Terrorist group Taliban claimed responsibility for two separate bomb attacks in Afghanistan today that killed eight American CIA employees, five Canadians and an Afghan in a surge of violence in the war-battered country.
The explosion at the Forward Operating Base Chapman base in Khost province on yesterday killed eight American civilians and one Afghan, the worst loss of life for the US in the country since October, Fox News reports.
Separately, four Canadian soldiers and a journalist …

Islamic insurgents were able to use a mass-market software program to view live feeds from US military Predator drones monitoring targets in Iraq, CNN reports.
The breach by Iranian-backed Shiite militants was discovered late last year, according to US military and defence officials. A US official said no US troops or combat missions had been compromised because of the intrusion.
There also is evidence that unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) feeds also have been hacked in Afghanistan, but …

The Ministry of Defence today announced plans to buy 22 new Chinook helicopters to increase air support on the frontline in Afghanistan, the Independent reports, but Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth said the first 10 Chinooks would be completed in 2013
The procurement would increase the UK’s fleet of the heavy-lift helicopters from 48 to 70.
The MoD have not yet agreed a price for the new RAF helicopters with manufacturer Boeing, but it is believed that the …

US President Barack Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo today, but said that others may be “more deserving” of the award, the Daily Telegraph reports.
Obama also defended the US record in Afghanistan and his planned surge of 30,000 military personnel as motivated by his desire to bring peace to the war-torn country.
In his acceptance speech, he hit back at critics of his plan to begin withdrawing US soldiers from Afghanistan in mid-2011, saying …

A bare majority of Americans support President Barack Obama’s plan to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, but many are sceptical that the United States can count on Afghanistan as a partner in the fight or that the escalation would reduce the chances of a domestic terrorist attack, the New York Times reports.
The New York Times/CBS News poll found a 10% increase in public approval of Obama’s handling of the war in Afghanistan since last …

The number of people joining the Army in Scotland has increased by 25 per cent this year, despite the mounting death toll in Afghanistan, The Times reports.
Army chiefs revealed that since April 1,000 recruits have enlisted compared with about 750 during the same period last year. The figures also outstrip the 780 who joined in the year ending in March 2008 and the 850 recruited in the 12 months from April 2008 to March 2009.
Units …

Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai said it will be at least 15 years before the country’s Government can afford an army and police force strong enough to protect the country, the Daily Telegraph reports.
Karzai said that Afghan security forces would take the lead in securing the nation within five years, but that his country would need financial help to pay the salaries and equip the growing number of recruits.
“Afghanistan is looking forward to taking on our …

This year, one hundred British soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan, the bloody milestone came when a soldier from the 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment was shot dead yesterday in a gun battle with Taliban insurgents near the town of Nad-e Ali, in central Helmand Province, the Daily Mail reports.
Since the 2001 invasion, 237 UK servicemen have died in Afghanistan.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, the head of the Armed Forces, said 2009 had …

NATO’s Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that alliance countries will send at least 7,000 extra troops to support the US surge in Afghanistan, the BBC reports.
“At least 25 countries will send more forces to the mission in 2010,” he promised.
Earlier, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described the response from NATO allies as “positive”, but some major countries are holding back. France and Germany, for instance, have not yet committed to sending extra troops.
Earlier …

A Taliban detainee in Pakistan claims to have information about Osama bin Laden’s whereabouts in January or February of this year, saying that he saw a trusted contact who had seen bin Laden in Afghanistan, the BBC reports.
His claims cannot be verified but a leading American expert says his account should be investigated.
The detainee says that earlier this year he met a trusted contact who had seen Bin Laden 15 to 20 days earlier across …

The father of a soldier killed in Afghanistan received a condolence letter from Prime Minister Gordon Brown almost two years after his son died, the Daily Telegraph reports.
Trooper Jack Sadler, 21, of the Honourable Artillery Company, was killed on 4th December, 2007, when his vehicle was caught up in a blast in Helmand Province. But his father Ian received a handwritten letter from Brown on 17th November, 2009, accompanied by a typed apology from an …

The head of the Army, General Sir David Richards delivered a rebuke to Prime Minister Gordon Brown and US President Barack Obama’s hopes of an early exit from Afghanistan, saying that it was “lightly false” to view plans to send extra 30,000 troops as paving the way for a withdrawal, and that British soldiers would be engaged in offensive operations in the country for five more years, the Daily Mail reports.
Brown has said the UK …

US President Barack Obama intends to conclude the Afghanistan mission and withdraw most US troops within three years, the CNN reports.
Obama is also sending 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan and ordering military officials to get the reinforcements there within six months.
The conflict in Afghanistan has claimed the lives of more than 900 Americans and nearly 600 allied troops.

US President Barack Obama will announce tonight that he is sending 30,000 more US troops to Afghanistan to be deployed over the next six months, Fox News reports.
The President also plans to discuss an end-game for US involvement in Afghanistan that will have a specific timeline for withdrawing “surge” forces with a number and date attached.
Military officials said at least one group of Marines is expected to deploy within two or three weeks of Obama’s …

Prime Minister Gordon Brown today announced that Britain’s total military effort in Afghanistan will increase to over 10,000 troops, the Press Association reports.
In a detailed Commons statement, Brown confirmed that all the conditions had been met to allow an extra 500 troops to be deployed in December – taking the force level to 9,500. He also disclosed that when special forces were included, the “total military effort” in Afghanistan will be in excess of 10,000 …

Actor Gary Sinise and his band, the Lt Dan Band, will travel to Afghanistan to perform for US troops at three military bases during Thanksgiving week.
Entertainers joining Sinise on the United Service Organisations (USO) tour include model/TV host Leeann Tweeden, actress Kristy Swanson, comedian Kevin Farley, and actor Mykelti Williamson, all of whom will also entertain US troops.
Although Sinise has made several handshake tours to both Iraq and Afghanistan, this trip will mark the …