Taliban attack Afghan capital, 3 other cities(Photo)

The Taliban launched a series of coordinated attacks on at least seven sites across the Afghan capital on Sunday, targeting NATO headquarters, the parliament and diplomatic residences. Militants also launched near-simultaneous assaults in three other eastern cities.

The Taliban launched a series of coordinated attacks on at least seven sites across the Afghan capital on

The Pentagon argues that killing two military advisers in Afghanistan is unacceptable

Killing two U.S. military advisers in Afghanistan is unacceptable, said on Saturday a spokesman for the Pentagon, urging the authorities in Kabul to better protect international coalition forces in the field.
At least two U.S. military advisers of the NATO Force in Afghanistan (ISAF) were shot dead Saturday in an attack at the Ministry of Interior in Kabul, causing NATO to withdraw its personnel working in Afghan ministries.
"This act is unacceptable and I condemn with the greatest power," he said, quoted in a press spokesman for the U.S. Department of Defense George Little.

He announced that the Pentagon chief Leon Panetta decision support General John Allen, commander of ISAF, to withdraw all personnel and added that Afghan Defence Minister General Abdul Rahim Wardak has apologized on the phone, U.S. Secretary of Defense.
Panetta "appreciated the call (by phone), urged the Afghan government to take decisive measures to protect coalition forces and to end violence in Afghanistan," said Little in press.
Wardak Panetta assured the "fullest cooperation to investigate this tragedy," the statement said. Afghan Minister also promised the creation of "strong measures to protect the ISAF personnel."
Five days after the burning of copies of the Koran in the U.S. military base in Bagram north of Kabul, violence continued in this country. The Taliban claimed responsibility for killings committed by the Ministry of the Interior by a "hero", Abdul Rahman, saying it acted "against the invaders disrespect to the sacred objects of Islam".

Adviser to Afghan President Karzai Shot and Killed

A senior adviser to Afghan President Hamid Karzai was shot and killed in his home in Kabul yesterday, less than a week after the assassination of Karzai’s half brother.
Militants last night stormed the Kabul home of Jan Mohammed Khan, a former governor of Uruzgan

province, killing him as well as parliamentary lawmaker Mohammed Hashem Watanwal, Kabul police spokesman Hashmatullah Stanekzai said by telephone. Afghan forces surrounded Khan’s home and “the attackers are still not dead,” he said.
The attack came five days after Karzai’s younger brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai, was shot at home by a bodyguard in the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar province, underscoring the security challenges as the U.S. begins pulling its troops from Afghanistan. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrives in India later today for discussions that will include the Afghan withdrawal.
While a Taliban spokesman said the movement had secretly recruited the gunman who shot President Karzai’s brother, there was no immediate word on who might be behind Khan’s shooting. The Taliban in the past has claimed responsibility for attacks that it has been found later not to have conducted.
President Barack Obama last month said the U.S. will withdraw 10,000 troops from Afghanistan, where they are fighting the Taliban, before the end of this year and an additional 23,000 by September 2012. Other nations have announced their own troop reduction plans.
A suicide bomber detonated explosives hidden inside his turban at a Kandahar mosque on July 14, killing four people attending a memorial service for Ahmed Wali Karzai. At least 13 people were wounded.

Adviser to Afghan President Karzai Shot and Killed

A senior adviser to Afghan President Hamid Karzai was shot and killed in his home in Kabul yesterday, less than a week after the assassination of Karzai’s half brother. Militants last night stormed the Kabul home of Jan Mohammed Khan, a former governor of Uruzgan province, killing him as well as parliamentary lawmaker

Mohammed Hashem Watanwal, Kabul police spokesman Hashmatullah Stanekzai said by telephone. Afghan forces surrounded Khan’s home and “the attackers are still not dead,” he said. The attack came five days after Karzai’s younger brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai, was shot at home by a bodyguard in the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar province, underscoring the security challenges as the U.S. begins pulling its troops from Afghanistan. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrives in India later today for discussions that will include the Afghan withdrawal. While a Taliban spokesman said the movement had secretly recruited the gunman who shot President Karzai’s brother, there was no immediate word on who might be behind Khan’s shooting. The Taliban in the past has claimed responsibility for attacks that it has been found later not to have conducted. President Barack Obama last month said the U.S. will withdraw 10,000 troops from Afghanistan, where they are fighting the Taliban, before the end of this year and an additional 23,000 by September 2012. Other nations have announced their own troop reduction plans. A suicide bomber detonated explosives hidden inside his turban at a Kandahar mosque on July 14, killing four people attending a memorial service for Ahmed Wali Karzai. At least 13 people were wounded.

10 Killed in Taliban Attack on Luxury Kabul Hotel

Afghan officials say 10 Afghan civilians were killed in a Taliban attack on a luxury hotel in the capital, Kabul, Tuesday night.
The officials said early Wednesday the figure did not include at least six suicide bombers who either blew themselves up or were killed by security forces. They cautioned the death toll could still rise.
Early Wednesday, Interior Ministry spokesman Siddiq Siddiqi declared the five-hour siege of the

Intercontinental Hotel over, saying Afghan security vehicles and ambulances were removing the dead and wounded from the building.
A spokesman for the NATO-led coalition in Afghanistan said earlier two of its helicopters were called in and fired on the roof of the hotel where three militants had taken up positions, successfully eliminating them. The NATO operation appeared to have ended the standoff between the insurgents and security forces.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the group was targeting foreign guests.
In Washington, the U.S. State Department condemned the Taliban attack and said the action once again demonstrated the terrorists' complete disregard for human life. The State Department extended condolences to the families of the victims and indicated that all U.S. diplomatic staff were safe.
The attack occurred on the eve of a conference about the gradual transition of civil and military responsibility from foreign forces to Afghans.
In other violence Tuesday, NATO said three of its service members died in separate insurgent and bomb attacks in southern Afghanistan.
Also in the south, authorities said a roadside bomb killed two women and wounded a child in the Panjwai district of Kandahar province.

Suicide car bomber kills 35 at Afghan clinic (Photo-Video)

A suicide car blast has ripped through a medical clinic in east Afghanistan, killing at least 35 people.
Saturday's attack left more than 50 OTHERS wounded, including women and children. Afghan authorities say the bomber blew up his sport utility vehicle outside the clinic, bringing the building down on those inside.
An official at the clinic said guards had tried to prevent the attacker from driving his vehicle into the medical compound, 40 kilometers east of Kabul. An Afghan army helicopter was dispatched to the area to deliver

medical supplies and to take survivors to other hospitals. The Taliban has denied responsibility for the attack.