Afghanistan: 50 dead after suicide attack during volleyball match
At least fifty people are now known to have been killed instantly when a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device during a popular volleyball game. It is the deadliest attack in Afghanistan...
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Afghanistan: 50 dead after suicide attack during volleyball match - Video
24, Nov 2014 - Traders from Afghanistan and Nepal exhibits their products at IITF 2014 in New Delhi
24, Nov 2014 (ANI) - Many traders from Afghanistan and Nepal participate in the ongoing 34th India International Trade Fair 2014 at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi.
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24, Nov 2014 - Traders from Afghanistan and Nepal exhibits their products at IITF 2014 in New Delhi - Video
After Vowing to End Combat Mission in Afghanistan, Obama Secretly Extends Americas Longest War
http://democracynow.org - President Obama has secretly extended the U.S. role in Afghanistan despite earlier promises to wind down America #39;s longest war. According to the New York Times,...
By: democracynow
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After Vowing to End Combat Mission in Afghanistan, Obama Secretly Extends Americas Longest War - Video
By Ehsan Popalzai and Ashley Fantz, CNN
updated 1:26 AM EST, Mon November 24, 2014
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- At least 45 people were killed and 60 others wounded Sunday when a suicide bomber attacked a crowd watching a volleyball match in the Yahyakhil district of Afghanistan's southeastern Paktika province, according to a spokesman for the provincial governor.
In 2010, a suicide car bomb exploded in the middle of a group of men playing volleyball, a popular sport in the region, in northwest Pakistan. That attack left 30 people dead and 52 wounded.
Sunday's attack comes the same day the nation's parliament agreed to allow U.S. and NATO forces to remain in Afghanistan after 2014.
It's unusual for an attack in Afghanistan to kill so many people.
Only a few comparable incidents come up in the University of Maryland's Global Terrorism Database, which tracks acts of terror from 1970 to 2013.
In October 2012, a suicide bomber dressed in a police uniform attacked a mosque in the city of Maymana in Faryab province, according to the database. At least 42 people, including 19 members of the Afghan security forces, were killed and another 50 people injured in that blast. No group claimed responsibility for the incident, but sources attributed it to the Taliban.
In April 2013, nine attackers dressed as soldiers killed 53 people at a courthouse complex where several Taliban members were standing trial in the city of Farah.
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Afghanistan
President Obama's decision to authorize a wider U.S. military role in Afghanistan next year was a pragmatic one, a recognition that as much as he would like it to be so, the fighting in Afghanistan is not over.
The administration quietly approved guidelines, revealed over the weekend, that could broaden the military role of U.S. troops in Afghanistan next year beyond what had been expected.
But how much fighting the 9,800 U.S. troops will see depends on hard-to-predict factors, such as the continuing strength of the 13-year-old insurgency and the effectiveness of Afghanistan's own security forces, said several U.S. officials, who agreed to discuss the decision in return for anonymity.
A stark reminder of those challenges came Sunday when a suicide bomber killed 45 people in eastern Afghanistan, the deadliest attack since a new government took power this year.
The administration's new approach will also depend on how short a leash Obama keeps the Pentagon on during his final two years in office.
Senior officials familiar with the president's decision, which was made in recent weeks, say that in approving continued U.S. ground operations and airstrikes in Afghanistan after the end of this year, Obama was clear that he was not granting permission for large-scale combat operations.
"These authorities ensure we can protect our forces and our coalition partners, support the [Afghan security forces] in emergencies and continue the fight against Al Qaeda," a senior military official said. "This is not a license for offensive combat operations against the Taliban just because we still have U.S. capabilities in the country."
It is, however, a clear indication that the U.S. role in Afghanistan after the end of the year will not be limited to training Afghan forces and conducting occasional small raids against the remnants of Al Qaeda, which is how White House officials had been portraying the post-2014 mission.
American forces will be able to carry out missions against Taliban insurgents and other militant groups that pose a threat to U.S. troops or allies, despite Obama's vow this year that the U.S. combat role in Afghanistan was coming to an end.
There will also be U.S. drones, bombers and fighter aircraft stationed in Afghanistan or on aircraft carriers to provide airstrikes in case U.S. troops are threatened or Afghan forces find themselves in danger of being overrun by insurgents, the officials say.
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Obama confronts need for broader U.S. military role in Afghanistan