British bomb sniffing dog, Theo

A British Army dog that held the record for finding the most bombs and weapons in Afghanistan has died along with his handler in Afghanistan.

Lance Corporal Liam Tasker, of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps and Theo, a 22-month-old springer spaniel cross, were killed as they came under small arm fire in the Nahr-e Saraj district in Helmand Province in Afghanistan.

L-Cpl. Tasker, who was from Scotland, was shot dead and the dog Theo died later from a seizure at Camp Bastion, The Daily Telegraph reports.

Theo acted as "front man" of the patrol and was dedicated to L-Cpl Tasker. Theo, had been on his first six-month tour of duty in Afghanistan with the Military Working Dog Support Unit, based at Camp Bastion.

Girl scouts donate boxes of cookies to troops in Afghanistan

And now for some nice news...

The six members of Girl Scout Troop 728 in Prescott and their troop leaders sent 300 boxes of Girl Scout cookies to troops deployed in Afghanistan last year, and they hope to send more this year.

Jen MacDonald, one of the troop's leaders, said when the girls sell cookies, they always ask if people would like to donate boxes to the troops or the Arizona Pioneers' Home, and many do.

Read full story

New York Army National Guard prepare to deploy to Afghanistan

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Soldiers from a New York Army National Guard unit will be sent to Afghanistan to help train and fight with that nation's military forces.

Read more

Blind soldier climbs Kilimanjaro for charity

A soldier from the West Midlands who was blinded by a Taliban bomb in Afghanistan has spoken of his pride at scaling Africa's highest mountain as part of his battle to raise £8,000 for charity.

Rifleman Paul Jacobs, who was awarded the George Medal for his bravery while serving with 2nd Battalion, The Rifles, said his ascent of Mount Kilimanjaro had left him feeling "as though someone was sitting on my chest".

The 22-year-old, who lives in Stourbridge, West Midlands, has so far raised £2,600 for St Dunstan's, which provides support for blind and visually impaired ex-services personnel.

Read more

NATO forces kill 9 Afghan children

Nine Afghan boys were killed while collecting firewood on Tuesday in what has been described as one of the worst cases of mistaken identity by the International Security Assistance Force.

NATO issued a statement Wednesday apologizing for the killings in Darah-Ye Pech district in Afghanistan's Kunar province. The victims were aged nine to 15 and included two sets of brothers. A tenth boy was injured but survived the aerial attack by helicopter gunners.

The boys had apparently been collecting wood to heat their mountain homes, the New York Times reported.

Read more

Actress Jolie visits Afghanistan

KABUL (AFP) – US film star Angelina Jolie has made a surprise two-day visit to Afghanistan to meet refugees in the war-torn country, the UNHCR refugee agency said Wednesday 2nd March.

Read more

NATO airstrike kills four Afghan security guards

Kabul - A NATO airstrike killed four guards working for a private security company in southern Afghan province of Helmand, officials said Wednesday 2nd March.

One more guard was injured in the strike in Gerishk district on Tuesday, said Mohammad Hakim Andar, provincial police chief. The men were providing security for a road construction firm in the region, he said.

Major Michael Johnson, spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), said a joint investigation with Afghan officials was underway into incident.

The military engaged a group of suspected militants in the area after an ISAF ground patrol was attacked, Johnson said.

'Following the engagement we heard allegations that four security guards were killed,' he said.
'Friendly fire' casualties are not rare in southern Afghanistan. where the militants often operate in the vicinity of local forces.

Taliban are still most active in Helmand and neighbouring Kandahar, despite a reduction in their presence after major operations by NATO forces in the region last year.

Source: Deutsche Presse-Agentur

British troops in Afghanistan face the sack

Almost the entire contingent of Britain’s 10,000 troops in Afghanistan have been told they could be sacked within months after ministers disclosed plans to get rid of one in 10 members of the Armed Forces.

The Ministry of Defence has announced the full scale of redundancies that will take place in the Army, RAF and Royal Navy in an attempt to cut billions of pounds from the department’s budget.

Read full story at The Telegraph

MoD seeks toy-size spy drones for Afghanistan

Contract available worth up to £20m to supply up to 100 miniature drones to improve battlefield surveillance...

Swarms of miniature drones, weighing as little as 200gm (7oz) each, are being sought by the British Ministry of Defence for rapid deployment to improve battlefield surveillance in Afghanistan.

Read full story at The Guardian

Taliban kill four alleged spies in Pakistan

The bodies of four men apparently killed by the Taliban for working as informers for the US, were found Tuesday in Pakistan's lawless tribal zone, officials said.

The bodies of the local men, who had been shot several times, were discovered in the Hamzoni area in the district of North Waziristan, near the Afghan border.

Notes found with the bodies accused the men of spying for the US. 'Anyone spying on the Taliban will face a similar fate,' the text was quoted as saying by an intelligence official.

Authorities said they thought the men were killed overnight and their bodies dumped by the roadside as a warning to the local tribesmen.

'All the dead are locals and belonged to the Muhammad Khel area of Dattakhel,' a second intelligence official said on condition of anonymity.

Source: Afghanistan Sun, 1st March 2011