Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Afghanistan War News Updates -- December 30, 2008

A U.S. Army commander tries to extinguish the flames after a roadside bomb hit a military vehicle in eastern Afghanistan this fall. New statistics show that such attacks have become the leading threat to Western troops in the country. Zuma

Afghan Roadside Bombings Rise Sharply -- Wall Street Journal

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Roadside bombs, long the biggest danger facing Western forces in Iraq, have now also become the primary threat to forces in Afghanistan.

The number of incidents involving "improvised explosive devices," or IEDs, rose 33% in 2008 from a year earlier, and the number of casualties caused by these roadside bombs increased by the same amount, according to statistics compiled by the U.S.-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. The bombs are the largest single cause of U.S. and NATO deaths and injuries.

"IEDs are the biggest threat we face," Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Schloesser, the top U.S. commander in eastern Afghanistan, said in an interview. "They are the largest killer of ISAF troops."

Read more ....

More News On Afghanistan

Roadside bombings double in Afghanistan -- CNN
Afghan attacks 'double' in 2008 -- BBC
Rash of Bombings in Afghanistan -- New York Times
Afghan, NATO troops kill nine rebels: police -- AFP
Ft. Campbell Soldier Killed In Afghanistan -- MSNBC
Coalition forces target Haqqani network in Paktiya -- U.S. Central Command
Afghanistan, US consider 'community' security forces -- AFP
U.S. backs plan for engaging Afghan tribes -- Reuters
Pakistan closes NATO supply line to Afghanistan -- International Herald Tribune
US military deaths in Afghanistan region at 558 -- AP
No Longer the Forgotten War, Afghanistan Will Be a Hard One for Obama to Win -- U.S. News And World Report

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