7 arrested for suicide bombing that killed 6 NATO troops
KABUL, Afghanistan - Seven people have been arrested over a suicide bombing that killed six NATO troops in Afghanistan last week, Afghan intelligence spokesman Saeed Ansari said Monday. FULL POST
Profiles of 5 U.S. troops killed in Kabul blast
A suicide bombing on May 18 in Kabul, Afghanistan, killed at least 18 people.
The 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.
Here are profiles of the five U.S. service members killed in the attack.
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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
Attack raises Afghan policing questions
The suicide bomb attack in Kabul Tuesday underlined that the Taliban are still very capable of causing substantial carnage in the Afghan capital – months after promises that security would be tightened.
After the last such attack in Kabul three months ago, in which 14 people were killed in an attack on a hotel and shopping center, there were promises that security in the capital would be improved. And for a while there were no major incidents. But this attack will revive anxiety about the ability of Afghan security forces to make the capital – and important military and government installations – safe.
Among the questions bound to be raised: did the suicide vehicle pass through any checkpoints? Was there any intelligence about the planned attack? And are the Afghan National Police capable of providing security in Kabul – or anywhere else in Afghanistan?
That final question is the one that NATO commanders return to time and again.
Read the full post from CNN's Tim Lister at the Security Brief on This Just In
Images from the scene of the Kabul suicide attack
Investigators inspect the site of a suicide attack in Kabul targeting NATO troops that killed at least 18 people near the parliament buildings. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying they had targeted "invading NATO forces." (Photos courtesy Getty and the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan)
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18 killed in Afghan suicide attack
[Update: 9:26 a.m. ET] A Canadian service member was one of the six NATO-led troops who died in the suicide bombing attack, Canadian forces confirmed.
Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) - Five U.S. service members were among the 18 people killed in a suicide car bombing Tuesday in Kabul, a U.S. defense official confirmed. (See images from the scene of the attack)
Women, children and a NATO-led soldier also were killed when the bomb exploded near a registration center for Afghan Army recruits, officials said.
The attack occurred near an International Security Assistance Force military convoy on a busy road, ISAF said. Full story
Afghanistan bans media from covering militant attacks live
KABUL, Afghanistan - The Afghan government has banned news organizations from covering militant attacks while they are occurring, saying media outlets unknowingly help the Taliban through such broadcasts. The National Directorate of Security issued the ban Monday. It prevents news organizations from reporting from the site of an attack until security forces secure the area and issue a green light. FULL POST
Behind the scenes: A CNN reporter's wake-up call in Kabul
There's nothing more unpleasant than being awoken by a bomb. At 6:35 a.m. on Friday morning, I jerked upright as a huge blast rattled the windows in my bedroom and sent chunks of plaster clattering to the floor. As I looked around in sleepy confusion, not-too-distant gunfire echoed in the street outside.
Taliban claims responsibility for deadly Kabul attacks
The Taliban claimed responsibility for attacks in Kabul, Afghanistan near the Safi Landmark Hotel in the neighborhood of Shahr-E-Naw, where there are a number of government buildings and U.N. offices as well as supermarkets, banks, diplomatic facilities and villas for well-to-do Afghans. At least 17 people were killed. Full story
Taliban negotiations possible?
As leading power-brokers meet in London to debate the future of war-torn Afghanistan, CNN's Atia Abawi asks whether it is possible to negotiate with the Taliban, who just days ago displayed their military might with an attack on Kabul.
