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August 13, 2009

Ex-Afghan President Survives Taliban Ambush
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Police say Taliban fighters attacked Berhanuddin Rabbani's convoy with
rocket-propelled grenades, gunfire Thursday in Kunduz province 
Berhanuddin Rabbani (File photo)Former Afghan President Berhanuddin
Rabbani has survived a Taliban ambush in northern Afghanistan, an area
that has seen a recent rise in militant attacks. Afghan police say
Taliban fighters attacked Mr. Rabbani's convoy with rocket-propelled
grenades and gunfire Thursday in the Ali Abad district of Kunduz
province. They say no one in the convoy was hurt, but the attackers
suffered casualties in a battle with bodyguards and police. Mr. Rabbani
is a supporter of Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah - a
main challenger to incumbent President Hamid Karzai in elections on
August 20. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack on Mr.
Rabbani. The militants have vowed to disrupt the vote. In the Kunduz
district of Archi, Afghan police and insurgents fought each other for a
second day. Officials say eight insurgents and two policemen were
killed. Militants had killed the district's police chief earlier this
week. In southern Afghanistan Wednesday, suspected Taliban militants set
off three roadside bombs that killed 14 Afghan civilians and one U.S.
soldier. In one incident, a bomb struck a minivan in the Gereshk
district of Helmand province Wednesday, killing 11 members of one
family. Only a young girl survived. In another, a bomb blast in
neighboring Kandahar province killed three boys while they were playing.
A third roadside bombing in southern Afghanistan killed the U.S.
soldier. No other details of the incident were available. U.S. Marines
and Afghan soldiers have been fighting to secure parts of the south
ahead of next week's vote.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, Reuters and AP.


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