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July becomes deadliest month of war for U.S.
66 TROOPS WERE KILLED
Afghanistan toll
surpasses June’s record by Joshua Partlow
kabul — With the deaths of six troops on Thursday and Friday, July has become the deadliest month for U.S. forces in the near- ly nine-year-long war in Afghani- stan. The three killings on Friday came in a manner and location that has typified the recent in- crease in violence. NATO officials said that two of the American service members died in a road- side bombing and that the other was killed in a separate insur- gent attack. Both assaults oc- curred in southern Afghanistan, where the Taliban insurgency is strongest. Rudimentary bombs, often made from fertilizer, are a favored weapon of the Taliban and the predominant killer of U.S. troops. The six deaths over two days pushed the U.S. death toll to 66, surpassing the record in June, when 60 American troops were killed. The overall death toll for NATO forces in July is still below the record reached in June, when 103 NATO troops were killed. With the buildup of 30,000 ad- ditional U.S. soldiers this year, American commanders have pre- dicted a spike in casualties as they push into Taliban strong- holds where there has been little coalition presence in the past. The most violent time in Afghan- istan is typically summer, when
October 2001: War begins
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’01 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 SOURCES: Associated Press iCasualties org
on
washingtonpost.com Tracking the war
For a photo timeline of the war in Afghanistan, go to
washingtonpost.com/world.
the Taliban is not hampered by cold weather in the mountains and can go on the offensive. But there also has been a steady growth in the size and po- tency of the insurgency. U.S. and Afghan officials estimate that the number of Taliban fighters ex- ceeds 30,000. Insurgents have spread beyond their traditional havens in southern and eastern Afghanistan in recent years and now hold considerable power elsewhere in the country, partic- ularly in the once-peaceful north. A senior NATO official said one-third to one-half of the 82 districts around the country that NATO considers crucial to the war are now under insurgent in- fluence. The tension inherent in such a
2008 2009 ’10 THE WASHINGTON POST
war zone escalated into an angry protest in downtown Kabul on Friday, as police fired to disperse a crowd that set fire to two vehi- cles after a traffic accident killed four Afghan civilians, according to Afghan officials. The outburst occurred on the road leading from Kabul’s air- port, near the traffic circle named for the guerrilla com- mander Ahmed Shah Massoud, directly outside the U.S. Embas- sy. It started when an SUV driven by American contractors struck a car carrying the four Afghans, ac- cording to a statement from the U.S. Embassy. The protesters chanted “Death to America” and threw rocks, the Associated Press reported. The embassy statement said the American contractors “coop- erated immediately with local Af- ghan Security Forces after the in- cident.”
“Our sympathies go out to the families of those Afghans injured or killed in this tragic accident,” the statement said.
partlowj@washpost.com
BOB STRONG/REUTERS
An Afghan soldier fires a rocket-propelled grenade at suspected insurgents as U.S. troops crouch down during a firefight this week at Combat Outpost Nolen in the Arghandab Valley, in Kandahar province.
Pakistani government ramps up its flood relief efforts by Griff Witte and Haq Nawaz Khan
islamabad, pakistan — The Pakistani government stepped up relief efforts Friday for the hun- dreds of thousands of people af- fected by the worst flooding in decades to hit the country’s northwest, an area already racked by extremist violence. While unusually heavy mon-
soon rains have inflicted damage across the country this week, northwestern Pakistan has borne the brunt of the destruction, with the death toll there climbing Fri- day to at least 408, provincial offi- cials said. The government’s response has come under scrutiny because the impoverished northwest has been the scene of persistent mil- itant attacks and frequent U.S.- backed army offensives in recent years. The Taliban, which is ac- tive across the region, has fed on the widespread view that the gov- ernment is ineffective and unable to meet basic needs. The government sought to counter that perception Friday, with the army launching dozens of helicopters to rescue stranded villagers and with civilian au- thorities dispatching flood-con- trol officials to prevent critical dams from bursting.
ceded Thursday that “the infra- structure of this province was al- ready destroyed by terrorism. Whatever was left was finished off by these floods.” He pleaded for outside assistance, asking for tents, food and boats. He also warned that the death toll could significantly rise, with thousands of people still unaccounted for. The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad announced that it would provide Pakistan with seven helicopters to assist with rescue efforts and that it would offer additional as- sistance in the coming days. Across the northwest, homes and bridges tumbled into the surging river waters. Rains trig- gered landslides that wiped out whole communities, and light- ning killed dozens. Images broad- cast on local television stations showed residents desperately swimming for shore through snake-infested waters. Alamzeb Khan, a 42-year-old
A. MAJEED/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE VIA GETTY IMAGES
Pakistanis try to salvage some belongings as they flee Nowshera in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. But criticism of the govern-
ment’s efforts had already begun, with washed-out roads, collapsed communications systems and a lack of rescue vehicles all ham- pering the response. “We have no government at all
to help us at this critical hour,” said Riaz Ahmad, 38, as he waited by the side of a flooded road. “We are looking to Allah to help.” Mian Iftikhar Hussain, infor-
mation minister of Khyber Pak- htunkhwa province, said Friday
that the government was “doing its level best.” But, he said, “at times we are all helpless against natural disasters.” Hussain, an outspoken Taliban critic whose only son was killed by militants last week, had con-
DIGEST MEXICO
Gang threats shut U.S. Consulate in Juarez Threats of drug cartel attacks against authorities have prompted the
United States to shut down its large consulate in Juarez, providing no indication when the building will reopen. A statement posted Thursday night on the consulate’s Web site said the facility was reviewing its “security posture.” The brief message urged Americans to avoid the general area around the heavily fortified, embas- sy-size building. A car bomb attack in the border city on July 15 that killed three has
raised fears that new explosions could occur any time and that even the city’s most well-guarded structures are vulnerable. The bombing was followed by a threat four days later warning that a more powerful bomb would be set off if authorities didn’t take action against corrupt federal police with alleged ties to the Sinaloa cartel. The July 15 incident and the subsequent threat have been linked to the Jua- rez cartel, the Sinaloa cartel’s main rival for control of the area’s smug- gling routes. The U.S. statement did not mention the bomb incident, but officials said they had received credible threats of attacks planned against the consulate. The facility was closed temporarily in March after an employ- ee, her husband and another employee’s husband were gunned down by cartel assassins.
—Nick Miroff KASHMIR
Indian security forces fire on protesters
Indian paramilitary forces opened fire Friday on angry anti- India protesters in several parts of the troubled Muslim-majority state of Jammu and Kashmir, kill- ing at least three people, critically injuring a fourth and injuring scores of others.
Violence in the restive Himala-
yan valley initially erupted in the morning, as residents of Srinagar, the summer capital, heeded a sep- aratist call to defy a curfew im- posed across the city. As young men chanting anti-India slogans hurled stones at paramilitary po- lice trying to enforce the curfew, the security forces opened fire, wounding two young men, one critically. News of the clash spread, in- flaming already high tensions,
and fueling violent protests across the Kashmir Valley. In Sopore, more than 1,500 peo- ple clashed with security forces, who opened fire on the crowd, killing a 55-year-old man and a 20-year-old and wounding others —Financial Times
CONGO
90,000 flee violence in eastern conflict Almost 90,000 people have fled
fighting in eastern Congo in the past month, aid agencies said, un- derscoring a worsening security situation despite the official end of Congo’s 1998-2003 war. Conflicts between rebel groups, former militias and army troops simmer in the Democratic Repub- lic of Congo, and more than 1.9 million people are still displaced, up from 1.6 million in 2009. “The displaced are in need of
protection, food, water, shelters, medicine and non-food items,” the Office for the Coordination of Human Affairs, the United Na- tions aid coordination body, said in a statement Friday. The aid agency said nearly 90,000 people have fled their homes in Beni territory in the north of Congo’s North Kivu prov- ince in the past month as a result of the army launching an attack on IslamistUgandan rebels. —Reuters
FRANCE
Letter to embassy contained tear gas
Two men who work for the U.S. Embassy in Paris underwent medical tests after handling a sus- picious letter Friday, the embassy said, and Paris police said it ap- peared they had been exposed to tear gas fumes.
The central laboratory of the
Paris police identified the irritant as tear gas.
—Associated Press
Witnesses report Israeli air- strikes in Gaza: Israel carried out airstrikes on the Gaza Strip on Fri- day after a rocket fired from the Palestinian territory exploded in the city of Ashkelon, local wit- nesses said. Palestinians said Is- raeli aircraft targeted a training camp used by the Islamist group Hamas, which controls Gaza. The Israeli military had no immediate comment.
Strike damages Greek tourism: Greece said Friday it will use mili- tary trucks, navy vessels and com- mandeered fuel tankers to restore gasoline supplies cut by a strike that has hurt the country’s indus- try and vital tourism trade at the height of vacation season. —From news services
farmer, described a scene in which hundreds stood on the shore and helplessly watched old men, women and children float by in the raging current. There was no sign of a government res- cue effort, he said. A Pakistani military spokes- man, Brig. Gen. Azmat Ali, said that troops had been deployed to every major affected area and had rescued thousands of people.
Nearly all the soldiers in the Swat Valley, which was retaken from the Taliban after a major offen- sive last year, had been temporar- ily assigned to flood relief duty, he said. The valley was among the areas inundated by water, as swollen rivers jumped their banks and tore through adjacent towns and villages. Ali said the emergency re- sponse efforts would be “of a very short duration” and would not detract from the military’s anti- Taliban operations. Authorities were hopeful Friday that the wa- ters would soon start to recede. Still, many residents had little time to waste. “We are pleading for the government to take our families out of the floodwater,” said Adil Khan, who was strand- ed with relatives near the north- western city of Peshawar. “We don’t want food or anything else — just take us to a safer place.” The flooding follows the crash
of a Pakistani commercial jet Wednesday, an accident in which the weather is thought to have played a role. The crash of the Air Blue flight into the Margalla Hills on the outskirts of Islamabad left 152 people dead in the worst avia- tion disaster in Pakistan’s history.
witteg@washpost.com
Khan, a special correspondent, reported from Peshawar.
U.S. troop deaths in Afghan war
Monthly totals in locations participating in Operation Enduring Freedom, including Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan.
December 2009: Obama announces additional 30,000 troops.
Obama takes office
JULY 30: 66
JULY 30: 66
As of As of
SATURDAY, JULY 31, 2010
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