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Mar 10th, 2011


Bomber Kills North Afghan Police Chief, Others

Taliban car bombing kills 20 in east Pakistan


A view of devastation caused by a bomb blast outside a gas station in Faisalabad, Pakistan on Tuesday, March 8, 2011. The Taliban detonated a car bomb in Pakistan’s third-largest city, killing 20 and wounding more than 100 people in an attack they said targeted the offices of the country’s main intelligence agency. The blast in the Punjabi city underscored the reach of al-Qaida and the Taliban in the U.S.-allied nation. (Photo credit: Khalil ur Rehman / AP)

By Mohammad Hamed

March 10, 2011

KUNDUZ, Afghanistan — A suicide bomber killed the police chief of the northern Afghanistan province of Kunduz, an increasingly volatile area in a growing Taliban-led insurgency, the provincial governor said on Thursday.

Officials said at least three people were killed and eight wounded in the blast.

Kunduz police chief Abdul Rahman Sayedkhili was on a patrol with about 50 other police when a suicide bomber on foot detonated an explosive device, Gov. Mohammad Anwar Jigdalek told Reuters.

Kunduz has become established as an insurgent base over the past two years, with attacks radiating out into the surrounding provinces while NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) offensives have been concentrated on Taliban strongholds in the south and east. …

In 2010, violence across Afghanistan hit its worst levels since the Taliban were ousted by U.S.-led Afghan forces in late 2001, despite the presence of almost 150,000 foreign troops.

There has been no lull in fighting so far in 2011 and U.S. commanders have warned violence is likely to spike even further with the coming of spring.

Analysts say that is a worrying sign with U.S. President Barack Obama having pledged to begin a gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops from July even though the insurgency has spread out of traditional Taliban strongholds in the south and east into once relatively peaceful areas in the north and west. …

Full story

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Related report

Dozens die as bomber targets Pakistan mourners (AP, March 9, 2011)

Image: A man stands next to sandals at the site of a suicide bomb attack on the outskirts of Peshawar
A man stands next to sandals at the site of a suicide bomb attack on the outskirts of Peshawar, Pakistan, on Wednesday, March 9, 2011. A suicide bomber struck a funeral attended by anti-Taliban militiamen in northwestern Pakistan, killing at least 36 mourners and wounding more than 100 in the deadliest militant attack in the country this year. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility. The blast near the city of Peshawar was not far from the tribally administered regions bordering Afghanistan where militants are at their strongest. (Photo credit: Reuters)

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago — March 10, 2010

U.S. House of Representatives Rejects Afghan Pullout

Image: Protesters in Afghanistan
Afghanis protest against U.S. forces after an early morning raid in Khost province, east of Kabul on Saturday, March 7, 2009. (Photo credit: Nishanuddin Khan / AP file)

One year ago today, I reported that the U.S. House of Representatives, by a vote of 356-65, rejected a resolution by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (R-Ohio) to force withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2010.

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: Two Years Ago — March 10, 2009

Economy Has ‘Fallen Off a Cliff’

Video

Buffett: We fell off a cliff (CNBC, March 9, 2009) — Legendary investor Warren Buffett said Monday that the economy has ‘fallen off the cliff.’ CNBC’s Becky Quick reports. (02:08)

Two years ago today, on March 10, 2009, I reported that billionaire investor Warren Buffett said the economy had “fallen off a cliff” and predicted the U.S. likely would face higher unemployment and eventually inflation because of the economic crisis.





One Response to “AfPak Bombings Show Taliban Reach”
  1. Immelman for Congress » Blog Archive » Can U.S. Hold Afghanistan Gains? Says:

    […] The Taliban also claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that killed Kunduz police chief Abdul Rahman Sayedkhili and two of his bodyguards as they walked through the city. […]

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