UN attack Afghanistan: two suspects in custody

KABUL - Afghan officials claim they have in custody two insurgents suspected of involvement in the killing of seven United Nations workers in Mazar-i-Sharif on 1st April.

Reports claim an Afghan government team investigating the attack has identified three men thought to be involved in the killings. An investigator with the Interior Ministry, Mohammad Akbari, said two of the suspects were in possession of a rifle used in the attack.

The UN employees killed in the attack are: Siri Skare (a Norwegian military officer); Joakim Dungel (a Swedish lawyer) and Filaret Motco (a Romanian citizen). Also killed were four Gurkha security guards.

9 more dead in Koran burning riots

KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghans rioted for a second day Saturday to protest the burning of a Quran in Florida, killing nine people in Kandahar and injuring more than 80 in a wave of violence that underscored rising anti-foreign sentiment after nearly a decade of war.

The desecration at a small U.S. church has outraged Muslims worldwide, and in Afghanistan it further strained ties with the West. On Friday, 11 people were killed, including seven foreign U.N. employees, in a protest in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif.

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Foreign UN workers killed

Mazar-i-Sharif : Eight foreign employees of the United Nations were killed on Friday 1st April 2011 in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif after protesters over-ran their compound, police said, in what looks to be the deadliest ever assault on the UN in Afghanistan.

Two of the dead were beheaded by attackers who also burned parts of the compound and climbed up blast walls to topple a guard tower, said Lal Mohammad Ahmadzai, a police spokesman for the northern region.

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Finnish soldier injured by grenade

A Finnish peacekeeper in Afghanistan was injured on Tuesday 15th March in an accident involving a grenade launcher of his own forces. He was struck in the back by a grenade, which did not explode. 

The incident occurred at Camp Northern Lights in Mazar-i-Sharif.

The man's condition is not critical. However, he is due to be evacuated to Finland on Wednesday because of the recovery time his injuries require, according to the armed forces.

Commenting on the incident to YLE news, Colonel Eero Pyötsiä from the Pori brigade said that the man had not suffered serious injuries.

The accident took place just as the Finnish troops were heading off to a firing range. The details of what led to the accident remain unclear.

Luckily the grenade did not explode, and the peacekeeper was wearing a bulletproof vest. Following the accident, the man was taken to a German field hospital in Mazar-i-Sharif.

The weapon in question fires 40 calibre grenades, which can penetrate a five centimetre iron wall when they explode. The safety catch in the weapon prevented the explosion of the grenade.

YLE