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[ 15 February 2006 ]
Arrested Pakistanis Say They Planned Suicide Missions In Afghanistan
Four alleged terrorists arrested by security officials in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar Province have provided details of their planned missions upon entering Afghanistan from neighboring Pakistan, Kabul-based Tolu Television reported on 14 February. Two of the arrestees have been identified as Afghans and the other two as Pakistanis. One of the Pakistanis, speaking in Pashto, said that they entered Afghanistan to carry out "suicide attacks." The other man, speaking in Urdu, said that he was impressed by the preaching of religious scholars and an audiotape to wage "jihad against America" as a way to get to heaven. Afghan President Hamid Karzai is traveling to Pakistan on 15 February to discuss, among other matters, the rise in suicide attacks in his country, which most Afghan officials say is linked to Pakistan. AT
Former Prime Minister Rejects Claims His Followers Are Joining Afghan Government
Hizb-e Islami head and former Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar rejected reports that a number of his followers have joined the government of President Karzai, Pajhwak Afghan News reported on 14 February. In a statement, Hekmatyar said, "We will never surrender to the U.S.-backed government; we have fought against Soviet troops and now will never join the U.S. invaders." According to Hekmatyar, those commanders who have surrendered to the Afghan government have no links to his party. AT
Russian Defense Chief Hails Soviet 'Heroism' In Afghanistan
Speaking at a ceremony commemorating the 17th anniversary of the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said on 14 February that while there have been "repeated attempts" to "play down the heroism of the servicemen who fought in Afghanistan," he and the other heads of the Defense Ministry regard such attempts as "immoral," Russia's RTR television reported. Ivanov, while giving awards to former Soviet soldiers, said that some 3,000 orders and medals will be awarded to those veterans who, for various reasons, have not received their awards. The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in December 1979 and withdrew its troops in 1989, by which time the Soviets lost an estimated 15,000 troops while nearly a million Afghans were killed. AT
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