Finally, Game ended in Afghanistan

They have already been defeated.In 2 years , they will go back with impression that they have stablized the country and other would not raise fingers on thier defeat.McCrystal is brought for the same purpose to increase the troops no. and then finally quit and ISI and Pak Army will play a leading role in ' honurable' exit. Recent US Embassy in Pakistan construction and marines coming are for the same purpose.



August tied for deadliest month in Afghanistan

By AMIR SHAH, Associated Press Writer – Thu Aug 27, 7:35 am ET

KABUL – A U.S. service member died Thursday in a militant attack involving a roadside bomb and gunfire, a death that pushed August into a tie with July as the deadliest months of the eight-year war.

The death brings to 44 the number of U.S. troops who have died in Afghanistan this month. But with four days left in the month, August could set a new record.

More than 60,000 U.S. troops are now in the country — a record number — to combat rising insurgent violence. The number of roadside bombs deployed by militants across the country has skyrocketed, and U.S. forces have moved into new and deadlier areas of the country this summer, in part to help secure the country's Aug. 20 presidential election.

Violence is on the rise in Afghanistan even as it falls in Iraq, where nearly twice as many U.S. troops are still based. Five U.S. troops have died in Iraq this month, three fewer than in July.

A statement from the NATO-led force in Kabul said the U.S. service member died in southern Afghanistan when the troop's patrol responded to the bombing and gunfire attack. No other details were released. Thousands of new American troops are operating for the first time in Helmand and Kandahar, two of the country's most dangerous provinces, in part to secure the country's Aug. 20 presidential vote.

Afghan election officials have released two batches of vote tallies that show President Hamid Karzai with 44.8 percent of the vote and top challenger Abdullah Abdullah with 35.1 percent, based on returns from 17 percent of polling stations. The next partial results are expected Saturday.

Meanwhile, U.S. and Afghan forces battled Taliban militants at a medical center in eastern Afghanistan after a Taliban commander sought treatment there, and a U.S. helicopter gunship fired on the clinic after militants put up resistance.

Reports of the militant death toll from Wednesday's firefight varied widely. The spokesman of the governor of Paktika province said 12 militants died, while police said two were killed. The U.S. military did not report any deaths. It wasn't clear why the tolls differed.

The fighting began after a wounded Taliban commander sought treatment at a clinic in the Sar Hawza district of Paktika. Afghan forces went to the center and got in a firefight with militants. U.S. forces later provided backup.

Hamidullah Zhwak, the governor's spokesman, said the Taliban commander was wounded Aug. 20, election day. Militants brought him and three other wounded Taliban to the clinic at noon Wednesday. Afghan forces were tipped off to their presence and soon arrived at the scene, he said.

Insurgent snipers fired from a tower near the clinic, and troops called in an airstrike from U.S. forces, Zhwak said. Fighting between some 20 militants and Afghan and U.S. forces lasted about five hours, and 12 Taliban were killed in the clash, he said.

"After ensuring the clinic was cleared of civilians, an AH-64 Apache helicopter fired rounds at the building ending the direct threat and injuring the targeted insurgent in the building," a U.S. military statement said.

A U.S. military spokeswoman, Lt. Cmdr. Christine Sidenstricker, said the clinic's doctor gave U.S. troops permission to fire on the clinic. After the battle, Afghan and U.S. forces met with villagers and discussed rebuilding the clinic, a U.S. summary of the meeting said.

Villagers expressed "disgust" that militants used the medical center to fire from and that they understood that the action by Afghan and coalition forces was necessary, the summary said.

"The local villagers thanked the Afghanistan National Security Forces for ensuring all civilians were out of harms way before they were forced to use Coalition helicopters to engage the enemy," the summary said.

Seven insurgents — including the wounded commander — had been detained, the U.S. statement said.

Gen. Dawlat Khan, the provincial police chief, said two militants died in the encounter.

The Taliban have gained control of large segments of Afghanistan's south and east over the past few years, prompting the U.S. to send an additional 21,000 troops to the country this year.

The latest clash comes as the war-torn country awaits results from last week's election. The lengthy vote count, coupled with ongoing accusations of fraud, threatens to undermine hopes that Afghans can put together a united front against the insurgency.





Death toll of troops in Afghanistan reaches 204



• Gordon Brown speaks of 'day of mourning'
• 67 soldiers killed in Afghanistan this year


The Guardian, Monday 17 August 2009


The death toll of British service personnel in Afghanistan has risen to 204, the Ministry of Defence said yesterday, just hours after Gordon Brown spoke of a "day of mourning" as the milestone figure of 200 was reached.

The 201st casualty was a soldier from 2nd Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, who died on Saturday from injuries sustained when a bomb exploded during a foot patrol near Sangin, in the southern province of Helmand.

Last night the MoD said three more British soldiers from 2nd Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers had been killed, bringing the total deaths to 204. They were killed in an explosion while on patrol near Sangin, yesterday morning.

Lieutenant Colonel Nick Richardson, spokesman for Task Force Helmand, said: "Each and every death is a tragedy and the whole of Task Force Helmand feels the weight of such great loss. Words mean very little in such an extremely sad situation, but our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of these brave soldiers. We share their pain and mourn the loss of these true British heroes."

Earlier, the MoD had announced the 200th death, a member of 2nd Battalion, the Royal Welsh, who died at the Selly Oak military hospital in Birmingham from wounds suffered two days before during a vehicle patrol in Helmand.

The deaths take to 67 the number of British troops killed in Afghanistan this year alone, half of them in July and August, as insurgents plant more and increasingly sophisticated roadside bombs.

This switch by the Taliban away from more frequent direct contact with troops has focused attention on the human cost of the war.

According to a poll commissioned by Sky News, only 13% of Britons believe it is "very clear" why British troops are in Afghanistan, while 67% think they should leave the country.

Brown said the campaign, which began at the end of 2001, was necessary to lessen the threat facing the UK. "Three-quarters of the terrorist plots that hit Britain derive from the mountain areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan, and it is to make Britain safe and the rest of the world safe that we must make sure we honour our commitment to maintain a stable Afghanistan," he said.

The defence secretary, Bob Ainsworth, argued that the presidential elections this month were vital to see "the germ of Afghan democracy continue to grow".

"It's not western-style democracy and it won't be for a very long time, but we need this election to continue to move forward governance and Afghan democracy," he told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show.

The Tory leader, David Cameron, said: "The deaths of three more British soldiers today mark a harsh weekend for our Forces in Helmand and for their loved ones here at home … The latest deaths are yet another reminder of the debt we owe to our armed forces."

The Taliban are expected to increase attacks as the election date approaches.

Seven people were killed and dozens injured on Saturday in a suspected Taliban suicide attack outside Nato headquarters in Kabul. However, the country's intelligence chief confirmed that the government had struck deals with some Taliban commanders to allow voting to go ahead, as revealed by the Guardian last week.

Amrullah Saleh, the head Afghanistan's intelligence service, said some insurgent leaders had agreed not attack voters or polling stations. He said money had been paid. The defence minister, Abdul Rahim Wardak, also announced that Afghan government forces would observe a ceasefire on Thursday.