Afghan soldier kills 2 U.S. troops outside top-security jail near Kabul, wounds 2 more

[Breeze54]

Afghan soldier kills 2 U.S. troops outside top-security jail near Kabul

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/05/06/asia/AS-GEN-Afghan-US-Soldiers-Killed.php

From Associated Press
May 06, 2007 1:17 PM EDT

KABUL, Afghanistan -

An Afghan soldier shot and killed two U.S. soldiers and wounded two more outside
a top-security prison near Kabul Sunday, a U.S. military spokesman said.

The gunman was shot dead by other Afghan troops at Pul-e-Charkhi prison, some 30 kilometers
(20 miles) east of Kabul, said Maj. Sheldon Smith, a spokesman for the Combined Security
Transition Command, a body that trains and mentors Afghan security forces.

The Americans were providing external security for the prison when they were shot, Smith said.
U.S. and Afghan authorities were trying to determine the motive for the attack, he said.

"All indications are" that the shooter was a member of the Afghan National Army,
the post-Taliban force trained mainly by the American military, Smith said.

"The ANA are our partners here and they are working side-by-side with us in conducting
this investigation," Smith said.

[acmavm]

1. This is sad. So damn sad. I was going to opine on the killer's motives

but since I'm not there, don't know anyone involved, and really when it comes down to it don't have a clue, I'll keep my opinions and conjectures to myself on this one.

[Breeze54]

2. 13 Police Killed in Afghanistan

13 Police Killed in Afghanistan

http://www.spokesmanreview.com/ap/story.asp?AP_ID=D8OUMJG00

From Associated Press
May 06, 2007 5:46 AM EDT

KABUL, Afghanistan -

A roadside bomb killed five police and wounded two others on Sunday in eastern Afghanistan,
while a clash in the west left eight police and at least four suspected militants dead,
officials said.

The latest violence comes amid an escalation in spring attacks and military operations after
a winter lull.

A remote-controlled mine blew up as a police convoy was passing, killing five officers and
wounding two others in the Chola district of eastern Ghazni province, said deputy governor
Qazim Allayar.

In western Farah province, insurgents ambushed a police convoy on Saturday in Bakwa district,
and the ensuing six-hour gun battle left eight police and at least four suspected militants
dead, said police chief Gen. Sayed Aqa Saqib.

Intelligence reports indicate that 17 suspected militants were killed or wounded in the clash,
but only four bodies of the insurgents remained at the scene after the gun battle, while others
were removed by the attackers, Saqib said. Two other policemen were wounded, he said.

Saqib said that two of the dead insurgents had come from neighboring opium-producing Helmand
province, where a large NATO operation is under way to root out militants.

-------------------

Man in Afghan Uniform Kills 2 U.S. GIs :shrug:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/06/AR2007050600184.html

The Associated Press
Sunday, May 6, 2007; 1:57 PM

============================

In related news though --->

US massacres of civilians spark protests in Afghanistan
By Joe Kay

5 May 2007

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2007/may2007/afgh-m05.shtml

Bombing raids by US-led NATO forces in western Afghanistan last week killed at least 50 civilians
and perhaps over 100, reports from Afghan government officials and human rights organizations have confirmed.

The aerial bombings took place on April 28 and 29 in the Shindand District of the western province of Herat.
According to a statement by the US military, 136 “Taliban fighters” were killed in two separate bombing
raids, but this claim provoked immediate anger and skepticism on the part of local residents, who insist
that there are no Taliban in the region. Earlier this week, thousands gathered to protest the killings
and denounce the US-backed government of Hamid Karzai. At least 20 were wounded when Afghan police opened
fire on the demonstrators.

In recent days, reports have emerged from the province itself about the nature of the bombings. Ghalum
Nabi Hakak, the Herat representative of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, told the Washington
Post on Wednesday night, “So far the people have buried 45 bodies, and they are still taking out more.
Yesterday they buried 12 children,” he said. “The exact number of dead is not clear, but the people are very angry.”

Those who visited the area said that by mid-week villagers were still attempting to dig out bodies from
collapsed mud houses destroyed in the NATO raids on two villages.

Reports differ on the number of people killed and displaced by the bombings. One resident said that more
than 100 people had been killed, and all were civilians. Many more were injured. Adrian Edwards, spokesman
for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, said a separate investigation found 49 civilians
killed and over 900 families displaced. Farzana Ahmadi, a spokeswoman for the governor of Herat, said that
100 houses were destroyed and 1,600 people rendered homeless.

Ahmadi said that a report prepared by local officials concluded that “some women and children were drowned
in the river, and it was maybe in the heat of the moment that the children and people wanted to escape
and jumped into the water.”

While the exact nature of the events leading up to the bombings is unclear, it is known that US special
forces were in the area conducting operations. The US military claims that these forces met some resistance,
but there is no independent confirmation of these claims. NATO air support was called in, and the villages were bombed.

In response to this latest massacre, NATO military and Bush administration spokesmen repeated the same
rationales given for every atrocity. General Dan McNeill, commander of NATO’s International Security Assistance
Forces, declared that “only firing insurgents were targeted.”

White House spokesman Tony Snow tried to pin the blame for the deaths on Afghans, saying on Thursday that
the Taliban was “deliberately placing civilians in harm’s way.”

[Ilsa]

3. K&R for two soldiers killed in this forgotten war. nt

[Disturbed]

4. I believe that Afghans will never allow their country to be

Colonized by Western Powers even if that means supporting the Taliban.