Kabul: An Interanational Security Assistance Force (ISAF) pilot died after his plane crashed yesterday in eastern Afghanistan. In a press release, ISAF said the crash site had been located and the body recovered. While the cause of the crash is under investigation, initial reports said there was no insurgent activity in the area at the time of the crash. It is ISAF policy to defer casualty notification procedures to authorities, the statement said.
Polio ‘campaign undermined’
Islamabad: Five polio cases have been reported in Pakistan since January — three from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and one each from Punjab and Sindh, a World Health Organisation official said. At least 700,000 children in northwest Pakistan have missed out on vaccinations this year because of security threats and suspicions over vaccination effects, said WHO, which fears the problem could disrupt years of effort to eradicate the virus. Pakistan is one of three countries alongside Afghanistan and Nigeria where polio remains endemic, after India was taken off the list last year.
Five soldiers, 14 militants die
PESHAWAR: At least five Pakistani soldiers were killed yesterday during an operation against militants in the tribal belt on the Afghan border, officials said. The shootout took place in the Tirah valley of Khyber district, where the military has been bombarding Taliban and other militants who pose a threat to the nearby northwestern city of Peshawar, a key battleground in the upcoming election. A senior security official said 14 militants were also killed, while soldiers were wounded.
Afghan donkey bomb claims cop
Mihtarlam: A bomb strapped to the back of a donkey killed one policeman and wounded three civilians in eastern Afghanistan yesterday, officials said. The bomb exploded when the animal walked close to a police post in the volatile district of Alingar in Laghman province in the morning.
New Zealand troops pull out
WELLINGTON: New Zealand troops began their withdrawal from Afghanistan yesterday, with the lowering of the flag for the last time at their base in Bamiyan to mark the end of a 10-year involvement in the war. The government announced the early withdrawal last year, with the contingent originally scheduled to remain until September 2014. Agencies
