January 18, 2006:
The government blames Pakistan for the two dozen bomb attacks over the last four months. There had been few such attacks before that, and al Qaeda is believed responsible for this new development. Most Afghans believe the Pakistani government tolerates al Qaeda operations inside Pakistan, especially if the terrorists are preparing for operations in Afghanistan. There is some truth to this, as the government tolerates Islamic terrorist organizations that launch attacks in India (particularly Kashmir.) The Pakistani government has cracked down on Islamic terrorists who have attacked Pakistani targets in Pakistan over the last few years, but have been less successful at shutting down Islamic radical operations directed at Afghanistan.
January 17, 2006: The Taliban denied any involvement in yesterday's suicide bombing, and called the attack "un-Islamic."
January 16, 2006: A suicide bomber killed 24 and wounded 30 in the southern city of Spin Boldeck.
January 15, 2006: The government is forming tribal militias to patrol the border with Pakistan. The militiamen will patrol their own tribal territory, which they know well. The payments are for the tribesmen to keep terrorists out, although the government will look the other way if the usual tribal smugglers continue to operate. In Kandahar, a suicide car bomb killed a Canadian diplomat and two Afghan soldiers.
Aggressive patrolling has been regularly catching the Taliban trying to move around. Several Taliban have been killed or captured each day for the past week.
January 14, 2006:In the south, a bomb went off in a crowd celebrating a religious festival, wounding about two dozen. Elsewhere, a former Taliban official was shot dead, apparently by his former Taliban associates. The Taliban is losing popularity because so many of its leaders are going over to the government.
January 13, 2006: In the south, six Taliban were killed when they were caught by an Afghan/Coalition patrol.
January 11, 2006: In the south, a bomb went off in a crowd celebrating a religious festival, but no one was injured.
