Kabu

Kabul - A British soldier was killed in an insurgent attack in southern Afghanistan Saturday, the military said.

The soldier died of wounds he sustained from an explosion in Musa Qala district of southern Helmand province, a British military spokesman in the province said.

The British soldiers were conducting a foot patrol when the incident took place, he said, adding the soldier died on the spot despite receiving immediate medical treatment.

The NATO alliance in Kabul also confirmed the death of the soldier in a statement.

Washington, Mar. 14: The new United States strategy for Pakistan and Afghanistan would revolve around reconciliation with militants operating in tribal areas, because the US regards that at least seventy per cent insurgents in the region are reconcilable.

Dawn sources claimed that the Commander of US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, General David Petraeus and special envoy Richard Holbrooke, met on Friday at Capitol Hill, and spent two hours explaining salient features of the new strategy to lawmakers.

Kabul  - US-led coalition soldiers killed a father and four of his sons Saturday in an operation in the central province of Logar, a police commander said, but the US military called the victims "militants."

The incident took place in Dasht Charkh village of Charkh district when the coalition attacked a residential compound, said the provincial police chief, General Mustafa Muhseni.

New York  - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon asked the UN Security Council on Friday to extend the mandate of the UN mission in Afghanistan another 12 months so it can assist Kabul in the critical elections in August.

He said the UN mission will set up a political-electoral unit to work with Afghan political parties, civil society and the candidates to prepare for the general elections on August 20, including election of a new president.

Kabul, Mar 13 : A top Taliban commander has said his fighters are poised and ready to attack Kabul and could strike virtually anywhere in the city.

It would be tempting to put this down to Taliban propaganda, except that one of Kabul's top cops is saying the same thing.

"We are working on a security strategy for the city and if we don't get it right, they (Taliban) can attack at any minute, at any hour, any time," said Commander Muhammad Daud Amin, who in charge of securing Kabul district.

Proof of the menacing threat came just last month when eight Taliban fighters, bristling with weapons and suicide vests, burst into three government buildings in the centre of Kabul.