Afghanistan War News Updates -- December 22, 2008

LIVE FIRE - U.S. Marines conduct live-fire training outside Camp Bastion, Afghanistan, Dec. 12, 2008. The Marines are assigned to Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines . They are the ground combat element for the Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force - Afghanistan. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Pete Thibodeau

Official: US-Afghan Operation Kills 20 Insurgents
-- Yahoo News/AP

KABUL, Afghanistan – A joint U.S.-Afghan operation along the border with Pakistan has killed about 20 insurgent fighters over the last month, an Afghan governor said Monday.

The Afghan and U.S. forces taking part in Operation Lion Heart are trying pressure militants along the border between Afghanistan's Kunar province and the Bajur region in Pakistan.

Pakistani forces are conducting their own operation in Bajur in coordination with the U.S. and Afghan forces.

The Ministry of Defense said Monday that dozens of militants have been killed and wounded over the last month. A spokesman said he couldn't give more precise numbers.

Read more ....

More News On Afghanistan

Kabul Welcomes Extra US troops, Taliban Warns Of Cruel Defeat -- Defense Technology News
Taliban Taunts US Over 30,000 Extra Troops -- Daily Telegraph
Ottawa Balks at US Plan to Let Tribes Fight Taliban -- Toronto Star
US May Double Troop Presence in Afghanistan -- Voice of America
More U.S. troops going to Afghanistan -- Washington Times
More Troops Headed to Afghanistan -- MSNBC
US May Double Troop Presence in Afghanistan -- Voice of America
U.S. Might Double Afghanistan Force -- Washington Post
Mullen: Security Will Enable Afghanistan to Move Forward -- U.S. Department Of Defense
Pentagon may double forces in Afghanistan -- L.A. Times
Afghanistan Could See 30,000 New Troops -- ABC News
Military: Up to 30,000 new troops to be sent to Afghanistan -- CNN
25,000 More Troops for Afghanistan -- ABC News/The Blotter
US increases Afghan troop pledge -- BBC
Afghan troops rise 'considered' -- BBC
Britain mulls US call to send more troops to Afghanistan -- The Scotsman
Defence Chiefs Plan to Deploy 3,000 More Troops in Helmand -- The Times
British Troops Suffer Four Times as Many Fatalities as Americans -- Daily Telegraph
Ambush Raises Unsettling Questions in Afghanistan -- New York Times
Afghan Blast Kills Danish Troops -- BBC News
Security Squabble Halts Khyber Pass Lorries -- The Times
Taliban Kill 2 Afghans They Accuse of Spying -- Voice of America
UK marine killed in Afghanistan -- BBC
US Opens Fire on Brown’s ‘War Fatigue’ -- The Times
Saudi peace initiative for a Taliban-Karzai truce fruitless so far -- ME Transparent
Heroin, schools and the heart of the insurgency -- The Guardian
In Afghanistan, Education Under Attack -- Washington Post
War Continues to Create Ideal Conditions for Poppy Growth -- The Guardian
2 1/2 tons of marijuana found in Afghan school -- Yahoo News/AP
Sharing the Burden of Afghanistan -- Daily Telegraph editorial
A Test in Peshawar -- New York Post editorial
'Forgotten' War Awaits Obama -- Washington Times opinion