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

An unmanned U.S. plane crashed in northwest Pakistan

An unmanned U.S. plane crashed Saturday in tribal region of northwest Pakistan near the border with Afghanistan, an official source announced.
Unmanned aircraft crashed in mountainous Mishihel, about 30 kilometers west of Miranshah, the main town in the Waziristan region (north), often the target of strikes against the Taliban, said military officials.
"An unmanned U.S. plane crashed, apparently because of technical problems," said a military official in Peshawar. The incident was confirmed by authorities in the region.

Female bombers hit Pakistan police at blast site

A female suicide bomber detonated her explosives near police guarding the scene of an explosion earlier Thursday in this northwestern Pakistani city, a rare double-pronged attack that killed four officers and a boy.

Police said a second female suicide bomber is also believed to have been killed in the second explosion

before she could detonate her vest. At least 30 people were wounded in both attacks.

The blasts ended weeks of relative calm in Peshawar, a frequent target of Taliban and al-Qaida fighters hiding in the nearby tribal belt bordering Afghanistan. No group claimed responsibility, but the attacks suggested that militants remain able to strike, despite army operations against them.

Attacking the same area twice — with the second attack targeting police, rescue officials and other first-responders — is a rare, but not unprecedented, tactic in Pakistan. Such double-bombings are more common in Iraq.

In the first incident, a remote-controlled bomb exploded in the Lahori Gate area of the city as a police truck carrying constables about to start their shift drove by. Four police officers and a boy passing by were killed, while 22 people were wounded.

Roughly an hour later, two women approached police guarding the area, officials said. One of the females first threw a grenade, then was able to partially detonate her suicide vest, said Shafqat Malik, a police official with the bomb disposal unit. She appeared to be just 16 or 17 years old, he said.

"We're trying to remove the remainder of the jacket from the body very carefully," he said.

Eight people were wounded in the second attack, including six civilians, police official Tariq Khan said.

While suicide bombings are common in Pakistan, the use of women in the attacks is unusual.

In June, the Pakistani Taliban said they had sent a husband and wife suicide squad to a police station in another northwestern town. That attack killed 10 people. Late last year, a female suicide bomber attacked a World Food Program food distribution center in the region, killing 45.

31 Dead, US Helicopter Attacked by Taliban Insurgents

Thirty-one American soldiers have been killed as insurgents shot down a NATO Chinook transport helicopter early Saturday. That one incident made it the deadliest day for U.S. troops since the Afghan war began in 2001.

The service members were on a night-raid mission in the Tangi Valley of Wardak Province when a rocket-

propelled grenade, a coalition officer said, brought down their helicopter.

The official said the military does “not have any indication that it was anything other than militant fire that brought the helicopter down.

Of the thirty-one soldiers killed about twenty of them were Navy SEALS, five were Army air crew, and several U.S. airmen. Seven Afghan troops and one interpreter also died when the helicopter went down.

“The numbers are high,” said one official. “It’s a big loss.”

The SEALS were part of the SEAL Team Six, the unit that carried out the raid in Pakistan that killed Osama bin Laden. However, none of those killed in the crash were members of the actual SEALs mission that killed bin Laden.

President Obama issued a statement on the tragedy, saying, “My thoughts and prayers go out to the families and loved ones of the Americans who were lost earlier today in Afghanistan.”

“Their deaths are a reminder of the extraordinary sacrifices made by the men and women of our military and their families,” he said.

It is rare for Western helicopters to be taken down by hostile fire; more helicopters are lost to mechanical problems or bad weather.

The Taliban took responsibility for the attack and said its fighters had ambushed the American soldiers after learning about the night raid.

Abdul Qayuum Baqizoi, Wardak police chief, said the U.S. strike was aimed at a meeting of insurgent leaders in a really dangerous district.

“This area isn’t even safe for security forces to travel in,” Baqizoi said.

Zabiullah Mujahid, Taliban spokesman attested the “martyrdom” of eight Taliban fighters in what was described as a violent fight before shooting the helicopter down.

NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has not said how the incident occurred and it is not clear if the helicopter incident and raid are connected. Officials are keeping details under-wraps because recovery operations are still in progress. Also body identifications and family notifications are just starting, said a U.S. military official.

ISAF commander Gen. John R. Allen said, “No words describe the sorrow we feel in the wake of this tragic loss. All of those killed in this operation were true heroes who had already given so much in the defense of freedom.”

Targeted night time strikes have been the most successful tactic, and have usually been carried out by U.S. special-operations forces. These night time raids have caused considerable damage to the field-command structure of the Taliban and other insurgent groups.

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.

Taliban leader Mullah Omar killed, Taliban deny

Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar has been killed in Pakistan, many private television channels in Afghanistan reported on Monday, while Taliban denied the report.

"Mullah Omar was killed on way from Quetta to North Wazirustan, " TOLO television aired in its news bulletin. Several other local TV channels including Shamshad, Ariana and Noor also reported it as the same.

However, the local media did not say the details on how he was killed and by whom.

Meantime, a security official contacted by Xinhua confirmed the incident, saying "it is correct that Mullah has been killed."

The official also emphasized that Mullah Omar was killed inside Pakistan.

"The report about the death of Mullah Omar is merely a propaganda to demoralize Mujahideen. Mullah Omar is alive. He is inside Afghanistan and is leading Mujahideen against foreign troops," Zabihulla Mujahid told media on Monday.

Mullah Omar had escaped the massive U.S. military manhunt in the region since the collapse of his regime in late 2001 by U.S- led military campaign would be a big blow to his fighters operating in Afghanistan.

U.S. forces during a special operation killed al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden inside Pakistan on May 2.

Miami imam, 2 sons charged with supporting Taliban

MIAMI - A 76-year-old Miami imam and two of his sons have been arrested on federal charges they provided some $50,000 to the Pakistani Taliban, while three others in Pakistan have been indicted on charges of handling distribution of the funds, authorities say.

Hafiz Muhammed Sher Ali Khan, 76, was arrested Saturday at the Miami Mosque, also known as the Flagler Mosque, where he is an imam. One of his sons, Izhar Khan, 24, an imam at the Jamaat Al-Mu'mineen Mosque in nearby Margate, Fla., was arrested there. Another son, Irfan Khan, 37, was detained at a Los Angeles hotel. The men are U.S. citizens. Their mosques are not suspected of wrongdoing, officials said.

Also named in the indictment are three others at large in Pakistan - Hafiz Khan's daughter, grandson and an unrelated man, all three charged with handling the distribution of funds, authorities said. The Pakistani Taliban are designated by the State Department as a terrorist organization.

Attempts to reach the men's attorneys and families were unsuccessful on Saturday. However, another son of Hafiz Khan, Ikram Khan, told The Miami Herald that his father was too old and sick to be involved in the plot.

"None of my family supports the Taliban," he told the newspaper. "We support this country."

If convicted, the South Florida men face 15 years in prison for each of the four counts listed in the indictment. All three are expected in court Monday.

U.S. Attorney Wifredo Ferrer said suspicious financial activity triggered the investigation three years ago. "This is based on the defendant's words, actions and records," Ferrer said at a news conference Saturday.

The indictment lists about $50,000 in transactions.

According to the indictment, the funds were used to buy guns, support militants' families and promote the cause of the Pakistani Taliban. It also alleges that Hafiz Khan owns a madrassa, or religious school, in his native Swat Valley in northwest Pakistan that shelters members of the Pakistani Taliban and trains children to become militants.

The indictment recounts recorded conversations in which Hafiz Khan allegedly voices support for attacks on the Pakistani government and American troops in the region, officials said.

The Pakistani Taliban is a wing of the terrorist group that originated in Afghanistan. It claimed responsibility for a pair of suicide bombings Friday that killed 87 people in what it said was vengeance for the killing of al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden. The group has also been linked to the Times Square car bombing in New York in May 2010.

The Pakistani militant group is allied with al-Qaida, is based in the northwest of Pakistan near the Afghan border and has links to that country's Taliban insurgency.

The Miami Mosque - a small, white house in a crowded residential area - was founded in 1974 and is the oldest mosque in the city, according to Mohammad Shakir, a local Muslim community leader. Hafiz Khan has been leading prayers at the mosque for about 14 years, Shakir added.

Hafiz Khan has been suspended indefinitely as imam, said Asad Ba-Yunus, a spokesman for the Muslim Communities Association of South Florida, which runs the mosque. He said his organization is not aware of any attempts to raise funds for illegal activity that took place on its properties.

Nezar Hamze, executive director of the South Florida chapter of Council on American-Islamic Relations, a civil rights and advocacy group, described the father and son imams as "very quiet individuals" who seemed pious. He said he never heard them preach extremism.

"I was very shocked, just as others in the community were shocked," Hamze said. "We absolutely don't support terrorism or support of terrorism."

Muslim leaders said they were reluctant to speculate about whether the alleged financial support to the Pakistani Taliban did in fact take place and whether it was intentional.

"I think it's important to get all the facts before any decisions or statements are made," Hamze said.

U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Florida Republican, said in a statement late Saturday that the indictments show the U.S. must be vigilant in dealing with extremist threats.

Suicide Bomber Attacks Funeral in Northwest Pakistan

Pakistani officials say a suicide bomber blew himself up in the country's northwest, killing at least 34 people and wounding at least 60 others.

Officials say the attack Wednesday targeted a group of about 200 mourners attending a funeral near the city of Peshawar. The funeral was for the wife of an anti-Taliban tribal militiaman from an area known for bloody clashes between Taliban and pro-government fighters.

The bombing comes a day after a car bombing killed at least 24 people near the offices of Pakistan's main intelligence agency in the eastern city of Faisalabad.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for Tuesday's blast, which also wounded more than 125 people.

A Taliban spokesman said the group was targeting the Inter-Services Intelligence agency, or ISI, in retaliation for the killing of a Taliban commander in the city.

The car bomb ignited gas cylinders at a nearby service station, triggering an even bigger blast that damaged several buildings -- including an office of Pakistan's state airline.

Piles of bricks from the destroyed service station and scraps of metal from damaged cars littered the scene as rescue workers pulled victims from the rubble.

Faisalabad is home to Pakistan's textile industry.

Faisalabad, Pakistan car bomb kills 13

A car bomb exploded in a neighborhood full of government buildings in eastern Pakistan on Tuesday, killing 13 people and wounding dozens, officials said. An office of Pakistan's state-run airline and a local gas station were severely damaged in the blast, in Faisalabad city.

The explosion underscored the tenuous security situation in this U.S.-allied, nuclear-armed country, where al-Qaida and the Taliban have proliferated. Such attacks have often been chalked up to militant retaliation against army offensives against them.

Senior government official Tahir Hussain said that 13 people died in the blast.

The car bomb apparently triggered a gas cylinder to also explode at the fuel station, adding to the destruction, Faisalabad police chief Aftab Cheema said. Police offices as well as the Pakistan International Airlines building are nearby.

Pakistani TV showed piles of bricks and chunks of twisted metal from cars strewn across the neighborhood. Rescue workers struggled to pull victims out of the rubble. More than 50 people were wounded, police official Liaquat Ahmed said.

Most attacks carried out by Islamist militants in Pakistan occur in the northwest regions near the border with Afghanistan, and the primary victims tend to be police or other security forces.

Faisalabad, 160 miles (260 kilometers) south of Islamabad, is a key hub for Pakistan's textile industry and it has rarely been targeted. However, it lies in Punjab province, where Islamist extremist groups are believed to be growing in strength.

The U.S. has pushed Pakistan to crack down on Islamist extremist groups in its borders, saying they threaten not only Western troops engaged in the Afghan war effort but also the stability of Pakistan itself.