October 4, 2005: Britain and Germany are both planning to send thousands of additional troops to Afghanistan, to expand peacekeeping efforts, and give the central government more leverage against warlords, who still hold real power in many parts of the country. The exact number of additional peacekeepers has not been announced, but is expected to be 3-5,000.
October 3, 2005: Over a hundred Taliban crossed over from Pakistan and attacked an army post. The troops defeated the attack, killing some 30 of the Taliban. Several more Taliban were killed when they tried to ambush a supply convoy, but troops and drivers fired back.
October 2, 2005: NATO, the U.S. and Afghanistan have agreed to form a unified military command. NATO troops have largely operated independently of American troops, performing peacekeeping tasks, while U.S. units aggressively sought Taliban and al Qaeda groups in the countryside.
October 1, 2005: Southwest of the capital, another Taliban leader was captured, based on a tip. The man, Gafar, tried to escape by dressing as a woman.
September 30, 2005: Foreign election observers reported that there was some voter fraud in parts of the country where local warlords were well entrenched, and able to bully government officials (to take their places.) The vote was still accurate, overall, but a growth in the fraud could change that.
September 28, 2005: In a rare incident, there was a suicide bomb attack outside a Kabul army camp, killing nine soldiers and wounding nearly 30. The bomb was delivered by a man on a bike. There have been very few suicide bombings in Afghanistan, although several suicide bombers have been caught before they could deliver their bombs. Afghans have generally been quick to pass on information about any foreigners planning terrorist attacks. The last such attack was a year ago.
