Possible attack on U.S. Afghan embassy thwarted
A potential attack against the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan appeared to be thwarted Friday as a joint Afghan and international military patrol killed two men during an operation in Kabul, according to an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) statement.
The action was taken in response to a "credible threat" against the embassy, the statement noted.
Fifteen people were briefly detained in the operation.
The area targeted by the joint force was near an office building in downtown Kabul, the statement said. As the force approached two vehicles believed to be filled with explosives, they were attacked with small-arms fire. Two shooters were killed when members of the force returned fire; a third surrendered on the roof of a nearby building.
A significant number of weapons were discovered during the operation, according to the statement.
Pakistani sources: Son of notorious insurgent leader is arrested
Jalaluddin Haqqani, whose son was reportedly seized in recent days, leads a group closely tied to the Taliban.
He is Nasiruddin Haqqani, son of Afghan insurgent leader Jalaluddin Haqqani, whose notorious group, called the Haqqani Network, operates in Afghanistan and Pakistan and is closely tied to the Taliban.
Nasiruddin Haqqani was detained in recent days while driving from Peshawar to the tribal region of North Waziristan, the sources said. The United Nations says he is believed to be based out of Miram Shah in North Waziristan, where the network operates.
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Violence up in Afghanistan, UN warns
Afghanistan is seeing higher levels of violence this year than last year at this time, with 20% more civilians killed and the number of "security incidents" up by 66%, the United Nations says in a new report.
The number of civilians killed by the United States and its allies was lower, but insurgent attacks are significantly higher, meaning the overall number of civilian deaths is up.
More than 2,400 civilians were killed, and more than 3,800 injured in the first 10 months of this year, the report says.
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Officials: Attacks kill 12 in Pakistan
Eleven soldiers were killed Friday when about 150 militants fired at five security forces checkpoints in the northwest Pakistan tribal region, a government official said.
The attack injured 12 others, said Amjad Ali Khan, the government official in Mohmand Agency.
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