DVIDSHUB has added a photo to the pool: Lt. Col. Kevin Yandura, a NATO Air Training Command - Afghanistan advisor, talks with two young Afghan children during a humanitarian assistance mission. (Photo by: MC1 Elizabeth Burke) 438th Air Expeditionary Wing Date Taken:05.17.2010 Location:KABUL INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, AF Related Photos: dvidshub.net/r/lbrhm2

the_dude771 has added a photo to the pool: Taken during my deployment in Herat, Afghanistan 2011.

raytoei@gmail.com has added a photo to the pool:

OSProductions has added a photo to the pool: -3,0-+3 Exposures and processed in Photomatix.

Kabul weekly nearing its end By FAHEEM DASHTY In journalism, the most important or breaking news stories go on the front page. While this is a column, I wanted to share with readers on the front page my decision to close down the Kabul Weekly.Nearly nine years ago to the date the Kabul Weekly published its first issue. It was just a few weeks after the surrender of the Taliban regime and we were among the first independent media outlets to hit the newsstands. As editor-in-chief, I am not embarrassed but I am upset that we cant keep going on. Its a personal loss, and I know it will be one of my biggest regrets. I can confidently say that this paper is one of the few independent media outlets in the country. We have never accepted editorial instructions from any agency, group or entity. My colleagues at this newspaper can attest to this fact, and our long-time readers can too. We have always tried to stand on the side of the countrys national interests.The decision to stop publication is...

peretzp has added a photo to the pool: The White Mountains. A view south from the deck of the Taj Mahal Guest House.

Island-Life has added a photo to the pool: It's not uncommon to see minor mistakes that can lead to the quick and needless death of an individual during the first few seconds of an enemy engagement. I've seen many of these mistakes throughout my travels here in Afghanistan - can someone tell me what the mistake is this young Afghan security contractor is making? The man pictured bending over with his AK slung around his back isn't working for the Afghan National Army or the Afghan National Police. The man is working for a private security company out of the United States. Usually there is one U.S. Citizen in charge of a team of Local Nationals (LN) with Nepalese supervisors. The particular company this LN was working for is a piss poor excuse of a security company and should have its contract with the U.S. Government taken away ASAP! I flew out to an area to conduct a security assessment of a specific site and had the misfortune to find the above mentioned contracting com...

Island-Life has added a photo to the pool: I have no idea what he was doing. He stood at the edge of the street watching passing vehicles trying to get a few to stop by rasing his left hand out in the air as if trying to call a taxi. What the bag he was holding is for I don't know. I was across the street watching, taking photos and he just kept staring at me with these sad, defeated eyes. I wanted to walk over to him and introduce myself and who him his image on the LCD of my DSLR. He kept staring at me like he was begging for something - food, money? I don't know. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't walk across the street to ask him. Only a few feet separated us, but it may as well have been a thousand miles. That's how far apart our two worlds were. So close, yet so far away. An imaginary line; on one side dirt poor poverty, hunger, malnutrition, mean and angry adults; and on the other, so much food pounds of it literally go to garbage cans daily, money is abundant ...

OSProductions has added a photo to the pool:

Island-Life has added a photo to the pool: ...come on in! Be careful, though! If you have eye protection wear it; it gets bright in here at times! It also gets very dark... Watch your step, don't touch anything, keep quiet, listen and learn. Who knows, you just may have a good time. But be warned... Things can get really bad real fast! So be alert and pay attention, for horrible things can come without warning when you least expect them. Be prepared! Now lets go... ___________________________________________________________________ Photo taken by me in Afghanistan in 2010 using a Canon 7D with 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM.

DVIDSHUB has added a photo to the pool: An Afghan woman sells pottery at a women vendor only bazaar in Kabul, Afghanistan, Jan. 28, 2011. The NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan supported bazaar empowers women to take charge of their economic security and be independent in what is otherwise a male dominated society. NATO Training Mission Afghanistan Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Ernesto Hernandez Fonte Date Taken:01.28.2011 Location:KABUL, AF Related Photos: dvidshub.net/r/qspuhh

DVIDSHUB has added a photo to the pool: U.S. Army Sgt. Leo Pins of Dyersville, Iowa, an infantryman with Headquarters Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry Regiment, Task Force Ironman, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, Task Force Red Bulls provides security for fellow soldiers as they conduct a key leader engagement, Laghman province, Afghanistan, Jan. 21, 2011. Combined Joint Task Force 101 Photo by Spc. Kristina Gupton Date Taken:01.21.2011 Location:BAGRAM AIRFIELD, AF Related Photos: dvidshub.net/r/8h69c5

An Afghan National Police Officer takes a moment to pose for my camera. View on black! :) It may look like the weapon is Photoshoped in however, it is not. I removed the background in Photoshop then processed the photo into BW with Corel Paint Shop Pro X3. I kind of like it. His uniform makes me think of Vietnam. I like the color version of this photo too. I may upload a second just like this but in color with a white background. Photo taken by me in Afghanistan using a Canon 7D with 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM.

DVIDSHUB has added a photo to the pool: A fire rages on Forward Operating Base Kalagush, Nuristan province Dec. 28. The fire started when fuel was struck during a mortar attack on the base. Company C, 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry Regiment, Task Force Ironman soldiers fought the fire but lost their maintenance building in the process. The Waterloo Fire Rescue in Waterloo, Iowa, donated two fire fighting suits to the volunteer firefighters from Iowa stationed at FOB Kalagush. The suits will enable them to extinguish a fire more quickly in the future. TF Ironman is a part of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, TF Red Bulls of the Iowa National Guard. Combined Joint Task Force 101 Date Taken:12.28.2010 Location:NURISTAN PROVINCE, AF Related Photos: dvidshub.net/r/8s8ewx

DVIDSHUB has added a photo to the pool: Cpl. Patrick Kelley, a non-commissione officer with Civil Affairs attached to 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, Regimental Combat Team 2, walks through the bazaar during a patrol in Musa Qaleh, Jan. 25. During the patrol the Marines checked on a water canal currently under construction. The water canal will channel rain water away from the bazaar to protect shops from flooding during the rainy season. Regimental Combat Team-2, 1st Marine Division Public Affairs Photo by Lance Cpl. Joshua Hines Date Taken:01.25.2011 Location:MUSA QALEH, AF Related Photos: dvidshub.net/r/pn5jdy

Photo: Akmal Dawi/IRIN Wheat is the most important food crop in Afghanistan KABUL, 26 January 2011 (IRIN) - Up to 500,000 tons of wheat will be stockpiled in different parts of Afghanistan in anticipation of a mid-level drought later this year, with the aim of assisting vulnerable communities, stabilizing food prices and preventing shortages, officials told IRIN. We plan to store 500,000 tons of wheat - sufficient for 10 percent of the population for one year - in our strategic reserves, said Majeed Qarar, a spokesman for the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL). About 75,000 tons of wheat (surplus from 2010 domestic production procured by the government) is already in strategic stockpiles and 250,000 tons will be imported from India in line with a deal signed in 2010, he said. Afghanistan may have to look elsewhere, however, as India, which has its own food security concerns, could soon impose another wheat export ban . The Afghanistan Nati...

DVIDSHUB has added a photo to the pool: Seaman Stephen Wescott, assigned to 1st squad, 2nd platoon, Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 2, gives candy to children during a patrol. The Marines conduct daily security patrols to decrease enemy presence in the surrounding area. The 5th Marine Regiment is deployed in Helmand province to support the International Security Assistance Force. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Dexter S. Saulisbury) Navy Visual News Service Date Taken:01.13.2011 Location:HELMAND PROVINCE, AF Related Photos: dvidshub.net/r/9j63tp

Island-Life has added a photo to the pool: Now here's something you don't see every day! Look at the vehicle on its side built into the wall. I really like that! :-)D You know, I'm hanging by a thread - a thread that has been weakened day after day, month after month, for about 15 of them now. I don't belong where I'm at, doing what it is I'm doing; stuck behind the these concrete walls with others - of whom, 99.9 percent only care about one thing; the money they make working as a contractor in a war zone. I need to be out with the Afghan people! I hope to survive only three more months. Three more months and I'm out! And when I say "survive", I'm not talking about surviving Taliban rockets, mortars, IEDs or bullets - but rather the political, bureaucratic bullshit that rules the day over common sense. And the simple, ugly truth of the matter is, this type of threat is sometimes a much greater danger than the Taliban could ever pose, as if we...

DVIDSHUB has added a photo to the pool: An Afghan national drives his heavily laden tractor alongside a mounted patrol (not shown) conducted by Marine of the Personal Security Detail, 1st Marine Logistics Group (Forward), through the Garmser District, Helmand province, Afghanistan, Jan. 6, 2011. 1st MLG (FWD) Marines conduct logistical operations throughout the province in support of the International Security Assistance Force. 1st Marine Logistics Group Public Affairs Photo by Sgt. Brandon Owen Date Taken:01.06.2011 Location:AF Related Photos: dvidshub.net/r/fsnomt

DVIDSHUB has added a photo to the pool: Marines with 8th Engineer Support Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group (Forward), convoy through a busy bazaar in Marjah, Helmand province, Afghanistan, Jan. 11, 2011. 8th ESB Marines provide engineering support for coalition forces throughout the province in support of the International Security Assistance Force. 1st Marine Logistics Group Public Affairs Photo by Sgt. Brian Lautenslager Date Taken:01.11.2011 Location:MARJAH, AF Related Photos: dvidshub.net/r/jssylu

Last Tuesday Italian Defence Ministry reported the death of the 36th Italian soldier in Afghanistan. The declaration of the Italian Defence Ministry stated that on 18th January this year, in a terrorist attack at the combined Italian and Afghan army base in the Bala Murghab District of Badghis province, a low ranking officer of the Italian army was killed and another was seriously wounded. But at the funeral of Luca Sanna in Italy, news spread that the soldier's death occurred at the hands of an Afghan colleague. Italian Prime Minister, Mr. Silvio Berlusconi, announced at a press conference, This news is really tragic for our people because our youth, who are in Afghanistan to help the Afghan people, are now being attacked and killed by members of the Afghan army who are also our colleagues. He added that an emergency meeting of the Italian parliament may be called regarding this issue, and provided the Italian parliament consented, all Italian soldiers would be withdrawn from ...

Ryuugakusei has added a photo to the pool:

The Wall Street Journal recently published an article entitled An Upbeat Afghan Story by Lara Pellegrinelli, a NPR (National Public Radio) Freelance Contributor and Harvard University PhD graduate in Ethnomusicology. Pellegrinelli focuses on the newly established Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM) headed by Ahmad Sarmast and the impact of music in Afghan society. The piece is a feel good story that sheds light on the music of Afghanistan that continues to thrive, despite being oppressed by Islamists. Pellegrinelli quotes Ahmad Sarmast and two top Western experts on Afghan music, Lorraine Sakata, professor emeritus of ethnomusicology at UCLA and John Baily, professor emeritus of ethnomusicology at Goldsmiths, University of London. Yet the her story misses and misrepresents a number of key facts. Here are four that prominently standout: 1. Ahmad Sarmast’s late father, Salim Sarmast, was a renowned composer, orchestra conductor and teacher at the Musical High School of Kabul,...

Spc. Timothy Leary pulls security on a water tower while members of Provincial Reconstruction Team Zabul perform a quality assurance, quality control site visit to the Shah Joy bazaar, Jan. 18. Provincial Reconstruction Team Zabul Photo by Staff Sgt. Brian Ferguson Date Taken:01.18.2011 Location:SHAH JOY, AF

A Navy F-18 Hornet flies over the skies of Afghanistan as it waits to be refueled by a KC-135 Stratotanker from the 379th Expeditionary Refueling Squadron. The KC-135 was operated by an aircrew deployed from the 18th Air Refueling Squadron, McConnell AFB, Kan. U.S. Air Forces Central Public Affairs Photo by Master Sgt. Adrian Cadiz Date Taken:01.19.2011

An Afghan boy smiles and laughs as U.S. Army soldiers assigned to Company A, 1st Special Troops Battalion, Task Force Spartan, stop and chat during a recent patrol in Bodi Kot in eastern Afghanistan's Nangarhar

This is what a typical Kabul hillside street looks like on a Friday, the Muslim Holy day. You can see Kolola Pushta Fortress on the hill in the center top and Wazir Akbar Khan in the upper right corner.

Traffic circles are quite common in Kabul, although traffic discipline is somewhat lacking. Here an Afghan policeman is standing on his pedestal in the center of the circle directing traffic - with his hands in his pockets, confident that the presence of the police (green trucks) and Humvee will provide the necessary incentive to the drivers.

There is still need for security forces like these.

A malnourished boy awaiting for his portion of food, an incentive used to convince parents to allow children to go to a tent-based school run by one of few agencies working in slums of Kabul. December 2010, Afghanistan. There are many children living in squat settlements, shanty towns and slums of Kabul. Most of them are deprived access to education, to food enough times a day, to safety of usual childhood. Many work or beg on streets trying to support family, gather garbage, get beaten, witness cruelty of war. In the Kabul slums 40% of them die before reaching their 5th birthday.

Farooq Wardmak , the Afghan education minister and a key ally of President Hamid Karzai, claims that the Taliban leadership no longer opposes education for girls . read more

Photo: Masoomi/IRIN Little has be done to stop the use of children by armed groups KABUL, 20 January 2011 (IRIN) - Pro-government militias in parts of Afghanistan are believed to be recruiting underage boys and sometimes sexually abusing them in an environment of criminal impunity, local people and human rights organizations say. In a bid to counter the intensifying insurgency, the Afghan government and US/NATO forces have been setting up controversial community-based militias, such as the Afghan Local Police, in insecure provinces. To date, thousands of men have been recruited to such bodies in Kunduz, Baghlan and Kandahar provinces, says the Interior Ministry. The militias and commanders are hiring young, underage boys in their ranks for different illicit purposes, said Haji Abdul Rahim, a tribal elder in the southern province of Kandahar. Another elderly man, Khan Mohammad, accused pro-government militias of kidnapping teenage boys primarily for sexual exploitation. The Afghanistan ...

Reporters Without Borders condemns the assault yesterday on a leading journalist and writer who was the victim of an acid attack as he left his home in the Afghan capital Kabul. Razaq Mamoon, who works for several media outlets and presents a program on the independent station Tolo TV, was taken to the military hospital in the capital. Doctors say though he is suffering from first-degree burns his injuries are not life-threatening and that his sight is not in danger. "Reporters Without Borders calls on the Afghan authorities to conduct a thorough inquiry and to guarantee the safety of the journalist, the press freedom organization says. We have already identified a dozen or so cases of violence against Afghan journalists for 2011. The authors and originators of this barbarous act must be swiftly identified and arrested. Kabul police chief Zaher Mohammad told reporters that there had been no arrests in the case but the police were following up serious leads. An acid attack is ...

In President Barak Obama's last two secret, night visits to Afghanistan, he projected a growing fear of the Taliban and a lack of confidence in his 120,000 troops to protect him. He displayed a lack of baraka (which is the Arabic/Swahili root term from which his first name is derived). Baraka has many meanings including the spiritual force that surrounds a successful person. On December 3, 2010, President Barak Obama flew 14 hours in secret to Afghanistan for a visit with the troops and with President Hamid Karzai, but he failed to accomplish the latter. After flying into Bagram Air Base at 8:30 p.m. on a pitch-black night with no moon, a determination was made that it was too dangerous to make the short 30 minute drive into Kabul. In a slap at U.S. forces, the U.S. commander in chief apparently concluded that his 120,000 troops in Afghanistan were incapable of protecting him from the Taliban. This on one of the safest roads in Afghanistan. Less than four hours later, after givin...

Photo: Jacob Simkin/MACCA Deminers say they are widely respected as neutral humanitarians KABUL, 18 January 2011 (IRIN) - Taliban insurgents and other armed groups as well as criminal gangs in Afghanistan have been deliberately targeting demining NGOs, particularly in the volatile southern provinces, says the Afghanistan NGO Safety Office ( ANSO ). At least 10 deminers were killed, 23 injured and 12 abducted in 2010, said ANSO. ANSOs figures differed from those supplied to IRIN by the UN-affiliated Mine Action Coordination Center for Afghanistan (MACCA), which said 17 deminers were killed, 35 injured and 73 abducted in 2010. Most commonly it [insurgent opposition to demining activities] is simply to do with them clearing areas that the IEA [Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan] wants to leave untouched perhaps because they laid the field, or benefit from it not being usable by other forces, ANSO director Nic Lee told IRIN. In some instances, attacks on demine...

KABUL Monday, January 17, 2011 (IRIN) - The Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) is always keen to get more funding but is unwilling to take money from some major donors for fear its impartiality could be compromised.

Photo: Akmal Dawi/IRIN Rising fuel prices fuel food and medicine price hikes badly affecting the poor (file photo) KABUL, 13 January 2011 (IRIN) - A sharp rise in fuel prices caused by a recent Iranian fuel export ban, against a backdrop of rising global fuel prices, has bumped up food and medicine prices across Afghanistan, prompting concerns about the welfare of millions of vulnerable Afghans this winter. Petrol and diesel prices have jumped 10-15 percent (with petrol rising from 45 to 55-58 afghanis a litre) since Iran blocked hundreds of Afghan fuel tankers on its border over two weeks ago. Afghanistan gets 30-40 percent of its fuel from or via Iran, according to the Afghan Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI). Tehran’s ambassador in Kabul, Fida Hussein Maliki, said his government wants to control fuel exports to or via Afghanistan to ensure that NATO and US military forces in Afghanistan are not using the fuel. NATO and Afghan officials say the ...

KABUL Tuesday, January 11, 2011 (IRIN) - The Afghan Health Ministry has advised people to avoid using plastic bags, particularly for food, saying they carry health and environmental risks.

A senior Taliban leader was among 15 militants killed by NATO and Afghan forces in northern Afghanistan, an official said Monday. The operation was conducted in Dasht-e-Archi district of Kunduz province Sunday night. 'Last night, 15 Taliban fighters, including a shadow district governor, were killed in a joint operation of Afghan and coalition forces,' said Abdul Rahman Sayedkhili, the provincial police chief. The district Taliban shadow governor for Khanabad district in northern Kunduz was identified as Mawlawi Zahir, according to the police chief. Taliban insurgents have been operating 'shadow' administrations in all 34 provinces of Afghanistan since the start of the US-led war in 2001 that ousted the Taliban government from Kabul. The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force said it had targeted a Taliban leader in Kunduz, killing more than 10 armed insurgents and detaining two suspected combatants. 'In addition to being the Khanabad district leader, the ...

Energy starved India believes Afghanistan can play a crucial role as a major energy trade and transit hub in the future and could act as a energy bridge between Central and South East Asia. External Affairs Minister S M Krishna discussed the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India pipeline with the Afghan leadership during his recently concluded two-day visit to Kabul. The pipeline would offer a major financial stimulus to war-ravaged Afghanistan in the form of transit fees and could transform Afghanistan into a major energy transit and trade hub, said a highly placed source. New Delhi believes that unlike the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline which is fraught with security, costing and fears of sanctions, the TAPI is more viable and has more explicit clauses of uninterrupted gas supply. The participation of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan in the consortium is also making New Delhi more comfortable in going ahead with 1,080-mile-long pipeline which would carry gas from Turkmenistan through Afg...

Afghanistan has assured India that it will continue to provide security to the Indian mission in Kabul and it interests to the "best of its ability". Well placed sources said that the Afghan Government has conveyed this message to External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna during interactions held over the weekend. Recently, the Indian embassy in Kabul and four consulates in Afghanistan were put on high alert following intelligence inputs that militants may be preparing for a strike on Indian establishments. Currently, around 4500 Indians are working in Afghanistan under constant threat, especially from the Pakistan-backed Haqqani network. Pakistan is wary of India's growing presence and goodwill in Afghanistan and experts believe that Islamabad wants to establish its strategic depth and undercut India's efforts in that war-torn country. Over the course of nearly seven years, India has pumped in aid worth 1.3 billion dollars for infrastructure projects, capacity building ...

Former Miss England Corporal Katrina Hodge, who returned to army life after her stint as a beauty queen, faces deployment to Afghanistan. Hodge, dubbed Combat Barbie, swapped active service for the glitz and glamour of the catwalk when she took the title last January. But three months later, when her tour of duty as Miss England came to an end, she joined a new regiment and was thrown back into army life. And now the beauty is preparing for a possible tour of the war-torn country as early as next year. The married soldier, decorated for her bravery in Basra, has insisted she was glad to be back in the forces and ready to take on the challenge. "At the end of the day, it's my job. If that's what I've got to do, then that's what I've got to do," the Scotsman quoted her as saying. "It's hard to be excited about going to Afghanistan, but it's the reality of our job. Our job is be out there, protecting our country," added the 24-year-old beaut...

US Vice President Joe Biden arrived Monday in Afghanistan for an update on the progress in the war against the Taliban and Al Qaeda. Biden met with the top US commander, General David Petraeus, and Ambassador Karl Eikenberry shortly after landing. On Tuesday, Biden is to meet with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Biden's visit comes months before President Barack Obama plans to begin withdrawing some of the roughly 100,000 US troops in Afghanistan. The White House has set a timeframe of July for beginning withdrawals that will be 'conditions-based', a senior US official told reporters accompanying Biden. The US and NATO have targeted 2014 as the date to hand lead responsibility for security to the Afghan government. The White House released a report in December saying progress has been made in the year since Obama ordered more than 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, but that there are still severe challenges.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is in Afghanistan on a surprise visit. Biden met with the commander of international troops in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, and US Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry before landing in Kabul. "The primary purpose of the trip is to assess progress toward the transition to Afghan-led security beginning this year and to demonstrate the United States' commitment to a long-term partnership with Afghanistan," the White House said in a statement, adding that Vice-President Biden would also call on Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday. There are about 97,000 American troops serving in Afghanistan as part of a 140,000-strong international force. It is expected that Biden will discuss with Karzai the progress that had been made as well as work that needed to be done before Afghan forces take charge of security. Biden last visited Afghanistan in January 2009. (ANI)

Pakistan has postponed for an indefinite period a full-scale military offensive against the extremist Haqqani network in the North Waziristan tribal region bordering Afghanistan because of the freezing winter, a media report said Tuesday. However, US pilot-less aircraft will continue to target Taliban 'sanctuaries' in North Waziristan and elsewhere in the tribal belt as the only available options to weaken the insurgents, a source told The Express Tribune. This is notwithstanding Pakistan's official position that US drone attacks are an infringement on its sovereignty and stoke anti-Americanism in the country due to increasing civilian casualties. The Haqqani network, led by aging Maulana Jalaluddin Haqqani and his three sons, is blamed for fuelling an increasingly deadly Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan. The extreme cold weather in the region normally lasts more than six months, the paper said. North Waziristan's terrain is extremely difficult from a logistic point of...

The United States is testing unmanned spy planes that can stay airborne for days on end and survey an area larger than Afghanistan at a single glance. An experimental spy plane with a wingspan almost the size of a Boeing 747 took to the skies over the Mojave Desert last week in a secret test flight that may introduce robotic planes flying higher, faster and with more firepower, the Los Angeles Times said. Powered by liquid hydrogen, the massive Global Observer built by AeroVironment Inc. is capable of flying for a week at 65,000 feet, out of range of most anti-aircraft missiles. Current spy planes can stay airborne for only about 30 hours. The new plane is built to survey 448,000 sq km - an area larger than Afghanistan - at a single glance. That would give the Pentagon an 'unblinking eye' over the war zone and offer a cheaper and more effective alternative to spy satellites watching from outer space, the newspaper said. The estimated $30-million robotic aircraft is one of three...

Photo: Kate Holt/IRIN A female US Marine talks to some children that have arrived at the public medical centre in Garmsir, Helmand Province (file photo)LASHKARGAH, 16 December 2010 (IRIN) - At 4am, Abdul Malek and his pregnant wife were in a rented car heading to Boost Hospital in Lashkargah, capital of southern Helmand Province. The couple decided to leave their home in the Sangeen District as early as possible to avoid roadblocks by pro-government forces or being seen by anti-government forces. When foreign forces block a road, people have to wait for hours and sometimes even a whole day, said Malek, referring to the occasional road closures by NATO forces for de-mining and military investigations. And if were frequently seen by the Taliban on the way to Lashkargah they would get suspicious and may accuse us of spying for the foreigners or working for the government. The Taliban execute people accused of espionage without a fair trial and usually do not allow for meani...