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NATO operations against Taliban |
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More than 70 Taliban guerillas have been killed in fighting with NATO and Afghan forces in the southern province of Kandahar. The battle began when hundreds of Taliban attacked government headquarters in the district where clashes have erupted regularly since May when hundreds of Taliban were found to have infiltrated. NATO aircraft were also involved in the fighting that raged through the night.
Afghanistan has been experiencing its worst violence since the Taliban were ousted in 2001. Although the insurgents are not in a position to defeat the Western-backed government, the war is sapping support for President Hamid Karzai, analysts say. More than 1,800 people have been killed in violence this year, most of them militants but including more than 90 foreign troops. Four foreign soldiers were killed in clashes on August 19. Most of the violence has been in the south where NATO assumed responsibility for security from a separate US-led force last month. The NATO mission , the biggest ground operation in its history, should allow the US military to trim the size of its Afghan force. There are now more than 35,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan. They are confronting a resurgent Taliban fuelled by funds from the drugs trade and support from international militant networks. They are also benefitting from sanctuaries on the Pakistani side of the Afghan–Pakistan border.
India to host Afghan Aid meet
India will host a conference of over 20 countries in November to discuss assistance for Afghanistan which is engaged in significant reconstruction efforts. The conference of Foreign Ministers will be attended by donor countries and nations of the neighbourhood, an official said. The focus of the conclave is expected to be promotion of specific forms of economic cooperation in areas of critical concern, including electricity, border management, trade and investment.
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