Word: khost
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...suicide mission unless they thought their leaders were trapped. American forces believe they have identified one "high-value target" in the valley, distinguished by the extent of his protection. Sardar Khan Zadran, a local commander, told TIME that last Wednesday, at a checkpoint on a mountain road leading to Khost, American-trained Afghan militiamen frisked two tribesmen and found an audiotape of bin Laden, some photographs of him, a letter detailing al-Qaeda operations in Afghanistan and a list of local chieftains who are taking bribes. The tape was whisked off to Bagram for analysis. Does Khan think bin Laden...
...soft shale on the ridges is ideal for the construction of caves. One cave, visited last week by a TIME reporter, was at least 36 m deep and high enough to swallow a pickup truck. Many Afghans in Paktia still sympathize with the Taliban and al-Qaeda. Near Khost, the tomb of an al-Qaeda warrior killed by a U.S. bomb while he was praying at a mosque has become a shrine. Local villagers are convinced that the dead man's ghost has healing powers...
...emerging anti-American agitation among Pashtuns is confirmed by the appearance of leaflets called "shabnamas" (night-letters) in Afghan cities such as Kandahar and Jalalabad and in various parts of Khost and Paktia provinces. The authors proclaim "jihad" against foreign troops and urge Afghans to evict the "occupation forces." Some express support for Osama bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Omar, and also threaten serious consequences for Afghans cooperating with...
...casualties inflicted on the U.S. at Shahi Kot to embolden anti-American forces throughout the region. Even before this week's clashes, British peacekeepers had been fired on three times in Kabul, while U.S. forces had come under attack more than once in both Kandahar and Khost. Despite the setbacks at Shahi Kot, however, the U.S. still holds the initiative there, and defeat of Mansoor's troops will presumably be a setback for anti-U.S. forces. Still, there are emerging signs of a new assertiveness on the part of the Taliban and al-Qaeda remnants put to flight last...
There may be more to it than that. A Western diplomat in Kabul says intelligence reports indicate that Iranian agents have been seen around Khost--far to the east of where they were thought to have been most active--buying off tribal commanders in a deliberate effort to undermine Karzai. That's why the Americans thought there were "bad guys" in the region. But nobody supposes that Karzai can demand the application of American force against his rivals whenever he feels like it. "We keep telling [the government], 'Don't cry wolf,'" says a European official in Kabul. "They...