The western Afghan city of Herat was calm yesterday following bloody clashes between supporters of the powerful ousted governor and US and Afghan forces sent to keep the peace.
Roadblocks set up by authorities on Sunday after Ismail Khan's supporters torched buildings in a UN compound were removed and the skies were clear of US combat helicopters for the first time since Saturday afternoon.
Medics and witnesses reported seven people killed and up to 50 injured in weekend violence which erupted when President Hamid Karzai -- favorite to win Afghanistan's first ever direct presidential election on Oct. 9 -- sacked Khan and appointed a replacement as part of his campaign pledge to rein in warlords.
The US military said 15 of its soldiers had been injured in the clashes, with three of them evacuated for treatment, along with three Afghan national army servicemen.
Spokesman Major Scott Nelson said he had no figures for civilian casualties, but praised Afghan and US forces for showing "remarkable restraint" against what he said was a small group of protesters brought in from outside to stir up trouble.
"Our forces have not fired one round," he told a news briefing in the Afghan capital.
Nick Downie, of the Afghan Non-Governmental Organization Security Office (ANSO), said around 30 NGO staff had been relocated yesterday morning from Herat as a security precaution.
On Sunday night, Ismail Khan called on his supporters to exercise restraint and the army announced on Herat TV that further violence would be met with military force.
Authorities also imposed a night curfew and US spokesman Nelson said it would be in force again yesterday from 9pm.
But shops were open and traffic flowing normally yesterday on the streets of the strategic ancient city, near the border with Iran and Turkmenistan. Troops from the national army, national police and US-led forces were seen on patrol.
Residents had mixed reactions to the change of governor in Herat, the most prosperous region in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, US forces backed by helicopter gunships killed 22 insurgents, including several Arabs, in southern Afghanistan, the US military said yesterday.
The fighting occurred late Sunday in Shinkay district of Zabul province, a hotbed of resistance to the US-backed Afghan government, the military said.
Spokesman Major Scott Nelson said about 40 "enemy" fighters attacked a coalition patrol in Shinkay, who called for assistance from two Apache helicopters, which opened fire on the fighters, killing 22 of them.
Among the dead were three Arabs, the spokesman said. Another Arab was arrested. No coalition forces were hurt, he said.
The US forces seized a global positioning system, a video camera with tapes, four grenades and two assault rifles, he said.
South Korea’s air force yesterday apologized for a 2021 midair collision involving two fighter jets, a day after auditors said the pilots were taking selfies and filming during the flight and held them responsible for the accident. “We sincerely apologize to the public for the concern caused by the accident that occurred in 2021,” an air force spokesman told a news conference, adding that one of the pilots involved had been suspended from flying duties, received severe disciplinary action and has since left the military. The apology followed a report released on Wednesday by the South Korean Board of Audit and Inspection,
Indonesian police have arrested 13 people after shocking images of alleged abuse against small children at a daycare center went viral, sparking outrage across the nation, officials said on Monday. Police on Friday last week raided Little Aresha, a daycare center in Yogyakarta on Java island, following a report from a former employee. CCTV footage circulating on social media showed children, most younger than two, lying on the floor wearing only diapers, their hands and feet bound with rags. The police have confirmed that the footage is authentic. Police said they also found 20 children crammed into a room just 3m by 3m. “So
About 240 Indians claiming descent from a Biblical tribe landed at Tel Aviv airport on Thursday as part of a government operation to relocate them to Israel. The newcomers passed under a balloon arch in blue and white, the colors of the Israeli flag, as dozens of well-wishers welcomed them with a traditional Jewish song. They were the first “bnei Menashe” (“sons of Manasseh”) to arrive in Israel since the government in November last year announced funding for the immigration of about 6,000 members of the community from the states of Manipur and Mizoram in northeast India. The community claims to descend from
‘TROUBLING’: The firing of Phelan, who was an adviser to a nonprofit that supported the defense of Taiwan, was another example of ‘dysfunction’ under Trump, a US senator said US Secretary of the Navy John Phelan has been fired, a US official and a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, in another wartime shakeup at the Pentagon coming just weeks after US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ousted the Army’s top general. The Pentagon announced his departure in a brief statement, saying he was leaving the administration “effective immediately,” but it did not provide a reason or say whether it was his decision to go. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Phelan was dismissed in part because he was moving too slowly to implement reforms to
RSS