afghanistan said Thursday. FULL POST
