2002 in Afghanistan
Encyclopedia
See also: 2001 in Afghanistan, other events of 2002, 2003 in Afghanistan
and Timeline of the War in Afghanistan (2001-present)
.
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Friday, January 4: Sgt. 1st Class Nathan Ross Chapman of San Antonio, Texas
, was killed in an ambush in eastern Afghanistan, the first U.S. soldier to die by hostile fire. A CIA operative was also wounded.
Wednesday, January 9: Seven U.S. Marines are killed when their plane hits a mountain while landing in Pakistan. In the first three months of the campaign, 15 U.S. personnel have died.
Thursday, January 10: U.S. forces engage in a firefight with unknown forces as a transport plane takes off in Kandahar.
Sunday, January 27: U.S. Special forces backed a local Afghan militia attack which killed 6 Al-Qaeda personnel held up in a hospital in Kandahar.
International Airport forced the plane of Afghan interim leader Hamid Karzai
to land in Bagram
, as he returned after a week-long trip abroad that took him to the United States and the United Kingdom.
Saturday, February 2: Afghan interim leader Hamid Karzai
established a special committee to investigate factional violence threatening the stability of Afghanistan. The nine-member commission, headed by Border Affairs Minister Amanullah Zadran
, flew by helicopter immediately to the eastern city of Gardez where violence had erupted days before.
Sunday, February 3: In Gardez, Afghanistan, Afghan and United Nations
mediators, joined by U.S. officials, extracted a conditional cease-fire agreement from Bacha Khan and Padshah Khan.
Monday, February 4: Yacine Akhnouche
and two others were arrested near Paris. Arknouche told police he had met suspected shoe bomber Richard Reid
and Zacarias Moussaoui
at a training camp in Afghanistan in 2000.
Tuesday, February 5: Calling on his countrymen to "take each other's hands" to rebuild the nation, interim Afghan leader Hamid Karzai
raised Afghanistan's new flag over the presidential palace. The flag had been originally approved by the 1964 constitution as Afghanistan's national emblem but had not flown over government offices in Kabul since the Taliban took over in the early 1990s. The ceremony, which lasted about 15 minutes, was attended by cabinet ministers, diplomats and former president Burhanuddin Rabbani
.
Wednesday, February 6: In attempts to bring peace between feuding warlords, Afghanistan's interim leader Hamid Karzai
visited Herat
.
Thursday, February 7: U.S. President George W. Bush
decided that the 1949 Geneva Conventions
would apply to captured Taliban fighters taken from Afghanistan to a US military base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba
, but not to al-Qaeda
members there.
Friday, February 8: Pakistan President Gen. Pervez Musharraf
and Afghan interim leader Hamid Karzai
agreed to cooperate on a proposed Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline
project to transport natural gas from Central Asia to Pakistan via Afghanistan.
Saturday, February 9: Hamid Karzai
, head of the Afghan interim government, appointed Maulvi Zia-ul-haq Haqyar and Syed Akram uddin as the new governors of Baghlan and Takhar
provinces in northern Afghanistan.
Sunday, February 10: Interim Afghan leader Hamid Karzai
released more than 300 captured Taliban soldier. Karzai said they were innocent and urged them to find jobs.
Monday, February 11: Interim Afghan leader Hamid Karzai
met with United Arab Emirates
President His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. The UAE announced it allocated $6 million for Afghan humanitarian relief, setting up refugee camps on the Pakistan-Afghan border near the Pakistan town of Chaman. Karzai reopened the Afghan embassy.
Tuesday, February 12: Interim Afghan leader Hamid Karzai
warned warlords to remove their check posts and chains on roads.
Wednesday, February 13: The United States Congress stepped in to find nearly $300m in humanitarian and reconstruction funds for Afghanistan after the Bush administration
failed to request any money in the latest budget.
Thursday, February 14: Afghan interim leader Hamid Karzai
visited Jalalabad
to attend a function being held there in memory of former mujahedin commander Abdul Haq
. Haq was brother of the Jalalabad governor, Haji
Abdul Qadir
.
Friday, February 15: Fighting broke out at a goodwill soccer game between an Afghan national team and international peacekeepers. Guards beat back overflowing crowds trying to enter the stadium. Play went on anyway despite the clash, and the international team won the game three to one. Afghanistan's former Taliban government had used the Kabul stadium for public executions and other harsh punishment to enforce its fundamentalist version of Islamic rules.
Saturday, February 16: The first attack on International Security Assistance Force
(ISAF) soldiers since their initial deployment in Afghanistan on December 22, 2001 occurred when a post in Kabul came under attack before dawn. Soldiers of the 2nd Parachute Battalion returned fire, and the gunmen fled in a car. Later, a car at a nearby house was discovered riddled with bullets. One man was found dead and five hurt.
Tuesday, February 19: The Pentagon
ordered two U.S. bombing raids against Afghan militias opposed to the new administration led by Hamid Karzai
. This marked a turn in strategy. Previously, all U.S. military operation had focused strictly on Taliban and al-Qaeda
forces.
Saturday, February 23: Two rockets are fired at the U.S. base in Kandahar, but do don't inflict any damage.
Sunday, February 24: Afghan interim leader Hamid Karzai
arrived in Tehran
, Iran
to meet with reformist President Mohammad Khatami
and his government and to exchange views on regional issues, including the future of Afghan refugees. Iran pledged $560 million to Afghan reconstruction over five years. The meetings take place despite U.S. accusations of Iran's inclusion in U.S. President George W. Bush
's "Axis of evil
". Traveling with Karzai were Afghan Ministers of Foreign Affairs Abdullah, Immigration Affairs Enayatollah Nazeri, Commerce Sayed Mustafa Kazemi
, Transport Sultan Hamid Sultan, Information and Culture Rahim Makhdoom, Agriculture Seyed Hussein Anwari, and Rural Development Abdul Malik Anwar
.
Monday, February 25: The first units of a new Afghan army started training in Kabul. The U.S. was assisting in the creation of the army.
Tuesday, February 26: Accompanied by a strong 36-member delegation, which includes Foreign Minister Abdullah, Afghanistan interim head Hamid Karzai
arrived in New Delhi, India to discuss efforts underway for rehabilitation and reconstruction.
Wednesday, February 27: Afghan interim leader Hamid Karzai
attended a special ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhavan
in New Delhi, India. He also had visits with Indian President Kocheril Raman Narayanan and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee
, Vice President Krishan Kant
, and Leader of Opposition Sonia Gandhi
.
, U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Stanley Harriman, of the Third Special Forces Group, and two Afghans were killed by a U.S. AC-130 gunship that mistook their convoy for enemies. They had been moving into position for Operation Anaconda
. Three U.S. and 14 Afghan troops were wounded in the attack. It was originally reported that they were ambushed.
Sunday, March 3: Seven U.S. soldiers are killed when their helicopter is shot down during Operation Anaconda
Wednesday, March 6: A blast killed two German and three Danish soldiers as they defused a Soviet-made SA-3 anti-aircraft missiles near the airport in Kabul. Eight people were wounded.
Saturday, March 9: The International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
and the Afghan Red Crescent Society
(ARCS) jointly celebrated International Women's Day
in Kabul. Attending the event were over 130 ARCS staff members and volunteers, representatives of the Afghan government and of local and foreign non-government organizations. Tribute was paid to the women who had played a crucial role in helping children survive.
Monday, March 11: Through his deputy, Qutbuddin Hilal, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
pledged support for Hamid Karzai
. Hekmatyar also supported the return of the king.
Wednesday, March 20: A Special forces soldier is wounded during a firefight near Khost.
Thursday, March 21: UNICEF completed a "Back to school" project, providing thousands of basic packs for the schools, students and teachers in Afghanistan.
Wednesday, March 27: A U.S. soldier is killed by a mine outside of Kandahar.
Thursday, March 28: The U.N. Security Council voted to create a U.N.
assistance mission in Afghanistan for one year.
met with Afghanistan's interim leader Hamid Karzai
, in the first visit by a Pakistani leader in more than 30 years. The two planned to mend relations and work together to promote stability in Afghanistan.
Wednesday, April 3: A tripartite accord regarding repatriation of refugee
s was signed in Geneva
by Iran
, Afghanistan, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Saturday, April 6: Three Danish and two German explosives experts were killed while defusing Soviet-built SA-3 anti-aircraft missiles near Kabul's airport. Eight others were injured. In November 2002, a Danish-German report would conclude that the explosives experts did not follow safety regulations while disarming two of the missiles. By March 2003 two Danish officers would face preliminary charges of negligence.
Tuesday, April 9: A joint program between UNHCR and Iran
encouraging repatriation of Afghan refugees went into effect. (see details of the UNHCR Afghan repatriation programs)
Saturday, April 13: A U.S.-Afghan patrol comes under attack by 20 militants, air support is called in which killed five of them.
Sunday, April 14: A U.S. airbase is attacked by two RPGS.
Wednesday, April 17: Two U.S. pilots, Majors Harry Schmidt and William Umbach, returning from a 10-hour patrol, at more than 15,000 feet, spotted surface-to-air fire and feared it was from Taliban forces. Thinking Umbach was under attack, Schmidt asked flight control permission to fire his 20 mm cannons, to which flight control replied "hold fire." Four seconds later, Schmidt said he was "rolling in, in self defense." He dropped a laser-guided bomb 35 seconds after that, wounding eight and killing Sgt. Marc Leger, Cpl. Ainsworth Dyer, Pvt. Richard Green
and Pvt. Nathan Smith
, members of the 3rd Battalion of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry
. The troops were at Tarnak Farms
, a former al-Qaeda training area near Kandahar
that allied forces had begun using as a practice range. The Canadians were firing anti-tank and machine-gun rounds horizontally, not vertically in a way that would have threatened the two F-16s.
Monday, May 20: Japan extended its logistics support for the U.S.-led anti-terrorism campaign in and around Afghanistan for another six months.
Wednesday, May 22: U.S. planes bomb a group of suspected militants near the Pakistani border.
Thursday, May 30: Two C-130 Hercules
used to airlift food to Ghor Province in central Afghanistan during the winter returned to their African base. They had flown back and forth between Herat
or Mashad, Iran
and Ghor almost every day for five months, distributing 6,400 metric tons of food and seeds to more than 460,000 Afghans.
Friday, May 31: In an incident of friendly fire
, U.S. troops killed three of their Afghan allies during a firefight.
Tuesday, June 18: An unidentified group launched rockets within Kabul, and several rockets landed in the vicinity of the U.S. Embassy.
Monday, June 24: U.S. forces fire mortars and call in close air support after coming under rocket fire near Jalalabad.
Sunday, June 30: Two RPGs are fired at the U.S. airbase near Kandahar.
struck suspected al-Qaeda
and Taliban cave and bunker complexes, while an AC-130 gunship strafed several villages. U.S. officials said they believed the villages were legitimate targets, but Afghan authorities said that 48 civilians were killed and 117 were injured at a wedding party. The United States said a plane had come under attack from people on the ground, although no anti-aircraft weapons were found.
Sunday, July 2: A U.S. soldier is slightly wounded after a U.S. convoy came under fire near a hospital in Kandahar.
Thursday, July 12: A U.S. compound in Tarin Kowt comes under small arms fire but no casualties are reported.
Saturday, July 27: US soldiers surrounded a compound near Khost
and a firefight took place. Randy Watt
led a group of the US soldiers to search the compound, in the belief that everybody had been killed. Two people had survived however, Omar Khadr
and an unidentified man, one of whom threw a grenade killing Christopher J. Speer.
Tuesday, August 6: U.S. troops kill four people in a car after a passenger with a gun attempted to open fire on them.
Wednesday, August 7: At least 15 people were killed when suspected al-Qaeda gunmen attacked an army base in the southern outskirts of Kabul.
Friday, August 9: A powerful car bomb exploded at a construction company's warehouse in Jalalabad, killing 25 people and injuring 80 others.
Sunday, August 18: Two U.S. Special forces soldiers are wounded by gunfire in Uruzgan Province.
August 18–26: During Operation Mountain Sweep, 2,000 U.S. and Afghan troops detain 10 suspects. They come under fire twice but sustain no casualties.
Friday, August 23: The Czech Defense Ministry announced that some of the Czech troops currently stationed in Kuwait will be deployed in Afghanistan at the request of allies.
Wednesday, August 28: U.S. Special forces kill an armed man who displayed "hostile intent" near Lwara.
Wednesday, September 11: U.S. troops in Bagram wound a gunman who opened fire on a guard tower.
September 15: Two U.S. soldiers are injured by an explosive device in eastern Afghanistan.
Friday, September 20: A U.S. base in Lwara comes under attack by rockets and small arms fire. U.S. forces respond with small arms and mortar fire, and called in airstrikes.
September 28: A U.S. soldier is grazed by a bullet while in a convoy travelling to Kabul.
Tuesday October 15: A rocket hits a U.S. bunker in Lwara amidst a rocket attack, U.S. forces detain three suspects.
Wednesday October 23 Mortar fire is directed at a U.S. encampment in Asadabad.
Monday, October 28: Iran made an appeal to Kabul to respect a 1972 accord entitling Iran to at least 26 cubic metres of water a second from the Helmand River
. When the Taliban ruled Afghanistan, they violated the 1972 accord, with devastating results in Iran's impoverished Sistan-Baluchestan border region. Tens of thousands of cattle and other livestock perished in the ensuing drought. In a sign of improved Tehran-Kabul ties, Afghanistan honored the appeal, but said the flow would only be temporary.
Wednesday, October 30: The top U.N. envoy in Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi
, told the U.N. Security Council that the new Afghan government headed by Hamid Karzai
did not have the means or power to deal with the underlying problems that cause security threats. Brahimi also voiced a concern that Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
was trying to form an alliance with remnants of the Talibanand al-Qaeda
Brahimi also said there would be no long-term security in Afghanistan until a well-trained, well-equipped, and regularly paid national police force and national army are in place.
Thursday, October 31: Afghan authorities began investigating a series of well-coordinated attacks against girls' schools in a central region near Kabul. Four schools in Vardak Province were attacked the previous week in a deliberate and systematic attempt to stop parents from sending their daughters to school. The attackers fired two rockets into school buildings in villages near the town of Maidan Shah, demolishing classroom walls and setting the buildings on fire. They also raided a school at a village mosque, setting fire to its wooden chairs and blackboard. The attackers left behind an unexploded grenade and several leaflets warning parents to keep their girls at home.
Friday, November 1: About 60 kilometers east of Khost
, in Gardez, three rockets exploded just after midnight about one kilometer southwest of a compound housing U.S. special forces soldiers.
Saturday, November 2: Tajik forces loyal to Ismail Khan
, the governor of Herat Province
, launched the attack in the Zer-e-Koh district, killing two civilians and injuring 15 in a crowded market. Ismail Khan, a former governor, took back control of Herat after the fall of the Taliban. But local Pashtuns have complained his forces have looted and oppressed them.
Sunday, November 3: A rocket exploded 500 meters from a U.S. base in Deh Rahwod District
in Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan.
Tuesday, November 5: A rocket or mortar was fired at a U.S. Army Special Forces base in Gardez, but caused no injuries.
Wednesday, November 6: The Hague
announced that the Netherlands will join Germany in taking over command of the U.N. security force inAfghanistan in mid-February 2003. To date, Turkey was in command of the 19-nation, 5,000-strong International Security Assistance Force
. Germany had 1,200 soldiers in the force, and the Dutch 240, but those figures would be boosted after the transfer of command. To date, Germany had a total of 10,000 troops serving abroad, second only to the United States.
Thursday, November 7: Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai
ordered the release of 20 female prisoners in a goodwill gesture one day after the start of the holy month of Ramadan
. The women had all been detained for petty crimes. The women, held in a Kabul prison, would likely be released over the weekend.
Friday, November 8: Iran
called for the second time in less than two weeks for Kabul to respect a water-sharing accord on the Helmand river flowing from Afghanistan into Iran. Afghan President Hamid Karzai
said he would "take care of this issue personally."
Saturday, November 9: U.S. helicopters broke up a gun battle between Kuchis
and local government forces over a land dispute. After the two sides exchanged fire with light machine-guns and rocket-propelled grenades for two hours, the American helicopters attacked the gunmen's positions on cliffs surrounding Kikara village, near Khost
, Afghanistan. Six gunmen were wounded in the clash.
Sunday, November 10: As part of an international effort in Afghanistan, work began on rebuilding a major highway. The project was expected to cost $250 million, two thirds of it pledged by the United States, Japan and Saudi Arabia. The 750 mile (1,200 km) route, which runs fromKabul through Kandahar
and then to Herat
, was built in the 1960s with U.S. funds, but devastated during the 1980s Soviet occupation and the civil war that followed.
Monday, November 11: A team of representatives of the Afghan Human Rights Commission and the U.N. was dispatched to the north to look into the reports that witnesses of mass killings were being harassed, detained, tortured and executed.
Tuesday, November 12: Hundreds of Kabul University
students marched in protest against the killing of four of their colleagues in a demonstration the previous evening. Police fired into the air and used water cannons to break up the march. Many of the poorer students, who lived in the troubled dormitory, were from areas dominated by ethnic Pashtuns, while the university was dominated by ethnic Tajiks.
Wednesday, November 13: 2,000 students assembled outside the gates of Kabul University
, refusing to attend lessons until their demands for improved accommodation and justice for those who died in recent protests were met. Students said at least six people died in the two days of unrest. the International Security Assistance Force
(ISAF) was not called in to assist. Human Rights Watch
claimed that Afghan police tortured and detained students, and that reporters were refused access to students being treated at Wazir Akbar Khan Hospital.
Thursday, November 14 Construction began on a key highway connecting Kandahar to Spinboldak, Pakistan. The three-month, US$15 million project was funded by the Asian Development Bank
.
Saturday, November 16: A remote-control 107 mm rocket landed nearly a mile (1.6 km) from the U.S. base near Gardez at around 8 p.m.
Sunday, November 17 The United Nations
was investigated alleged human rights abuses by Uzbek
warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum
. Witnesses claimed that Dostum jailed and tortured witnesses to prevent them from testifying in a war crimes case.
Monday, November 18: In New Delhi, India, Afghan Commerce Minister Sayed Mustafa Kazmi and Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha
held talks to put in place a preferential trading arrangement and the setting up of transit routes to jack up bilateral economic cooperation.
Tuesday, November 19: The newest U.N. refugee camp
of Zhare Dasht was criticized as being too remote, overcrowded and dangerously close to a mine field. It was built in the desert on the outskirts of Kandahar
to house about 60,000 refugees who had been living on Pakistani border.
Wednesday, November 20 Australian Prime Minister John Howard
said that Australia would begin withdrawing its 150 commandos from Afghanistan later that month.
Thursday, November 21: A large quantity of explosives was found by Afghan police in the generator room of the Sarobi Dam in Kabul, averting a possible sabotage attack. Several arrests were made.
Friday, November 22: A Kurdish man from Iraq
, Bohtan Akram Tawfiq Horami, carrying 10 kg (22 lb) of C-4
explosive material in his coat, was arrested in Wazir Akbar Khan
, an affluent neighborhood of Kabul, where many foreigners have homes and offices. It was believed Defense Minister Mohammed Fahim
was the target.
Saturday, November 23: Nine white phosphorus rockets were fired at a U.S. base near Lwara, Afghanistan, 178 km southwest of Kabul, at about 10:30 pm. An A-10
fighter jet dropped a single bomb on the suspected launch site.
Monday, November 25 A 15-man U.S. special forces patrol seized a large cache of heavy weapons and armored vehicles near Bamyan. About 100 armedAfghan men fled the site as the soldiers approached the cache. Two unarmed men were briefly questioned then released.
the blasts occurred late Monday in the vicinity of bases housing most of the troops from the 22-nation contingent.
Tuesday, November 26: Several rockets slammed into the eastern edge of Kabul overnight, landing several miles from a base of the international peacekeepers.
Wednesday, November 27: A New Zealand telecoms company Argent Networks won a $4.5 million contract to develop cellular
and internet services in Afghanistan. Argent will develop a billing system for the GSM mobile network set up in June by the Afghan Wireless Communication Company, a joint venture between Telephone Systems International
and the Afghan Ministry of Communications
.
Thursday, November 28: To date, U.N.-monitored disarmament commissions collected more than 6,000 small arms and 30 tanks in the northeast ofAfghanistan since the start of the disarmament plan on November 10. The commissions covered the provinces of Baghlan, Badakhshan
, Kunduz and Takhar
.
Friday, November 29: Australia announced it would contribute $1 million towards a project to help Afghanistan restore production of wheat
and maize
.
Saturday, November 30: In Moscow, Afghan foreign minister, Abdullah, and his Russian counterpart, Igor Ivanov
, held talks focusing on security issues. Russia had provided economic and food aid to Afghanistan during 2002, and Ivanov committed to increasing that aid. The two officials also spent much of their time discussing the growing problem of illegal drug smuggling.
bomber dropped seven 2,000-pound laser-guided bombs, killing at least seven.
Monday, December 2: Fierce clashes between forces of Amanullah Khan
and Ismail Khan
resumed in western Afghanistan.
Tuesday, December 10: A second prisoner died (the first one dying on December 3) at the makeshift prison in the United States compound at an Afghan base north of Kabul. Later, the autopsies would label the deaths as homicides.
Wednesday, December 11: U.S. forces fire mortars near the Pakistani border after coming under rocket attack.
Thursday, December 12: The Afghan Cable Center in Jalalabad
, which had been broadcasting more than 20 foreign television channels, was closed down by a special decision of the Afghanistan Supreme Court presided over by chief justice Mowlawi Fazl Hadi Shinwari.
Tuesday, December 17: A grenade was thrown into a jeep carrying two U.S. Special Forces soldiers driving through Kabul, Afghanistan. One soldier suffered an eye injury and the other a leg injury. Their Afghan interpreter also was injured. Amir Mohammad was later taken into custody for the crime. He revealed that he had received terror training at a camp inside Afghanistan. Allegedly, he and about a dozen other men trained for a week at a base six miles from the border with Pakistan. About a dozen teachers taught the students how to use guns and bombs. Five students then traveled to Kabul looking for American targets.
Friday, December 20: A U.S. soldier is killed during a gunfight in eastern Afghanistan. The same day, another U.S. soldier is injured by a rocket attack.
Friday, December 27: In the Gardez province of Afghanistan, five people were killed and six wounded when guests at a wedding party fired a rocket propelled grenade into the air, only to have it land nearby and explode.
Sunday, December 29: A Pakistani border guard
shot and wounded a U.S. soldier
in the head in eastern Afghanistan's Paktika province
, just a few hundred yards from Pakistan's border. The shooting prompted U.S. forces to call in an airstrike
on a building where the guard was believed hiding. Pakistan claimed the building was on its side of the border, but the Americans claimed it was on the Afghan side. The soldier was evacuated to the U.S. military's medical center in Landstuhl, Germany, then transferred to a nearby German hospital for more specific neurological
treatment, and a week later flown home to the United States. The border guard was taken into custody. The situation grew more tense when Pakistan dispatched extra troops to the border after the United States said it reserved the right to cross into Pakistan in hot pursuit of enemy fighters fleeing from Afghanistan.
2003 in Afghanistan
See also: 2002 in Afghanistan, other events of 2003, 2004 in Afghanistan and Timeline of the War in Afghanistan .2003 in Afghanistan. A list of notable incidents in Afghanistan during 2003-January:...
and Timeline of the War in Afghanistan (2001-present)
Timeline of the War in Afghanistan (2001-present)
The following items form a partial timeline of the War in Afghanistan. For events prior to October 7, 2001, see 2001 in Afghanistan-2001:*October 7: : the United States, supported by Britain, begins its attack on Afghanistan, launching bombs and cruise missiles against Taliban military and...
.
January
3–14 January: U.S. aircraft bomb a suspected Taliban complex in eastern AfghanistanAfghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
.
Friday, January 4: Sgt. 1st Class Nathan Ross Chapman of San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
, was killed in an ambush in eastern Afghanistan, the first U.S. soldier to die by hostile fire. A CIA operative was also wounded.
Wednesday, January 9: Seven U.S. Marines are killed when their plane hits a mountain while landing in Pakistan. In the first three months of the campaign, 15 U.S. personnel have died.
Thursday, January 10: U.S. forces engage in a firefight with unknown forces as a transport plane takes off in Kandahar.
Sunday, January 27: U.S. Special forces backed a local Afghan militia attack which killed 6 Al-Qaeda personnel held up in a hospital in Kandahar.
February
Friday, February 1: Snow at KabulKabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
International Airport forced the plane of Afghan interim leader Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
to land in Bagram
Bagram
Bagram , founded as Alexandria on the Caucasus and known in medieval times as Kapisa, is a small town and seat in Bagram District in Parwan Province of Afghanistan, about 60 kilometers north of the capital Kabul. It is the site of an ancient city located at the junction of the Ghorband and Panjshir...
, as he returned after a week-long trip abroad that took him to the United States and the United Kingdom.
- Making India his first foreign itinerary, Afghanistan's UzbekUzbeksThe Uzbeks are a Turkic ethnic group in Central Asia. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, and large populations can also be found in Afghanistan, Tajikstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Pakistan, Mongolia and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China...
strongman and Deputy Defense Minister Abdul Rashid DostumAbdul Rashid DostumAbdul Rashid Dostum is a former pro-Soviet fighter during the Soviet war in Afghanistan and is considered by many to be the leader of Afghanistan's Uzbek community and the party Junbish-e Milli-yi Islami-yi Afghanistan...
flew to New Delhi to hold a lengthy meeting with Defense Minister George FernandesGeorge FernandesGeorge Mathew Fernandes is an Indian trade unionist, politician, journalist, agriculturist, and member of Rajya Sabha from Bihar. He is a key member of the Janata Dal , and was the founder of the Samata Party...
.
Saturday, February 2: Afghan interim leader Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
established a special committee to investigate factional violence threatening the stability of Afghanistan. The nine-member commission, headed by Border Affairs Minister Amanullah Zadran
Amanullah Zadran
Amanullah Khan Zadran is a citizen of Afghanistan who has held several prominent positions of power.Amanullah was a Taliban leader, who defected after the American invasion, and who Afghan President Hamid Karzai appointed to his cabinet as Minister of Tribal and Border Affairs in December...
, flew by helicopter immediately to the eastern city of Gardez where violence had erupted days before.
- The United Nations High Commissioner for RefugeesUnited Nations High Commissioner for RefugeesThe Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees , also known as The UN Refugee Agency is a United Nations agency mandated to protect and support refugees at the request of a government or the UN itself and assists in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to...
estimated that 55,000 people at one Spinboldak camp were Kochi. - Ten truckloads of weapons and ammunition were sent to re-arm the men of Hamid KarzaiHamid KarzaiHamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
's recently appointed governor for Paktia, Bacha Khan. Forces loyal to warlord Padshah Khan did not want Bacha Khan as governor and were dismayed that U.S. forces operating in the area would not come to their rescue. - The U.S. military finished construction of Camp X-RayCamp X-RayCamp X-Ray was a temporary detention facility at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp of Joint Task Force Guantanamo on the U.S. Naval Base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.The first twenty detainees arrived at Guantanamo on January 11, 2002....
in Guantanamo Bay, CubaCubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
. The completion of the camp raised its capacity from 158 to 320, and included three air-conditioned, wooden huts where military intelligence officers and representatives of other U.S. agencies interrogated prisoners, one at a time in shifts that typically lasted about an hour.
Sunday, February 3: In Gardez, Afghanistan, Afghan and United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
mediators, joined by U.S. officials, extracted a conditional cease-fire agreement from Bacha Khan and Padshah Khan.
- A group of 75 Canadian soldiers, the first in an expected contingent of 750, arrived at the U.S.-commandeered airfield in KandaharKandaharKandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011. It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level...
. The Canadian force will work alongside U.S. Army soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division101st Airborne DivisionThe 101st Airborne Division—the "Screaming Eagles"—is a U.S. Army modular light infantry division trained for air assault operations. During World War II, it was renowned for its role in Operation Overlord, the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944, in Normandy, France, Operation Market Garden, the...
guarding suspected Taliban and al-QaedaAl-QaedaAl-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
prisoners at KandaharKandaharKandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011. It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level...
, and could also engage in combat or humanitarian missions.
Monday, February 4: Yacine Akhnouche
Yacine Akhnouche
Yacine Akhnouche is a joint citizen of France and Algeria who confessed to having ties to Al Qaeda.Akhnouche is believed to have been an Al Qaeda recruiter. Akhnouche's alleged Al Qaeda associates include:...
and two others were arrested near Paris. Arknouche told police he had met suspected shoe bomber Richard Reid
Richard Reid (shoe bomber)
Richard Colvin Reid , also known as the Shoe Bomber, is a self-admitted member of al-Qaeda who pled guilty in 2002 in U.S. federal court to eight criminal counts of terrorism stemming from his attempt to destroy a commercial aircraft in-flight by detonating explosives hidden in his shoes...
and Zacarias Moussaoui
Zacarias Moussaoui
Zacarias Moussaoui is a French citizen who was convicted of conspiring to kill citizens of the US as part of the September 11 attacks...
at a training camp in Afghanistan in 2000.
Tuesday, February 5: Calling on his countrymen to "take each other's hands" to rebuild the nation, interim Afghan leader Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
raised Afghanistan's new flag over the presidential palace. The flag had been originally approved by the 1964 constitution as Afghanistan's national emblem but had not flown over government offices in Kabul since the Taliban took over in the early 1990s. The ceremony, which lasted about 15 minutes, was attended by cabinet ministers, diplomats and former president Burhanuddin Rabbani
Burhanuddin Rabbani
Professor Burhanuddin Rabbani was President of the Islamic State of Afghanistan from 1992 to 1996. After the Taliban government was toppled during Operation Enduring Freedom, Rabbani returned to Kabul and served as a temporary President from November to December 20, 2001, when Hamid Karzai was...
.
- Interim leader Afghan Hamid KarzaiHamid KarzaiHamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
met with visiting British Defense Secretary Geoff HoonGeoff HoonGeoffrey "Geoff" William Hoon is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament for Ashfield from 1992 to 2010...
. At their talks, Karzai requested that the British-led peacekeeping force expand beyond Kabul, but Hoon said he believed the current deployment level was adequate.
Wednesday, February 6: In attempts to bring peace between feuding warlords, Afghanistan's interim leader Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
visited Herat
Herat
Herāt is the capital of Herat province in Afghanistan. It is the third largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 397,456 as of 2006. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan...
.
Thursday, February 7: U.S. President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
decided that the 1949 Geneva Conventions
Geneva Conventions
The Geneva Conventions comprise four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish the standards of international law for the humanitarian treatment of the victims of war...
would apply to captured Taliban fighters taken from Afghanistan to a US military base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, but not to al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
members there.
Friday, February 8: Pakistan President Gen. Pervez Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf , is a retired four-star general who served as the 13th Chief of Army Staff and tenth President of Pakistan as well as tenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. Musharraf headed and led an administrative military government from October 1999 till August 2007. He ruled...
and Afghan interim leader Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
agreed to cooperate on a proposed Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline
Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline
The Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline is a proposed natural gas pipeline being developed by the Asian Development Bank. The pipeline will transport Caspian Sea natural gas from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan into Pakistan and then to India. The abbreviation comes from the first letters of those...
project to transport natural gas from Central Asia to Pakistan via Afghanistan.
Saturday, February 9: Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
, head of the Afghan interim government, appointed Maulvi Zia-ul-haq Haqyar and Syed Akram uddin as the new governors of Baghlan and Takhar
Takhar Province
Takhār is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It was established in 1964 when Qataghan Province was divided into three provinces: Baghlan, Kunduz and Takhar. It is in the north-east of the country. Its capital is Taloqan. Its salt mines are one of Afghanistan's major mineral resources...
provinces in northern Afghanistan.
- The United States brought another 34 al-QaedaAl-QaedaAl-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
and Taliban suspects to Camp X-RayCamp X-RayCamp X-Ray was a temporary detention facility at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp of Joint Task Force Guantanamo on the U.S. Naval Base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.The first twenty detainees arrived at Guantanamo on January 11, 2002....
on Guantanamo Bay in CubaCubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
.
Sunday, February 10: Interim Afghan leader Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
released more than 300 captured Taliban soldier. Karzai said they were innocent and urged them to find jobs.
- Afghan interim Defense Minister Mohammad Qasim Fahim went to Moscow to seek Russia's support in creating an Afghan army to replace the current force of tribal and ethnic militias.
- In the presence of Afghan officials, Wakil Ahmad Mutawakil voluntarily surrendered at the U.S. airbase just outside KandaharKandaharKandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011. It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level...
. - Interim Afghan leader Hamid KarzaiHamid KarzaiHamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
arrived at Abu DhabiAbu DhabiAbu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...
in the United Arab EmiratesUnited Arab EmiratesThe United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
. Karzai was greeted by UAE army chief of staff Sheik Mohammad bin Zayed al-Nahayan and Information Minister Sehikh Abdulah bin Zayed.
Monday, February 11: Interim Afghan leader Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
met with United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
President His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. The UAE announced it allocated $6 million for Afghan humanitarian relief, setting up refugee camps on the Pakistan-Afghan border near the Pakistan town of Chaman. Karzai reopened the Afghan embassy.
- The Afghan government in Kabul appointed Qari Baba as the governor of eastern Ghazni provinceGhazni ProvinceGhazni is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. Babur records in his Babur-Nama that Ghazni is also known as Zabulistan It is in the east of the country. Its capital is Ghazni City...
.
Tuesday, February 12: Interim Afghan leader Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
warned warlords to remove their check posts and chains on roads.
Wednesday, February 13: The United States Congress stepped in to find nearly $300m in humanitarian and reconstruction funds for Afghanistan after the Bush administration
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
failed to request any money in the latest budget.
- Two U.S. soldiers in Kandahar are wounded during a firefight with unknown forces. Afghan officials characterized it as a "mistake".
Thursday, February 14: Afghan interim leader Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
visited Jalalabad
Jalalabad
Jalalabad , formerly called Adinapour, as documented by the 7th century Hsüan-tsang, is a city in eastern Afghanistan. Located at the junction of the Kabul River and Kunar River near the Laghman valley, Jalalabad is the capital of Nangarhar province. It is linked by approximately of highway with...
to attend a function being held there in memory of former mujahedin commander Abdul Haq
Abdul Haq (Afghan leader)
Abdul Haq was an Afghan Pashtun mujahideen commander who fought against the Soviets and Afghan communists during the Soviet-Afghan War...
. Haq was brother of the Jalalabad governor, Haji
Hajji
Hajji or El-Hajj, is an honorific title given to a Muslim person who has successfully completed the Hajj to Mecca, and is often used to refer to an elder, since it can take time to accumulate the wealth to fund the travel. The title is placed before a person's name...
Abdul Qadir
Abdul Qadir (Afghan leader)
Hajji Abdul Qadir Arsala was a former anti-Taliban leader in the United Islamic Front in Afghanistan...
.
- Afghanistan's aviation and tourism minister, Abdul RahmanAbdul Rahman (Afghan minister)Abdul Rahman was the aviation and tourism minister of Afghanistan until February 14, 2002.He was murdered in what appeared to be a mob attack on his plane at Kabul International Airport by pilgrims angry that they had been unable to travel to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.Witnesses and officials said...
, was killed in what appeared to be a mob attack on his plane at Kabul's airport by pilgrims angry that they had been unable to travel to MeccaMeccaMecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
, Saudi ArabiaSaudi ArabiaThe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
. Witnesses and officials said pilgrims beat the minister to death and tossed his body to the tarmac. However, Prime Minister Hamid KarzaiHamid KarzaiHamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
accused six senior government officials of the murder, saying that they were motivated by a long-standing feud. Three were arrested and the others were being sought in Saudi Arabia. Karzai said five ministers, including the head of the intelligence ministry, Gen. Abdullah Tawhedi; the technical deputy of the Ministry of Defense, Gen. Qalander Big, and a Supreme Court justice, Haji Halim -- and 15 other suspects have been linked to the assassination.
Friday, February 15: Fighting broke out at a goodwill soccer game between an Afghan national team and international peacekeepers. Guards beat back overflowing crowds trying to enter the stadium. Play went on anyway despite the clash, and the international team won the game three to one. Afghanistan's former Taliban government had used the Kabul stadium for public executions and other harsh punishment to enforce its fundamentalist version of Islamic rules.
Saturday, February 16: The first attack on International Security Assistance Force
International Security Assistance Force
The International Security Assistance Force is a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan established by the United Nations Security Council on 20 December 2001 by Resolution 1386 as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement...
(ISAF) soldiers since their initial deployment in Afghanistan on December 22, 2001 occurred when a post in Kabul came under attack before dawn. Soldiers of the 2nd Parachute Battalion returned fire, and the gunmen fled in a car. Later, a car at a nearby house was discovered riddled with bullets. One man was found dead and five hurt.
Tuesday, February 19: The Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
ordered two U.S. bombing raids against Afghan militias opposed to the new administration led by Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
. This marked a turn in strategy. Previously, all U.S. military operation had focused strictly on Taliban and al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
forces.
Saturday, February 23: Two rockets are fired at the U.S. base in Kandahar, but do don't inflict any damage.
Sunday, February 24: Afghan interim leader Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
arrived in Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
to meet with reformist President Mohammad Khatami
Mohammad Khatami
Sayyid Mohammad Khātamī is an Iranian scholar, philosopher, Shiite theologian and Reformist politician. He served as the fifth President of Iran from August 2, 1997 to August 3, 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture in both the 1980s and 1990s...
and his government and to exchange views on regional issues, including the future of Afghan refugees. Iran pledged $560 million to Afghan reconstruction over five years. The meetings take place despite U.S. accusations of Iran's inclusion in U.S. President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
's "Axis of evil
Axis of evil
"Axis of evil" is a term initially used by the former United States President George W. Bush in his State of the Union Address on January 29, 2002 and often repeated throughout his presidency, describing governments that he accused of helping terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction...
". Traveling with Karzai were Afghan Ministers of Foreign Affairs Abdullah, Immigration Affairs Enayatollah Nazeri, Commerce Sayed Mustafa Kazemi
Sayed Mustafa Kazemi
Sayed Mustafa Kazemi from Parwan was a prominent Afghan politician. He was one of the leaders and the spokesmen for the opposition movement known as the United National Front. He was a former minister of commerce in the Afghan Transitional Government...
, Transport Sultan Hamid Sultan, Information and Culture Rahim Makhdoom, Agriculture Seyed Hussein Anwari, and Rural Development Abdul Malik Anwar
Abdul Malik Anwar
Abdul Malik Anwar is a Tajik who was a member of the United Islamic Front and as such one of the persons who was named minister by the Bonn Conference in December 2001...
.
Monday, February 25: The first units of a new Afghan army started training in Kabul. The U.S. was assisting in the creation of the army.
- Afghan interim leader Hamid KarzaiHamid KarzaiHamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
signed an accord with IranIranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian President Mohammad KhatamiMohammad KhatamiSayyid Mohammad Khātamī is an Iranian scholar, philosopher, Shiite theologian and Reformist politician. He served as the fifth President of Iran from August 2, 1997 to August 3, 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture in both the 1980s and 1990s...
to fight terrorismTerrorismTerrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
and drug trafficking, and not to interfere in each other's affairs. - Afghan interim leader Hamid KarzaiHamid KarzaiHamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
met Iran's spiritual guide Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and parliament speaker Mehdi Karrubi. He also addressed the Iranian parliament. Later in the day, Karzai urged TehranTehranTehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
and Washington, D.C. to work together for Afghanistan's reconstruction.
Tuesday, February 26: Accompanied by a strong 36-member delegation, which includes Foreign Minister Abdullah, Afghanistan interim head Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
arrived in New Delhi, India to discuss efforts underway for rehabilitation and reconstruction.
Wednesday, February 27: Afghan interim leader Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
attended a special ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhavan
Rashtrapati Bhavan
The Rashtrapati Bhavan or The Official Residence of the Head of the State is the official residence of the President of India, located at Raisina hill in New Delhi, India. Until 1950 it was known as "Viceroy's House" and served as the residence of the Viceroy and Governor-General of India...
in New Delhi, India. He also had visits with Indian President Kocheril Raman Narayanan and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Atal Bihari Vajpayee is an Indian statesman who served as the tenth Prime Minister of India three times – first for a brief term of 13 days in 1996, and then for two terms from 1998 to 2004. After his first brief period as Prime Minister in 1996, Vajpayee headed a coalition government from...
, Vice President Krishan Kant
Krishan Kant
Krishan Kant was the tenth Vice President of India from 1997 until his death.Kant's first brush with politics came when he plunged into the Quit India movement, while he was still a student in Lahore. He took part in the Indian Independence Movement as a youth and continued to be involved in...
, and Leader of Opposition Sonia Gandhi
Sonia Gandhi
Sonia Gandhi is an Italian-born Indian politician and the President of the Indian National Congress, one of the major political parties of India. She is the widow of former Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi...
.
March
Saturday, March 2: In an incident of friendly fireFriendly fire
Friendly fire is inadvertent firing towards one's own or otherwise friendly forces while attempting to engage enemy forces, particularly where this results in injury or death. A death resulting from a negligent discharge is not considered friendly fire...
, U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Stanley Harriman, of the Third Special Forces Group, and two Afghans were killed by a U.S. AC-130 gunship that mistook their convoy for enemies. They had been moving into position for Operation Anaconda
Operation Anaconda
Operation Anaconda took place in early March 2002 in which the United States military and CIA Paramilitary Officers, working with allied Afghan military forces, and other North Atlantic Treaty Organization and non NATO forces attempted to destroy al-Qaeda and Taliban forces in the Shahi-Kot...
. Three U.S. and 14 Afghan troops were wounded in the attack. It was originally reported that they were ambushed.
Sunday, March 3: Seven U.S. soldiers are killed when their helicopter is shot down during Operation Anaconda
Operation Anaconda
Operation Anaconda took place in early March 2002 in which the United States military and CIA Paramilitary Officers, working with allied Afghan military forces, and other North Atlantic Treaty Organization and non NATO forces attempted to destroy al-Qaeda and Taliban forces in the Shahi-Kot...
Wednesday, March 6: A blast killed two German and three Danish soldiers as they defused a Soviet-made SA-3 anti-aircraft missiles near the airport in Kabul. Eight people were wounded.
Saturday, March 9: The International Committee of the Red Cross
International Committee of the Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross is a private humanitarian institution based in Geneva, Switzerland. States parties to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005, have given the ICRC a mandate to protect the victims of international and...
(ICRC), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is a humanitarian institution that is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement along with the ICRC and 186 distinct National Societies...
and the Afghan Red Crescent Society
Afghan Red Crescent Society
The Afghan Red Cross Society is the Afghan affiliate of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The Society has existed for over 70 years although with limited structure due to the prevailing conditions which have affected the country at large for over 20 years.-...
(ARCS) jointly celebrated International Women's Day
International Women's Day
International Women's Day , originally called International Working Women’s Day, is marked on March 8 every year. In different regions the focus of the celebrations ranges from general celebration of respect, appreciation and love towards women to a celebration for women's economic, political and...
in Kabul. Attending the event were over 130 ARCS staff members and volunteers, representatives of the Afghan government and of local and foreign non-government organizations. Tribute was paid to the women who had played a crucial role in helping children survive.
Monday, March 11: Through his deputy, Qutbuddin Hilal, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar is an Afghan Mujahideen leader who is the founder and leader of the Hezb-e Islami political party and paramilitary group. Hekmatyar was a rebel military commander during the 1980s Soviet war in Afghanistan and was one of the key figures in the civil war that followed the...
pledged support for Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
. Hekmatyar also supported the return of the king.
Wednesday, March 20: A Special forces soldier is wounded during a firefight near Khost.
Thursday, March 21: UNICEF completed a "Back to school" project, providing thousands of basic packs for the schools, students and teachers in Afghanistan.
Wednesday, March 27: A U.S. soldier is killed by a mine outside of Kandahar.
Thursday, March 28: The U.N. Security Council voted to create a U.N.
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
assistance mission in Afghanistan for one year.
April
Tuesday, April 2: In Kabul, Pakistani President General Pervez MusharrafPervez Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf , is a retired four-star general who served as the 13th Chief of Army Staff and tenth President of Pakistan as well as tenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. Musharraf headed and led an administrative military government from October 1999 till August 2007. He ruled...
met with Afghanistan's interim leader Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
, in the first visit by a Pakistani leader in more than 30 years. The two planned to mend relations and work together to promote stability in Afghanistan.
Wednesday, April 3: A tripartite accord regarding repatriation of refugee
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
s was signed in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
by Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, Afghanistan, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees , also known as The UN Refugee Agency is a United Nations agency mandated to protect and support refugees at the request of a government or the UN itself and assists in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to...
Saturday, April 6: Three Danish and two German explosives experts were killed while defusing Soviet-built SA-3 anti-aircraft missiles near Kabul's airport. Eight others were injured. In November 2002, a Danish-German report would conclude that the explosives experts did not follow safety regulations while disarming two of the missiles. By March 2003 two Danish officers would face preliminary charges of negligence.
Tuesday, April 9: A joint program between UNHCR and Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
encouraging repatriation of Afghan refugees went into effect. (see details of the UNHCR Afghan repatriation programs)
Saturday, April 13: A U.S.-Afghan patrol comes under attack by 20 militants, air support is called in which killed five of them.
Sunday, April 14: A U.S. airbase is attacked by two RPGS.
Wednesday, April 17: Two U.S. pilots, Majors Harry Schmidt and William Umbach, returning from a 10-hour patrol, at more than 15,000 feet, spotted surface-to-air fire and feared it was from Taliban forces. Thinking Umbach was under attack, Schmidt asked flight control permission to fire his 20 mm cannons, to which flight control replied "hold fire." Four seconds later, Schmidt said he was "rolling in, in self defense." He dropped a laser-guided bomb 35 seconds after that, wounding eight and killing Sgt. Marc Leger, Cpl. Ainsworth Dyer, Pvt. Richard Green
Richard Green (soldier)
Private Richard A. Green was a Canadian soldier killed in Afghanistan in what became known as the Tarnak Farm incident in which a U.S. plane dropped a laser-guided bomb on the 3rd Battalion of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry...
and Pvt. Nathan Smith
Nathan Lloyd Smith
Private Nathan Lloyd Smith was a Canadian soldier who was killed in a friendly fire incident near Kandahar, Afghanistan ....
, members of the 3rd Battalion of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry
Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry
Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry is one of the three regular force infantry regiments of the Canadian Army. The regiment is composed of four battalions including a primary reserve battalion, for a total of 2,000 soldiers...
. The troops were at Tarnak Farms
Tarnak Farms
Tarnak Farms refers to a former Afghan training camp near Kandahar.The camp is very near the Kandahar airport.The Al-Qaeda camp is alleged to have offered training constructing bombs, using poisons, urban warfare, and assassination...
, a former al-Qaeda training area near Kandahar
Kandahar
Kandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011. It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level...
that allied forces had begun using as a practice range. The Canadians were firing anti-tank and machine-gun rounds horizontally, not vertically in a way that would have threatened the two F-16s.
- A U.S. soldier is shot in the face in Kandahar by an unknown assailant.
May
Sunday, May 19: A U.S. Special forces soldier is killed in a firefight near Skhin.Monday, May 20: Japan extended its logistics support for the U.S.-led anti-terrorism campaign in and around Afghanistan for another six months.
Wednesday, May 22: U.S. planes bomb a group of suspected militants near the Pakistani border.
Thursday, May 30: Two C-130 Hercules
C-130 Hercules
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed, now Lockheed Martin. Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation, and cargo transport...
used to airlift food to Ghor Province in central Afghanistan during the winter returned to their African base. They had flown back and forth between Herat
Herat
Herāt is the capital of Herat province in Afghanistan. It is the third largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 397,456 as of 2006. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan...
or Mashad, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and Ghor almost every day for five months, distributing 6,400 metric tons of food and seeds to more than 460,000 Afghans.
Friday, May 31: In an incident of friendly fire
Friendly fire
Friendly fire is inadvertent firing towards one's own or otherwise friendly forces while attempting to engage enemy forces, particularly where this results in injury or death. A death resulting from a negligent discharge is not considered friendly fire...
, U.S. troops killed three of their Afghan allies during a firefight.
- U.S. aircraft attacked a suspected rocket launch site after troops come under rocket attack near Lwara.
June
Sunday June 1: U.S. troops kill a suspected enemy fighter near Lwara.Tuesday, June 18: An unidentified group launched rockets within Kabul, and several rockets landed in the vicinity of the U.S. Embassy.
- U.S. Special forces soldiers kill two gunman who attacked them in Tarin Kowt. Elsewhere, soldiers call in close air support after coming under attack near Skhin.
Monday, June 24: U.S. forces fire mortars and call in close air support after coming under rocket fire near Jalalabad.
Sunday, June 30: Two RPGs are fired at the U.S. airbase near Kandahar.
July
Monday, July 1: In central Uruzgan province, a U.S. B-52B-52 Stratofortress
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber operated by the United States Air Force since the 1950s. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, who have continued to provide maintainence and upgrades to the aircraft in service...
struck suspected al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
and Taliban cave and bunker complexes, while an AC-130 gunship strafed several villages. U.S. officials said they believed the villages were legitimate targets, but Afghan authorities said that 48 civilians were killed and 117 were injured at a wedding party. The United States said a plane had come under attack from people on the ground, although no anti-aircraft weapons were found.
Sunday, July 2: A U.S. soldier is slightly wounded after a U.S. convoy came under fire near a hospital in Kandahar.
Thursday, July 12: A U.S. compound in Tarin Kowt comes under small arms fire but no casualties are reported.
Saturday, July 27: US soldiers surrounded a compound near Khost
Khost
Khost or Khowst is a city in eastern Afghanistan. It is the capital of Khost province, which is a mountainous region near Afghanistan's border with Pakistan...
and a firefight took place. Randy Watt
Randy Watt
Steven 'Randy' Watt is a Colonel in the Utah National Guard. As of June 2011 Watt is the Commanding Officer of the 19th Special Forces Group.As a Major, Watt arrived in Afghanistan in December 2001, and led the Special Forces assault team that attacked the compound in Ayub Kheyl where Omar Khadr...
led a group of the US soldiers to search the compound, in the belief that everybody had been killed. Two people had survived however, Omar Khadr
Omar Khadr
Omar Ahmed Khadr is a Canadian child soldier and one of the juveniles held at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. He was convicted of five charges under the United States Military Commissions Act of 2009 including murder in violation of the law of war and providing material support for terrorism,...
and an unidentified man, one of whom threw a grenade killing Christopher J. Speer.
August
Monday, August 5: U.S. Special forces kill two people after coming under fire near Asadabad.Tuesday, August 6: U.S. troops kill four people in a car after a passenger with a gun attempted to open fire on them.
Wednesday, August 7: At least 15 people were killed when suspected al-Qaeda gunmen attacked an army base in the southern outskirts of Kabul.
Friday, August 9: A powerful car bomb exploded at a construction company's warehouse in Jalalabad, killing 25 people and injuring 80 others.
- A U.S. soldier is shot by sniper near Lwara.
Sunday, August 18: Two U.S. Special forces soldiers are wounded by gunfire in Uruzgan Province.
August 18–26: During Operation Mountain Sweep, 2,000 U.S. and Afghan troops detain 10 suspects. They come under fire twice but sustain no casualties.
Friday, August 23: The Czech Defense Ministry announced that some of the Czech troops currently stationed in Kuwait will be deployed in Afghanistan at the request of allies.
Wednesday, August 28: U.S. Special forces kill an armed man who displayed "hostile intent" near Lwara.
September
Thursday, September 5: A car bomb was detonated in downtown Kabul, Afghanistan, killing more than 30 Afghans.- Afghan President Hamid KarzaiHamid KarzaiHamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
was the target of an assassination attempt, prompting him to replace his Afghan bodyguards with U.S. special forces.
- A U.S. Special forces soldier was slightly wounded by gunfire in the incident.
Wednesday, September 11: U.S. troops in Bagram wound a gunman who opened fire on a guard tower.
September 15: Two U.S. soldiers are injured by an explosive device in eastern Afghanistan.
Friday, September 20: A U.S. base in Lwara comes under attack by rockets and small arms fire. U.S. forces respond with small arms and mortar fire, and called in airstrikes.
September 28: A U.S. soldier is grazed by a bullet while in a convoy travelling to Kabul.
October
October 5: A U.S. soldier in a helicopter northwest of Kandahar is wounded by gunfire, soldiers in the helicopter return fire killing one attacker and wounding another.Tuesday October 15: A rocket hits a U.S. bunker in Lwara amidst a rocket attack, U.S. forces detain three suspects.
Wednesday October 23 Mortar fire is directed at a U.S. encampment in Asadabad.
- Three New Zealand soldiers are injured when their vehicle hit a land mine near Farah.
Monday, October 28: Iran made an appeal to Kabul to respect a 1972 accord entitling Iran to at least 26 cubic metres of water a second from the Helmand River
Helmand River
The Helmand River is the longest river in Afghanistan and the primarily watershed for the endorheic Sistan Basin....
. When the Taliban ruled Afghanistan, they violated the 1972 accord, with devastating results in Iran's impoverished Sistan-Baluchestan border region. Tens of thousands of cattle and other livestock perished in the ensuing drought. In a sign of improved Tehran-Kabul ties, Afghanistan honored the appeal, but said the flow would only be temporary.
Wednesday, October 30: The top U.N. envoy in Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi
Lakhdar Brahimi
Lakhdar Brahimi is a veteran United Nations envoy and advisor. He retired from his duties at the end of 2005. Brahimi is a member of the Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor, the first global initiative to focus specifically on the link between exclusion, poverty and law...
, told the U.N. Security Council that the new Afghan government headed by Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
did not have the means or power to deal with the underlying problems that cause security threats. Brahimi also voiced a concern that Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar is an Afghan Mujahideen leader who is the founder and leader of the Hezb-e Islami political party and paramilitary group. Hekmatyar was a rebel military commander during the 1980s Soviet war in Afghanistan and was one of the key figures in the civil war that followed the...
was trying to form an alliance with remnants of the Talibanand al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
Brahimi also said there would be no long-term security in Afghanistan until a well-trained, well-equipped, and regularly paid national police force and national army are in place.
Thursday, October 31: Afghan authorities began investigating a series of well-coordinated attacks against girls' schools in a central region near Kabul. Four schools in Vardak Province were attacked the previous week in a deliberate and systematic attempt to stop parents from sending their daughters to school. The attackers fired two rockets into school buildings in villages near the town of Maidan Shah, demolishing classroom walls and setting the buildings on fire. They also raided a school at a village mosque, setting fire to its wooden chairs and blackboard. The attackers left behind an unexploded grenade and several leaflets warning parents to keep their girls at home.
- United States paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne DivisionU.S. 82nd Airborne DivisionThe 82nd Airborne Division is an active airborne infantry division of the United States Army specializing in parachute landing operations. Based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the 82nd Airborne Division is the primary fighting arm of the XVIII Airborne Corps....
found three rockets pointing at the US base in Khost, but no arrests were made. - Two U.S. soldiers were injured when their sports utility vehicle rolled over while traveling in a three-vehicle convoy from the central town of Bamiyan to the U.S. headquarters at Bagram. One of the soldiers lost consciousness and the other suffered cuts to a hand.
- A U.S. special forces soldier was shot in the leg when his unit came under fire on a road outside JalalabadJalalabadJalalabad , formerly called Adinapour, as documented by the 7th century Hsüan-tsang, is a city in eastern Afghanistan. Located at the junction of the Kabul River and Kunar River near the Laghman valley, Jalalabad is the capital of Nangarhar province. It is linked by approximately of highway with...
. The wound was not life-threatening.
November
During November the U.S. military reported 60 attacks on their forces, up from 5 in July.Friday, November 1: About 60 kilometers east of Khost
Khost
Khost or Khowst is a city in eastern Afghanistan. It is the capital of Khost province, which is a mountainous region near Afghanistan's border with Pakistan...
, in Gardez, three rockets exploded just after midnight about one kilometer southwest of a compound housing U.S. special forces soldiers.
- Two 107 mm rockets exploded before dawn within 500 meters of Camp Salerno, near the city of KhostKhostKhost or Khowst is a city in eastern Afghanistan. It is the capital of Khost province, which is a mountainous region near Afghanistan's border with Pakistan...
. Another exploded 10 minutes later near Chapman Airfield, a few kilometers away. - A spokesman for the United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Population Fund reported that in Afghanistan 50 women were dying each day during labor. In some parts of the women could not be treated by male doctors. - Pakistan turned over to U.S. forces 25 suspected al-QaedaAl-QaedaAl-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
fighters. They were taken to the Kandahar base, bringing the total number of detainees there to 189. The U.S. also is holding 12 prisoners at Bagram air baseBagram Air BaseBagram Airfield, also referred to as Bagram Air Base, is a militarized airport and housing complex that is located next to the ancient city of Bagram, southeast of Charikar in Parwan province of Afghanistan. The base is run by a US Army division headed by a major general. A large part of the base,...
north of Kabul, one in Mazari Sharif and eight on a U.S. Navy ship in the Arabian SeaArabian SeaThe Arabian Sea is a region of the Indian Ocean bounded on the east by India, on the north by Pakistan and Iran, on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, on the south, approximately, by a line between Cape Guardafui in northeastern Somalia and Kanyakumari in India...
.
Saturday, November 2: Tajik forces loyal to Ismail Khan
Ismail Khan
Ismail Khan is a politician and former mujahideen commander from Afghanistan. Born in the western Afghan city of Herat, he rose to become a powerful rebel commander during in the Soviet War in Afghanistan, and then a key member of the Northern Alliance until finally becoming the Governor of Herat...
, the governor of Herat Province
Herat Province
Herat is one the 34 provinces of Afghanistan; together with Badghis, Farah, and Ghor provinces, it makes up the South-western region of the country...
, launched the attack in the Zer-e-Koh district, killing two civilians and injuring 15 in a crowded market. Ismail Khan, a former governor, took back control of Herat after the fall of the Taliban. But local Pashtuns have complained his forces have looted and oppressed them.
- The U.S. base in Asadabad, AfghanistanAsadabad, AfghanistanAsadabad or Asad Abad is the capital city of Kunar Province in Afghanistan. It is located in the eastern portion of the country adjacent to Pakistan...
in Kunar provinceKunar ProvinceKunar is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northeastern part of the country. Its capital is Asadabad. It is one of the four "N2KL" provinces...
came under rocket or mortar fire . No injuries were reported. - Afghan security officials in JalalabadJalalabadJalalabad , formerly called Adinapour, as documented by the 7th century Hsüan-tsang, is a city in eastern Afghanistan. Located at the junction of the Kabul River and Kunar River near the Laghman valley, Jalalabad is the capital of Nangarhar province. It is linked by approximately of highway with...
found two bombs connected to timers set to go off in a busy market area. Authorities were unable to neutralize the bombs, but streets were blocked off around one before it detonated on its own. A second bomb found nearby was taken to a secure location at an intelligence ministry compound where it exploded. Neither blast caused casualties. - Two rockets exploded near a U.S. base at OrgunOrgun-External links:*...
, about 110 miles (180 km) south of Kabul. One of the rockets landed about 500 metres (yards) from the base. - An emergency cabinet meeting was called by Afghan President Hamid KarzaiHamid KarzaiHamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
to decide the fate of some 15 local commanders. The moves were intended to bring unruly and corrupt provincial leaders into line. In Nangarhar provinceNangarhar ProvinceNangarhar is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan in the east of the country. Its capital is the city of Jalalabad. The population of the province is 1,334,000, which consists mainly of ethnic Pashtuns with a sizable community of Arabs and Pashais....
(one of the major suppliers of Afghanistan's illicit opium exports) several officials were dismissed for their links with the drug trade. The directors of customs, agriculture and public works were also dismissed. Two security chiefs in the principal northern city of Mazari Sharif were fired, including Sayeed Kamal, a powerful commander once in charge of five provincial districts. - Two people were killed when Ismail KhanIsmail KhanIsmail Khan is a politician and former mujahideen commander from Afghanistan. Born in the western Afghan city of Herat, he rose to become a powerful rebel commander during in the Soviet War in Afghanistan, and then a key member of the Northern Alliance until finally becoming the Governor of Herat...
's men shelled a busy market place in a PashtunPashtun peoplePashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...
community in the south of the province.
Sunday, November 3: A rocket exploded 500 meters from a U.S. base in Deh Rahwod District
Deh Rahwod District
Deh Rahwod is a district in Oruzgan Province, southern Afghanistan, and the name of the town that serves as district seat. Deh Rahwod lies along the Helmand River...
in Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan.
- A delegation from Herat ProvinceHerat ProvinceHerat is one the 34 provinces of Afghanistan; together with Badghis, Farah, and Ghor provinces, it makes up the South-western region of the country...
on made its second visit to Hamid KarzaiHamid KarzaiHamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
to call for the removal of Ismail KhanIsmail KhanIsmail Khan is a politician and former mujahideen commander from Afghanistan. Born in the western Afghan city of Herat, he rose to become a powerful rebel commander during in the Soviet War in Afghanistan, and then a key member of the Northern Alliance until finally becoming the Governor of Herat...
, the Tajik governor and self-styled "Emir of Herat", after his troops attacked ethnic Pashtuns. - The night curfew in Kabul was lifted for the first time in 23 years.
- Former Afghan King Mohammad Zaher Shah inaugurated a special committee set up to draft a new constitution for this war-ravaged nation. The nine-member committee, headed by Vice President Nayiamatullah Shahrani, took on the task of preparing a preliminary draft of the document and to later be reviewed by a constitutional commission. The final draft would be approved by a constitutionalloya jirgaLoya jirgaA loya jirga is a type of jirga regarded as "grand assembly," a phrase in the Pashto language meaning "grand council." A loya jirga is a mass meeting usually prepared for major events such as choosing a new king, adopting a constitution, or discussing important national political or emergency...
in 2003. - Acting on tips 400 U.S. troops raided Naray and nearby Kot Kalay. They found one-hundred and fifteen 107 mm rockets, 14 rocket-propelled grenades, land mines, detonators and thousands of rounds of ammunition, some of it armor-piercing. An entire wedding party, decked in their best clothes, arriving at a mosque and were told to sit outside. They were told not to move. Everyone was frisked. Teams then moved through homes, pulling clothing from trunks, opening bins of flour and cutting plaster from walls to look for hidden compartments. A trunk of AK-47AK-47The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year...
s and "toe-popper" landminesLand mineA land mine is usually a weight-triggered explosive device which is intended to damage a target—either human or inanimate—by means of a blast and/or fragment impact....
were found under a haystack; other weapons were discovered under beds or wrapped in rugs. Villagers were detained overnight. The villagers were then freed, except for five detainees, who were taken to helicopters with bags over their heads. The troops left the shotguns and long rifles they found, but kept the AK-47s. The troops then left in their Black Hawks. Troops found AK-47s in the second town, Kot Kalay, but little else. - Three rocket-propelled grenade rounds were fired at a U.S. base in the southeastern town of Shkin in Paktika ProvincePaktika ProvincePaktika is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the south-east of the country. Most of the population is Pashtun. Its capital is Sharan.-Political and military situation:...
, about 150 miles (240 km) south of Kabul. - A U.S. base near KandaharKandaharKandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011. It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level...
came under small-arms fire from a lone gunman. U.S. troops were deployed but failed to find the shooter. - U.S. troops at a base in Deh Rawod in Uruzgan Province fired an illumination round after "two unknown personnel were seen" about 300 metres (yards) away. The two then fired five rounds at U.S. troops in a guard tower on the base and fled on foot.
- U.S. 82nd AirborneU.S. 82nd Airborne DivisionThe 82nd Airborne Division is an active airborne infantry division of the United States Army specializing in parachute landing operations. Based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the 82nd Airborne Division is the primary fighting arm of the XVIII Airborne Corps....
paratrooperParatrooperParatroopers are soldiers trained in parachuting and generally operate as part of an airborne force.Paratroopers are used for tactical advantage as they can be inserted into the battlefield from the air, thereby allowing them to be positioned in areas not accessible by land...
s ended a 24-hour operation northeast of KhostKhostKhost or Khowst is a city in eastern Afghanistan. It is the capital of Khost province, which is a mountainous region near Afghanistan's border with Pakistan...
that netted 20 mines, 60 grenades, 20 rifles or shotguns, and thousands of artillery and automatic weapon rounds. Six people were also detained in the operation, and Taliban literature and documents were seized.
Tuesday, November 5: A rocket or mortar was fired at a U.S. Army Special Forces base in Gardez, but caused no injuries.
- In a 51-page report titled All Our Hopes Are Crushed: Violence and Repression in Western Afghanistan, Human Rights WatchHuman Rights WatchHuman Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
alleged that the governor of HeratHeratHerāt is the capital of Herat province in Afghanistan. It is the third largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 397,456 as of 2006. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan...
, Ismail KhanIsmail KhanIsmail Khan is a politician and former mujahideen commander from Afghanistan. Born in the western Afghan city of Herat, he rose to become a powerful rebel commander during in the Soviet War in Afghanistan, and then a key member of the Northern Alliance until finally becoming the Governor of Herat...
, ordered politically motivated arrests and beatings throughout 2002. The report detailed lashings with thorny branches, sticks, cables and rifle butts. In the most serious cases, prisoners were hung upside down, whipped or tortured with electric shocks. The group also reported that there were no independent media in Herat and no public meetings allowed in Herat. Khan's Herat was described in the report as a closed society without room for dissent, independent opinion or personal freedoms. The report called for the expansion of the International Security Assistance ForceInternational Security Assistance ForceThe International Security Assistance Force is a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan established by the United Nations Security Council on 20 December 2001 by Resolution 1386 as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement...
beyondKabul. It also called for US to exert its influence and adopt a peacekeeping role in the regions.
Wednesday, November 6: The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
announced that the Netherlands will join Germany in taking over command of the U.N. security force inAfghanistan in mid-February 2003. To date, Turkey was in command of the 19-nation, 5,000-strong International Security Assistance Force
International Security Assistance Force
The International Security Assistance Force is a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan established by the United Nations Security Council on 20 December 2001 by Resolution 1386 as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement...
. Germany had 1,200 soldiers in the force, and the Dutch 240, but those figures would be boosted after the transfer of command. To date, Germany had a total of 10,000 troops serving abroad, second only to the United States.
- Near the town of KhostKhostKhost or Khowst is a city in eastern Afghanistan. It is the capital of Khost province, which is a mountainous region near Afghanistan's border with Pakistan...
, U.S. special forces seized five 107 mm rockets aimed at a U.S. airfield in southeastern Afghanistan. The rockets were armed and had fuses, but they had not been timed to fire. A villager told special forces about the weapons. - Rival factions in northern Afghanistan began turning in their weapons as part of a United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
monitored program to curb violence. More than 120 assault rifles and some artillery pieces were seized from soldiers loyal to Abdul Rashid DostumAbdul Rashid DostumAbdul Rashid Dostum is a former pro-Soviet fighter during the Soviet war in Afghanistan and is considered by many to be the leader of Afghanistan's Uzbek community and the party Junbish-e Milli-yi Islami-yi Afghanistan...
and fighters under Ustad Atta Mohammad in the Sholgara district, southwest of Mazari Sharif. - A senior U.S. official said an Afghan government defense commission, made up of Afghan officials and warlords, agreed to build up the country's army to 70,000 troops over the next two years. To date, Afghanistan's national army had only 1,000 men.
- International peacekeepers destroyed six missiles that had been seized two days earlier in an abandoned storage facility inKabul. The missiles, three Scud-B warheads and three Frog-7 rockets, were believed to have been in Afghanistan since the SovietSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
era, and could not be fired. But each of the warheads was fitted with a detonator and each contained about 800 kilograms of TNT. About 4,800 peacekeepers of International Security Assistance ForceInternational Security Assistance ForceThe International Security Assistance Force is a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan established by the United Nations Security Council on 20 December 2001 by Resolution 1386 as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement...
regularly patrolled Kabul to bolster security. ISAF troops could frequently be scene patrolling the streets in jeeps and armored cars mounted with heavy guns. - U.N. and U.S. researchers reported that women in Afghanistan were dying during childbirth at a staggeringly high rate. In rural Badakhshan ProvinceBadakhshan ProvinceBadakhshan is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, consisting of 28 districts. It is located in the north-east of the country, between the Hindu Kush and the Amu Darya. It is part of the Badakhshan region.-Geography:...
, the maternity death rate was highest rate ever documented—6,500 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births. High death rates for mothers have profound implications for the children.
Thursday, November 7: Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
ordered the release of 20 female prisoners in a goodwill gesture one day after the start of the holy month of Ramadan
Ramadan
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which lasts 29 or 30 days. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex during daylight hours and is intended to teach Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility and...
. The women had all been detained for petty crimes. The women, held in a Kabul prison, would likely be released over the weekend.
- U.S. special forces shot and killed a gunman who fired on them near the central Afghan town of Deh Rawod. The forces were helping an Afghan policeman who had been fired on when two attackers in civilian clothing opened fire on the U.S. forces with AK-47AK-47The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year...
assault rifles. The soldiers returned fire, killing one man. The other escaped. - Eight people fired on U.S. special forces 2 miles (3 km) north of KhostKhostKhost or Khowst is a city in eastern Afghanistan. It is the capital of Khost province, which is a mountainous region near Afghanistan's border with Pakistan...
, in eastern Afghanistan. AH-64 ApacheAH-64 ApacheThe Boeing AH-64 Apache is a four-blade, twin-engine attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement, and a tandem cockpit for a two-man crew. The Apache was developed as Model 77 by Hughes Helicopters for the United States Army's Advanced Attack Helicopter program to replace the...
helicopters fired rockets and 30 mm rounds, before the eight fled over a nearby ridge. - U.S. paratroopers swept through four areas in northeast of KhostKhostKhost or Khowst is a city in eastern Afghanistan. It is the capital of Khost province, which is a mountainous region near Afghanistan's border with Pakistan...
, seizing weapons including 28 mines, 76 hand grenades, 147 rocket-launched grenades, 62 launchers, more than 500 round of 5.62 mm rounds. Five men were taken to Khost for questioning.
Friday, November 8: Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
called for the second time in less than two weeks for Kabul to respect a water-sharing accord on the Helmand river flowing from Afghanistan into Iran. Afghan President Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
said he would "take care of this issue personally."
- A regional Afghan commander, Haji Mohammed Zaher, escaped unhurt from a shooting incident on the border with Pakistan. One of his bodyguards was killed and another wounded. Zaher had gone to the border to close an illegal checkpoint on the road from TorkhamTorkhamTorkham is a border crossing town in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan and the Khyber Agency of Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas, right on the Durand Line border....
to JalalabadJalalabadJalalabad , formerly called Adinapour, as documented by the 7th century Hsüan-tsang, is a city in eastern Afghanistan. Located at the junction of the Kabul River and Kunar River near the Laghman valley, Jalalabad is the capital of Nangarhar province. It is linked by approximately of highway with...
, where militiamen were stopping motorists and demanding money. - Unidentified attackers fired four rockets toward the U.S. airfield in KhostKhostKhost or Khowst is a city in eastern Afghanistan. It is the capital of Khost province, which is a mountainous region near Afghanistan's border with Pakistan...
. There was no damage. - It was revealed that the United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
was using snapshots of eyes to build an iris recognitionIris recognitionIris recognition is an automated method of biometric identification that uses mathematical pattern-recognition techniques on video images of the irides of an individual's eyes, whose complex random patterns are unique and can be seen from some distance....
database of Afghan refugees. The database will enable the U.N. to prevent refugees from fraudulently claiming more than one U.N. aid package per person as they cross the border from Pakistan into Afghanistan.
Saturday, November 9: U.S. helicopters broke up a gun battle between Kuchis
Kuchis
Kuchis , are Afghan Pashtun nomads, primarily from the Ghilzai, Kakar, Lodi, Ahmadzai as well as some Durrani tribes, but occasionally there may also be some Baloch people among them that live a nomadic life travelling between pastoral lands in Afghanistan and in Pakistan...
and local government forces over a land dispute. After the two sides exchanged fire with light machine-guns and rocket-propelled grenades for two hours, the American helicopters attacked the gunmen's positions on cliffs surrounding Kikara village, near Khost
Khost
Khost or Khowst is a city in eastern Afghanistan. It is the capital of Khost province, which is a mountainous region near Afghanistan's border with Pakistan...
, Afghanistan. Six gunmen were wounded in the clash.
Sunday, November 10: As part of an international effort in Afghanistan, work began on rebuilding a major highway. The project was expected to cost $250 million, two thirds of it pledged by the United States, Japan and Saudi Arabia. The 750 mile (1,200 km) route, which runs fromKabul through Kandahar
Kandahar
Kandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011. It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level...
and then to Herat
Herat
Herāt is the capital of Herat province in Afghanistan. It is the third largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 397,456 as of 2006. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan...
, was built in the 1960s with U.S. funds, but devastated during the 1980s Soviet occupation and the civil war that followed.
Monday, November 11: A team of representatives of the Afghan Human Rights Commission and the U.N. was dispatched to the north to look into the reports that witnesses of mass killings were being harassed, detained, tortured and executed.
- A dozen gaunt Pakistani men, some wrapped in ragged shawls against the cold, were released from a prison in Kabul, Afghanistan.They had been held since the collapse of the Taliban one year earlier.
- At least four students of Kabul UniversityKabul UniversityKabul University is located in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. It was founded in 1931 but officially opened for classes in 1932. Kabul University is currently attended by approximately 7,000 students, of which 1,700 are women. As of 2008, Hamidullah Amin is the chancellor of the university...
were killed and dozens injured, as over 500 students clashed with police in violent demonstrations in Kabul, Afghanistan. Students were protesting over a lack of food and electricity in their dormitory. Several policemen were also injured. - Ismail KhanIsmail KhanIsmail Khan is a politician and former mujahideen commander from Afghanistan. Born in the western Afghan city of Herat, he rose to become a powerful rebel commander during in the Soviet War in Afghanistan, and then a key member of the Northern Alliance until finally becoming the Governor of Herat...
, Afghan provincial governor of HeratHerat ProvinceHerat is one the 34 provinces of Afghanistan; together with Badghis, Farah, and Ghor provinces, it makes up the South-western region of the country...
, reimposed a ban on wedding celebrations at restaurants, on the grounds that they encourage men and women to dance together. The ban was based on a decree from Herat's 60-man Council of Scholars and Clerics. The ban was first imposed by Khan four months ago after a young women burned herself to death when her parents told her they could not afford to hold her wedding party at a restaurant. Khan later reversed this decision after complaints.
Tuesday, November 12: Hundreds of Kabul University
Kabul University
Kabul University is located in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. It was founded in 1931 but officially opened for classes in 1932. Kabul University is currently attended by approximately 7,000 students, of which 1,700 are women. As of 2008, Hamidullah Amin is the chancellor of the university...
students marched in protest against the killing of four of their colleagues in a demonstration the previous evening. Police fired into the air and used water cannons to break up the march. Many of the poorer students, who lived in the troubled dormitory, were from areas dominated by ethnic Pashtuns, while the university was dominated by ethnic Tajiks.
- A tape of Osama bin LadenOsama bin LadenOsama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
was broadcast on by the Arabic-language al-Jazeera satellite television channel based in QatarQatarQatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
. On the tape, he warned U.S. allies that they would be targets of new attacks if they continued to back the United States. He also hailed attacks in BaliBaliBali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
, KuwaitKuwaitThe State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
, YemenYemenThe Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
and JordanJordanJordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
and the Moscow theatre siege a month earlier. The cassette was handed to an Al JazeeraAl JazeeraAl Jazeera is an independent broadcaster owned by the state of Qatar through the Qatar Media Corporation and headquartered in Doha, Qatar...
television correspondent in IslamabadIslamabadIslamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
by an unidentified man who disappeared immediately.
Wednesday, November 13: 2,000 students assembled outside the gates of Kabul University
Kabul University
Kabul University is located in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. It was founded in 1931 but officially opened for classes in 1932. Kabul University is currently attended by approximately 7,000 students, of which 1,700 are women. As of 2008, Hamidullah Amin is the chancellor of the university...
, refusing to attend lessons until their demands for improved accommodation and justice for those who died in recent protests were met. Students said at least six people died in the two days of unrest. the International Security Assistance Force
International Security Assistance Force
The International Security Assistance Force is a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan established by the United Nations Security Council on 20 December 2001 by Resolution 1386 as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement...
(ISAF) was not called in to assist. Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
claimed that Afghan police tortured and detained students, and that reporters were refused access to students being treated at Wazir Akbar Khan Hospital.
- The FBI told authorities in Houston, Chicago, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. to be aware of threats against hospitals.
Thursday, November 14 Construction began on a key highway connecting Kandahar to Spinboldak, Pakistan. The three-month, US$15 million project was funded by the Asian Development Bank
Asian Development Bank
The Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank established on 22 August 1966 to facilitate economic development of countries in Asia...
.
- Afghan President Hamid KarzaiHamid KarzaiHamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
was awarded the International Rescue CommitteeInternational Rescue CommitteeThe International Rescue Committee is a leading nonsectarian, nongovernmental international relief and development organization based in the United States, with operations in over 40 countries...
's Freedom AwardFreedom AwardThe International Rescue Committee bestows its Freedom Award for extraordinary contributions to the cause of refugees and human freedom. According to the IRC, "The Freedom Award reveals the remarkable ability of an individual to shape history and change for the better a world moving toward freedom...
. - The U.S. Congress passed legislation that calls for $2.3 billion over four years in reconstruction funds for Afghanistan, plus another $1 billion to expand the International Security Assistance ForceInternational Security Assistance ForceThe International Security Assistance Force is a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan established by the United Nations Security Council on 20 December 2001 by Resolution 1386 as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement...
(ISAF). - Nine 107 mm rockets were fired at the U.S. military base near Gardez, in eastern Afghanistan. The rockets landed near the base but did not cause any casualties. U.S forces called in A-10A-10 Thunderbolt IIThe Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is an American single-seat, twin-engine, straight-wing jet aircraft developed by Fairchild-Republic in the early 1970s. The A-10 was designed for a United States Air Force requirement to provide close air support for ground forces by attacking tanks,...
fighter planes, which dropped several bombs and fired about 2,000 rounds of ammunition. Special forces troops found a suspected enemy vehicle and destroyed a rocket that had not been fired. - The U.S. base in Lwara came under rocket and mortar fire. At least one round exploded inside the compound. Soldiers from the 82nd Airborne DivisionU.S. 82nd Airborne DivisionThe 82nd Airborne Division is an active airborne infantry division of the United States Army specializing in parachute landing operations. Based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the 82nd Airborne Division is the primary fighting arm of the XVIII Airborne Corps....
moved on the launch site, trading small arms and mortar fire with the suspected attackers. An A-10A-10 Thunderbolt IIThe Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is an American single-seat, twin-engine, straight-wing jet aircraft developed by Fairchild-Republic in the early 1970s. The A-10 was designed for a United States Air Force requirement to provide close air support for ground forces by attacking tanks,...
plane fired rockets at the launch site and dropped a 500 pound (227 kg) bomb after three suspected enemy fighters were detected moving. Another aircraft dropped a 1,000 pound (450 kg) bomb shortly afterward.
Saturday, November 16: A remote-control 107 mm rocket landed nearly a mile (1.6 km) from the U.S. base near Gardez at around 8 p.m.
- Two rockets were fired at the U.S. airfield near KhostKhostKhost or Khowst is a city in eastern Afghanistan. It is the capital of Khost province, which is a mountainous region near Afghanistan's border with Pakistan...
, both falling about a mile (1.6 km) from the base.
Sunday, November 17 The United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
was investigated alleged human rights abuses by Uzbek
Uzbeks
The Uzbeks are a Turkic ethnic group in Central Asia. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, and large populations can also be found in Afghanistan, Tajikstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Pakistan, Mongolia and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China...
warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum
Abdul Rashid Dostum
Abdul Rashid Dostum is a former pro-Soviet fighter during the Soviet war in Afghanistan and is considered by many to be the leader of Afghanistan's Uzbek community and the party Junbish-e Milli-yi Islami-yi Afghanistan...
. Witnesses claimed that Dostum jailed and tortured witnesses to prevent them from testifying in a war crimes case.
Monday, November 18: In New Delhi, India, Afghan Commerce Minister Sayed Mustafa Kazmi and Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha
Yashwant Sinha
Yashwant Sinha is an Indian politician and a former finance minister of India and foreign minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee's cabinet...
held talks to put in place a preferential trading arrangement and the setting up of transit routes to jack up bilateral economic cooperation.
- On a visit to the People's Republic of China by Afghan Foreign Minister Dr. Abdullah, PRC Foreign Minister Tang JiaxuanTang JiaxuanTang Jiaxuan was foreign minister of the People's Republic of China from 1998–2003.After various diplomatic postings in Japan, he became Assistant to the Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1991, Vice minister of foreign affairs in 1993 and Minister of foreign affairs from 1998 to 2003...
pledged to write off Afghanistan's multimillion-dollar debt, some of which dated back to the 1960s. To date, China had given Kabul $30 million in 2002 aid. - U.S. boxer Muhammad AliMuhammad AliMuhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
began a three-day visit to Kabul as a U.N. Messenger of Peace, visiting a boxing club, a girls' school, and President Hamid KarzaiHamid KarzaiHamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
. Ali wanted to bring attention to the world regarding Afghanistan's huge humanitarian needs. - A U.S. special forces soldier suffered head and hand injuries while rock climbing during a mission near Deh RawoodDeh RawoodDeh Rawood is a town in Deh Rahwod District in Uruzgan province, Afghanistan. It is located 400 kilometres southwest of Kabul. Since the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan the area has been noted as a remaining Taliban stronghold. The area is rural with mountainous, roadless terrain....
in centralUruzgan, Afghanistan. He was to be flown to Germany for an operation on his hand. - U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill visited Kabul for the day to demonstrate the U.S. commitment to rebuildingAfghanistan. O'Neill toured a girls' school, new road construction sites, and some fledgling factories making shoes and metal products. O'Neill said that a five-star hotel was under consideration in Kabul, but did not name the possible owners. "Afghanistan will not be forgotten", he told a press conference, "the United States is committed to be here for the long term."
Tuesday, November 19: The newest U.N. refugee camp
Refugee camp
A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees. Hundreds of thousands of people may live in any one single camp. Usually they are built and run by a government, the United Nations, or international organizations, or NGOs.Refugee camps are generally set up in an impromptu...
of Zhare Dasht was criticized as being too remote, overcrowded and dangerously close to a mine field. It was built in the desert on the outskirts of Kandahar
Kandahar
Kandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011. It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level...
to house about 60,000 refugees who had been living on Pakistani border.
- U.S. boxer Muhammad AliMuhammad AliMuhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
met former Afghan king, Mohammad Zaher Shah. The king's grandson Duran Zahergave Ali a tour of the palace remains. - Denmark announced that a March 6 blast that killed two German and three Danish soldiers "could have been avoided if everyone had respected the safety procedures." The event occurred near the airport in Kabul, while the team was defusing Soviet-made SA-3 anti-aircraft missiles.
- In Kabul, two Afghan children were killed when they picked up an unexploded mortar in the eastern part of the city. In a separate incident, another child in Kabul picked up a butterfly mine which blew off his hand.
- While searching for weapons near JalalabadJalalabadJalalabad , formerly called Adinapour, as documented by the 7th century Hsüan-tsang, is a city in eastern Afghanistan. Located at the junction of the Kabul River and Kunar River near the Laghman valley, Jalalabad is the capital of Nangarhar province. It is linked by approximately of highway with...
, U.S. soldiers were fired on by AK-47AK-47The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year...
machine guns around 7 a.m. A search of one of the three buildings in the compound turned up equipment used to produce narcotics. Documents seized showed the lab was tied to Hezb-e-Islami, a group affiliated with the warlord Gulbuddin HekmatyarGulbuddin HekmatyarGulbuddin Hekmatyar is an Afghan Mujahideen leader who is the founder and leader of the Hezb-e Islami political party and paramilitary group. Hekmatyar was a rebel military commander during the 1980s Soviet war in Afghanistan and was one of the key figures in the civil war that followed the...
. - Gunmen fired at the U.S. base near the central Afghan city of Terin Kot.
- Japan extended its logistics support for the U.S.-led anti-terrorism campaign in and around Afghanistan for another six months. Japan also added a transport ship (carrying bulldozers and other heavy equipment for construction of airfields) to other Japanese vessels already taking part in the campaign. However, Japan chose not to send a state-of-the-art Aegis destroyer to the region. To date, Japan had dispatched two refueling ships and three escort ships, supplying fuel and food to U.S. and British military vessels deployed mainly in the Indian Ocean.
- The U.S. State Department strongly warns U.S. citizens against travel to Afghanistan. Items of concern included military operations, landmines, banditry, armed rivalry among political and tribal groups.
- Afghan forces loyal to Gen. Abdul Rashid DostumAbdul Rashid DostumAbdul Rashid Dostum is a former pro-Soviet fighter during the Soviet war in Afghanistan and is considered by many to be the leader of Afghanistan's Uzbek community and the party Junbish-e Milli-yi Islami-yi Afghanistan...
battled those of rival commander Gen. Atta Mohammed in MaqsoodMaqsoodMaqsood is one of the 44 union councils, administrative subdivions, of Haripur District in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.-References:Maqsood Iqbal currently located in Pakistand and the leader of the Halal Party....
, Samangan ProvinceSamangan ProvinceSamangan is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. The province covers and has a population of approximately 313,211, as of 2006.Its capital, Samangan, is known for its ancient ruins including, notably, the Takht e Rostam...
. Two of Dostum's fighter's were killed and three were captured.
Wednesday, November 20 Australian Prime Minister John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
said that Australia would begin withdrawing its 150 commandos from Afghanistan later that month.
Thursday, November 21: A large quantity of explosives was found by Afghan police in the generator room of the Sarobi Dam in Kabul, averting a possible sabotage attack. Several arrests were made.
- Explosives disposal experts from the International Security Assistance ForceInternational Security Assistance ForceThe International Security Assistance Force is a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan established by the United Nations Security Council on 20 December 2001 by Resolution 1386 as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement...
(ISAF) concluded that an explosion in Kabul's Microryan neighborhood was caused by a pound (0.5 kg) of explosives. Afghan authorities, however, rejected that version and stuck by their initial assessment that a rocket was responsible. - India announced it would send 124 more busses to Afghanistan in addition to the 50 that it had already sent.
Friday, November 22: A Kurdish man from Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, Bohtan Akram Tawfiq Horami, carrying 10 kg (22 lb) of C-4
C-4 (explosive)
C4 or Composition C4 is a common variety of the plastic explosive known as Composition C.-Composition and manufacture:C4 is made up of explosives, plastic binder, plasticizer and usually marker or odorizing taggant chemicals such as 2,3-dimethyl-2,3-dinitrobutane to help detect the explosive and...
explosive material in his coat, was arrested in Wazir Akbar Khan
Wazir Akbar Khān
Wazir Akbar Khān is a neighbourhood in northern Kabul, Afghanistan. It is the wealthiest area in Kabul. Many embassies are located, including the U.S. and Canadian. Wazir Akbar Khān is also home to the Kabul International Airport....
, an affluent neighborhood of Kabul, where many foreigners have homes and offices. It was believed Defense Minister Mohammed Fahim
Mohammed Fahim
Mohammad Qasim Fahim is an Afghan military commander, politician and the First Vice President since November 2009. He was the Defense Minister of the Afghan Transitional Administration, beginning in 2002 and also served as Vice President from June 2002 to December 2004...
was the target.
- A U.S. special forces base near Gardez, Afghanistan, about 100 km south of Kabul, was fired on with small-arms fire. There were no casualties and none of the assailants were located.
- IranIranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
's Ambassador to Kabul Mohammad-Ebrahim Taherian met Afghan President Hamid KarzaiHamid KarzaiHamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
to discuss the latest regional developments, mutual ties, and ways to promote bilateral cooperation. - General Hilmi Akin Zorlu, the Turkish commander of the International Security Assistance ForceInternational Security Assistance ForceThe International Security Assistance Force is a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan established by the United Nations Security Council on 20 December 2001 by Resolution 1386 as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement...
(ISAF) in Afghanistansaid he feared that a war against IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
could lead to terroristTerrorismTerrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
attacks against his forces in Kabul. He also said that he believed the 4,800-strong ISAF needed to stay for at least another two or three years.
Saturday, November 23: Nine white phosphorus rockets were fired at a U.S. base near Lwara, Afghanistan, 178 km southwest of Kabul, at about 10:30 pm. An A-10
A-10 Thunderbolt II
The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is an American single-seat, twin-engine, straight-wing jet aircraft developed by Fairchild-Republic in the early 1970s. The A-10 was designed for a United States Air Force requirement to provide close air support for ground forces by attacking tanks,...
fighter jet dropped a single bomb on the suspected launch site.
- A 107 mm rocket was fired at a U.S. base near KhostKhostKhost or Khowst is a city in eastern Afghanistan. It is the capital of Khost province, which is a mountainous region near Afghanistan's border with Pakistan...
, Afhanistan. The rocket landed inside the base's outer perimeter. One of the two military trucks hit by the rocket at the Khost base was heavily damaged. - Welcomed by Abdullah, Germany's Foreign Minister, Joschka FischerJoschka FischerJoseph Martin "Joschka" Fischer is a German politician of the Alliance '90/The Greens. He served as Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor of Germany in the cabinet of Gerhard Schröder from 1998 to 2005...
, arrived in Kabul to visit German troops serving as international peacekeepers, to discuss security, and to discuss the transfer of International Security Assistance ForceInternational Security Assistance ForceThe International Security Assistance Force is a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan established by the United Nations Security Council on 20 December 2001 by Resolution 1386 as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement...
(ISAF) leadership. Fischer said Germany would send more troops to Afghanistan ahead of taking over command of international forces in Kabul. To date, there were more than 1,000 German soldiers in Kabul, together with hundreds of Dutch troops. Germany and the Netherlands were scheduled to take over command of the 5,000-strong international force, which to date comprised soldiers from 22 nations.
Monday, November 25 A 15-man U.S. special forces patrol seized a large cache of heavy weapons and armored vehicles near Bamyan. About 100 armedAfghan men fled the site as the soldiers approached the cache. Two unarmed men were briefly questioned then released.
- A U.S. special forces soldier was airlifted from a U.S. base near Spinboldak, Afghanistan, after falling and breaking his collar bone.
- A rocket was fired at a U.S. base near ShkinShkinShkin is a scattered village in Barmal District, Paktika Province, Afghanistan located about a kilometer west of the newer, much larger, and border-straddling village and bazaar of Angoor Adda. Angoor Adda is controlled by the Pakistan Frontier Guards...
, about 150 miles (240 km) south of Kabul. - A rocket-propelled grenade hit the south wall of the Spinboldak U.S. base.
- Lieutenant Commander Altug Akyuz of the International Security Assistance ForceInternational Security Assistance ForceThe International Security Assistance Force is a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan established by the United Nations Security Council on 20 December 2001 by Resolution 1386 as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement...
(ISAF) said there were a series of explosions near their base on the eastern outskirts of Kabul.
the blasts occurred late Monday in the vicinity of bases housing most of the troops from the 22-nation contingent.
- Hamid KarzaiHamid KarzaiHamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
met with Nicholas SternNicholas SternNicholas Herbert Stern, Baron Stern of Brentford, Kt, FBA is a British economist and academic. He is IG Patel Professor of Economics and Government, Chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics , and 2010 Professor of Collège de...
, the World BankWorld BankThe World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
's senior vice-president, at Golkhana Palace. Finance MinisterAshraf Ghani Ahmadzai and Yahya Marufi, minister adviser for international affairs, were also present.
Tuesday, November 26: Several rockets slammed into the eastern edge of Kabul overnight, landing several miles from a base of the international peacekeepers.
- Forces loyal to Gen. Abdul Rashid DostumAbdul Rashid DostumAbdul Rashid Dostum is a former pro-Soviet fighter during the Soviet war in Afghanistan and is considered by many to be the leader of Afghanistan's Uzbek community and the party Junbish-e Milli-yi Islami-yi Afghanistan...
clashed with those of Gen. Atta Mohammed in Faryab ProvinceFaryab ProvinceFāryāb is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the north of the country. Its capital is Maymana. The majority of the population is Uzbek.-History:...
, Afghanistan. - A rocket was launched from a truck on near the town of Lwara into a U.S. base. At least three men were seen fleeing in the vehicle and were pursued by U.S. attack helicopters until the truck crossed the border into Pakistan. A total of 53 attacks were reported against U.S. forces in Afghanistan in November. The tally of incidents, which included mines, direct fire, mortar or rocket attacks on U.S. forces, was up from 49 in September and 51 in October.
- Afghan authorities released 87 Pakistani prisoners suspected of fighting alongside the formerTaliban government. The men were handed over to officials at Pakistan's embassy in Kabul and, in the presence of several delegates from the International Committee of the Red CrossInternational Committee of the Red CrossThe International Committee of the Red Cross is a private humanitarian institution based in Geneva, Switzerland. States parties to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005, have given the ICRC a mandate to protect the victims of international and...
, placed on a bus destined for the Pakistan border. To date, an estimated 600 Pakistanis were still jailed in Afghanistan.
Wednesday, November 27: A New Zealand telecoms company Argent Networks won a $4.5 million contract to develop cellular
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
and internet services in Afghanistan. Argent will develop a billing system for the GSM mobile network set up in June by the Afghan Wireless Communication Company, a joint venture between Telephone Systems International
Telephone Systems International
Telephone Systems International is a U.S.-based provider of international telecommunications services founded by Afghan-American entrepreneur Ehsan Bayat. TSI operates the Afghan Wireless Communication Company in a joint venture with the Afghan Ministry of Communications....
and the Afghan Ministry of Communications
Afghan Ministry of Communications
The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology is an organ of the government of Afghanistan. Current communications minister is Amirzai Sangin....
.
- The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to extend the International Security Assistance ForceInternational Security Assistance ForceThe International Security Assistance Force is a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan established by the United Nations Security Council on 20 December 2001 by Resolution 1386 as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement...
(ISAF) in Afghanistanfor a year beyond December 20 with Germany and the Netherlands taking over its command for six months. To date, the force was 4,800 strong and operated only in Kabul. Separate from ISAF, about 9,000 U.S. troops were in Afghanistan to date as part of a U.S.-led international coalition involved in hunting for al-QaedaAl-QaedaAl-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
and Taliban fighters. - While riding in a convoy about 4 miles (6 km) east of Gardez, Afghanistan, a sniper shot and wounded a U.S. Special Forces soldier in the leg.
Thursday, November 28: To date, U.N.-monitored disarmament commissions collected more than 6,000 small arms and 30 tanks in the northeast ofAfghanistan since the start of the disarmament plan on November 10. The commissions covered the provinces of Baghlan, Badakhshan
Badakhshan Province
Badakhshan is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, consisting of 28 districts. It is located in the north-east of the country, between the Hindu Kush and the Amu Darya. It is part of the Badakhshan region.-Geography:...
, Kunduz and Takhar
Takhar Province
Takhār is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It was established in 1964 when Qataghan Province was divided into three provinces: Baghlan, Kunduz and Takhar. It is in the north-east of the country. Its capital is Taloqan. Its salt mines are one of Afghanistan's major mineral resources...
.
Friday, November 29: Australia announced it would contribute $1 million towards a project to help Afghanistan restore production of wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
and maize
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
.
- U.S. General Tommy FranksTommy FranksTommy Ray Franks is a retired general in the United States Army. His last Army post was as the Commander of the United States Central Command, overseeing United States Armed Forces operations in a 25-country region, including the Middle East...
visited U.S. troops stationed at BagramBagramBagram , founded as Alexandria on the Caucasus and known in medieval times as Kapisa, is a small town and seat in Bagram District in Parwan Province of Afghanistan, about 60 kilometers north of the capital Kabul. It is the site of an ancient city located at the junction of the Ghorband and Panjshir...
, Afghanistan. - Two rockets were fired at the U.S. base near KhostKhostKhost or Khowst is a city in eastern Afghanistan. It is the capital of Khost province, which is a mountainous region near Afghanistan's border with Pakistan...
, about 100 miles (160 km) south of Kabul, Afghanistan.
Saturday, November 30: In Moscow, Afghan foreign minister, Abdullah, and his Russian counterpart, Igor Ivanov
Igor Ivanov
Igor Sergeyevich Ivanov is a Russian politician and was Russian Foreign Minister from 1998 to 2004.- Early life :...
, held talks focusing on security issues. Russia had provided economic and food aid to Afghanistan during 2002, and Ivanov committed to increasing that aid. The two officials also spent much of their time discussing the growing problem of illegal drug smuggling.
December
Sunday, December 1: A group of armed Afghans patrolling outside Shindand air base stopped another group of armed Afghans on the roadside. The second group then fired at the patrol. U.S. soldiers who were inside the air base, also came under fire. They returned fire, then called for air support while making their escape. A B-52B-52 Stratofortress
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber operated by the United States Air Force since the 1950s. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, who have continued to provide maintainence and upgrades to the aircraft in service...
bomber dropped seven 2,000-pound laser-guided bombs, killing at least seven.
- Unidentified attackers fired four rockets at a U.S.-controlled airport in the eastern city of KhostKhostKhost or Khowst is a city in eastern Afghanistan. It is the capital of Khost province, which is a mountainous region near Afghanistan's border with Pakistan...
, Afghanistan. - Japan's defense minister Shigeru IshibaShigeru IshibaShigeru Ishiba is a Japanese politician. He was Minister of Defense under Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda from 2007 to 2008 and was also Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries....
denied that its government had decided to send a high-tech Aegis destroyer to back up U.S. military action in Afghanistan. - Afghan commander Amanullah KhanAmanullah KhanAmanullah Khan was the King of the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1919 to 1929, first as Amir and after 1926 as Shah. He led Afghanistan to independence over its foreign affairs from the United Kingdom, and his rule was marked by dramatic political and social change...
launched an attack on positions held by the governor of Herat ProvinceHerat ProvinceHerat is one the 34 provinces of Afghanistan; together with Badghis, Farah, and Ghor provinces, it makes up the South-western region of the country...
, Ismail KhanIsmail KhanIsmail Khan is a politician and former mujahideen commander from Afghanistan. Born in the western Afghan city of Herat, he rose to become a powerful rebel commander during in the Soviet War in Afghanistan, and then a key member of the Northern Alliance until finally becoming the Governor of Herat...
, in the Zeer Koh area six miles from Shindand air base. Up to 13 people were feared dead and dozens wounded.
Monday, December 2: Fierce clashes between forces of Amanullah Khan
Amanullah Khan
Amanullah Khan was the King of the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1919 to 1929, first as Amir and after 1926 as Shah. He led Afghanistan to independence over its foreign affairs from the United Kingdom, and his rule was marked by dramatic political and social change...
and Ismail Khan
Ismail Khan
Ismail Khan is a politician and former mujahideen commander from Afghanistan. Born in the western Afghan city of Herat, he rose to become a powerful rebel commander during in the Soviet War in Afghanistan, and then a key member of the Northern Alliance until finally becoming the Governor of Herat...
resumed in western Afghanistan.
- Three people were killed and five wounded in a gun battle between police and fighters of a military commander in the southern city of KandaharKandaharKandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011. It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level...
, Afghanistan. - U.S. special forces based in Lwara, near KhostKhostKhost or Khowst is a city in eastern Afghanistan. It is the capital of Khost province, which is a mountainous region near Afghanistan's border with Pakistan...
, called in AH-64 ApacheAH-64 ApacheThe Boeing AH-64 Apache is a four-blade, twin-engine attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement, and a tandem cockpit for a two-man crew. The Apache was developed as Model 77 by Hughes Helicopters for the United States Army's Advanced Attack Helicopter program to replace the...
attack helicopter support to help chase five people seen moving in the vicinity of the base. A small team of soldiers discovered five rockets in the area where the suspects had been seen and one person was detained for questioning. The five suspects fled into a building two miles away. - U.S. special forces near JalalabadJalalabadJalalabad , formerly called Adinapour, as documented by the 7th century Hsüan-tsang, is a city in eastern Afghanistan. Located at the junction of the Kabul River and Kunar River near the Laghman valley, Jalalabad is the capital of Nangarhar province. It is linked by approximately of highway with...
came under fire from 10 people using automatic weapons who then fled for cover in nearby hills. A-10A-10 Thunderbolt IIThe Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is an American single-seat, twin-engine, straight-wing jet aircraft developed by Fairchild-Republic in the early 1970s. The A-10 was designed for a United States Air Force requirement to provide close air support for ground forces by attacking tanks,...
gunships were called in to drop flares in the target area.
Tuesday, December 10: A second prisoner died (the first one dying on December 3) at the makeshift prison in the United States compound at an Afghan base north of Kabul. Later, the autopsies would label the deaths as homicides.
Wednesday, December 11: U.S. forces fire mortars near the Pakistani border after coming under rocket attack.
Thursday, December 12: The Afghan Cable Center in Jalalabad
Jalalabad
Jalalabad , formerly called Adinapour, as documented by the 7th century Hsüan-tsang, is a city in eastern Afghanistan. Located at the junction of the Kabul River and Kunar River near the Laghman valley, Jalalabad is the capital of Nangarhar province. It is linked by approximately of highway with...
, which had been broadcasting more than 20 foreign television channels, was closed down by a special decision of the Afghanistan Supreme Court presided over by chief justice Mowlawi Fazl Hadi Shinwari.
Tuesday, December 17: A grenade was thrown into a jeep carrying two U.S. Special Forces soldiers driving through Kabul, Afghanistan. One soldier suffered an eye injury and the other a leg injury. Their Afghan interpreter also was injured. Amir Mohammad was later taken into custody for the crime. He revealed that he had received terror training at a camp inside Afghanistan. Allegedly, he and about a dozen other men trained for a week at a base six miles from the border with Pakistan. About a dozen teachers taught the students how to use guns and bombs. Five students then traveled to Kabul looking for American targets.
Friday, December 20: A U.S. soldier is killed during a gunfight in eastern Afghanistan. The same day, another U.S. soldier is injured by a rocket attack.
Friday, December 27: In the Gardez province of Afghanistan, five people were killed and six wounded when guests at a wedding party fired a rocket propelled grenade into the air, only to have it land nearby and explode.
Sunday, December 29: A Pakistani border guard
Border guard
The border guard, frontier guard, border patrol, border police, or frontier police of a country is a national security agency that performs border control, i.e., enforces the security of the country's national borders....
shot and wounded a U.S. soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
in the head in eastern Afghanistan's Paktika province
Paktika Province
Paktika is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the south-east of the country. Most of the population is Pashtun. Its capital is Sharan.-Political and military situation:...
, just a few hundred yards from Pakistan's border. The shooting prompted U.S. forces to call in an airstrike
Airstrike
An air strike is an attack on a specific objective by military aircraft during an offensive mission. Air strikes are commonly delivered from aircraft such as fighters, bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters, and others...
on a building where the guard was believed hiding. Pakistan claimed the building was on its side of the border, but the Americans claimed it was on the Afghan side. The soldier was evacuated to the U.S. military's medical center in Landstuhl, Germany, then transferred to a nearby German hospital for more specific neurological
Neurology
Neurology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the nervous system. Specifically, it deals with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of disease involving the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, including their coverings, blood vessels, and all effector tissue,...
treatment, and a week later flown home to the United States. The border guard was taken into custody. The situation grew more tense when Pakistan dispatched extra troops to the border after the United States said it reserved the right to cross into Pakistan in hot pursuit of enemy fighters fleeing from Afghanistan.
- A second U.S. soldier arrived at Landstuhl, Germany after being shot in the head the day before at KandaharKandaharKandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011. It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level...
U.S. base, but not from hostile fire.