The Pakistani government has announced a "crackdown" on the 30,000 plus Afghan refugees it estimates are living in the troubled Bajaur Agency. Pakistan gave the refugees a three day deadline to return to Afghanistan which expired this weekend. The director general...
Turkish Military Accuses Iraqi Kurds of Aiding Rebels
In the wake of Saturday's bloody clash between the Turkish army and Kurdish rebels, Iraq's central government has promised to cooperate with Turkey against the rebels and the regional government of Iraqi Kurdistan issued a condemnation of the rebel ambush. Turkish...
“Furious” Taliban Said to Move Aggressively After US Strike
The toll of Friday's US air strike in North Waziristan has risen to 24, and according to residents and Pakistani officials Taliban in the area are unusually upset over the strike, which has led to speculation that a high ranking militant may have been among those...
Tensions Remain High as Russian Pullout From Georgia Appears on Track
Georgia's Interior Ministry reports that Russia has begun dismantling posts in the buffer zone between Georgia and the breakaway enclaves of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which has also been confirmed by a spokesman for the EU monitors entering the zone. European...
US Raid Kills 11 Members of Mosul Family
US forces conducted a dawn raid on a house in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul in which they believed a "suspected insurgent" was hiding. When the clash was over, 11 members of a single Iraqi family were dead. The US wasn't specific about the nature of the deaths,...
Opposition Condemns Saakashvili as a Rights Abuser
In another embarrassing incident at a time when the Bush Administration is pressing for NATO membership for Georgia, key members of the Caucasus nation's opposition have launched an attack on President Mikheil Saakashvili, condemning him as an anti-democratic human...
Is US Threatening to Seize Iraqi Assets if They Don’t Sign Pact?
An unverified report quotes Iraqi President Jalal Talibani as claiming that the United States has "threatened to use any means to seize Iraqi assets if we do not support the security pact." The quote reportedly comes from the Arabic language Marsadiraq, by way of...
British Envoy: Prepare Public for “Acceptable Dictator” in Afghanistan
Investigative French weekly magazine La Canard Enchaîné has obtained a leaked copy of a coded diplomatic message from French diplomat Jean-François Fitou. The message, sent on September 2nd, gives an account of a previous meeting with British Ambassador to Afghanistan...
At Least 21 Killed in US Strike in North Waziristan
A US missile strike destroyed a house in a North Waziristan village today, killing at least 21 people according to a senior Pakistani official. Of the 21, a local official said 16 of them foreigners. He also added that the house belonged to two Afghan refugees who...
Taliban Rejects Karzai Call for Talks
Afghan President Hamid Karzai gave an interview on Pakistani television in which he implored Taliban leader Mullah Omar to return to the country and compete in the next presidential election. Karzai promised to be "wholly solely responsible for his safety." But top...