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Show Utah Statesman NATO forces rack up big body counts in Afghanistan KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - NATO forces killed more than 60 suspected insurgents the last several days in an increasingly volatile southern Afghan province while suffering no casualties, the military alliance said Sunday. Afghanistan's Ministry of Defense said 40 Taliban fighters were killed by NATO airstrikes that "completely destroyed" a militant base in the district of Grishk on Saturday. Maj. Luke Knittig, a NATO spokesman, said the alliance also estimated about 40 fighters were killed. A NATO helicopter, meanwhile, fired on about 20 insurgents attacking a NATO patrol in neighboring Naw Zad district Friday, killing 15 of the rebels, the alliance said. In a third incident, an attack helicopter fired on a group of insurgents who shot at a support helicopter Thursday, killing eight of the militants in nearby Sangin district, the statement said. NATO troops, mostly from Canada and Britain, moved into southern Afghanistan earlier this summer, taking over from a U.S.-led force in a region that in recent months has seen some of the fiercest fighting since the Taliban regime was defeated in late 2001. British Prime Minister Tony Blair, whose country has about 5,000 soldiers in southern Helmand province, said Sunday that NATO's battle with Afghan insurgents has been more difficult than anticipated but must continue. "I think the particular mission was tougher than anyone expected. But I'm not surprised it was tough," Blair said in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp. He said the Taliban and al-Qaida are trying hard to gain control in Afghanistan's south and "it's essential for us to keep them out." Blair's government has had to cope with charges by middle-ranking officers in Afghanistan that ground troops have not received adequate air support and other backing. Adm. Edmund P. Giambastiani Jr., vice chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during a visit to Afghanistan earlier this month that the U.S. military is better able to detect roadside bombs before they detonate thanks in part to the creation of an anti-explosives team. "Now we must work harder every day toward reducing our numbers of causalities from these horrible attacks," said Giambastiani, according to statements released Sunday by the U.S. military. Taliban fighters have increasingly used suicide and roadside bombs to attack Western troops and Afghan civilians. The anti-explosives team focuses on trends, techniques, tactics and procedures used in developing the devices and the information is passed on to troops in the field, the statement said. Giambastiani said the Navy and Air Force are sending electronic warfare officers to Afghanistan and Iraq to work on counter-explosives measures. He said the military planned to purchase route-clearing equipment for use in both Iraq and Afghanistan. NATO has about 20,000 soldiers in Afghanistan, while the United States has an additional 21,000. Democrats target Iraq strategy WASHINGTON (AP) Democrats on Sunday seized on an intelligence assessment that said the Iraq war has increased the terrorist threat, saving it was further evidence that Americans should choose new leadership in the November elections. The Democrats hoped the report would undermine the GOP's image as the party more capable of handing terrorism as the campaign enters its final six-week stretch. Their criticisms came in a collection of statements sent to reporters Sunday amid the disclosure of a National Intelligence Estimate that concluded the war has helped create a new generation of Islamic radicalism and that the overall terrorist threat has grown since the Sept. 11 attacks. The report was completed in April and represented a consensus view of the 16 disparate spy services inside government, according to an intelligence official. The official, confirming accounts first published in Sunday's New York Times and Washington Post, spoke on condition of anonymity on Sunday because the report is classified. "Unfortunately this report is just confirmation that the Bush administration's staythe-course approach to the Iraq war has not just made the war more difficult and more deadly for our troops, but has also made the war on terror more dangerous for every American," said Rep. Rahm Emanuel, head of the Democratic effort to take control of the House. "It's time for a new direction in this country," Emanuel, D-I1L, said in the statement. "Press reports say our nation's intelligence services have confirmed that President Bush's repeated missteps in Iraq and his stubborn refusal to change course have made America less safe," said Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid. "No election-year White House PR campaign can hide this truth." A White House spokesman, Blair Jones, said, "We don't comment on classified documents." But he said the published accounts' "characterization of the NIE is not representative of the complete document." Children's bodies found AP Photo/ Mangalanath A DISPLACED SRI LANKAN ethnic Muslim family takes refuge at a school in Kinniya in Trin coma lee, Sri Lanka, Sunday Sept. 24,2006. Hundreds of Muslim families are fleeing their homes in eastern Sri Lankaamid fears of a Tamil Tiger rebel assault to reclaim territory taken by government forces in recent fighting. Sri Lankan navy slays 70 rebels after 5-hour battle press office confirmed the attack, but had COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) - The Sri no additional details. The rebels were not Lankan navy said Monday it had sunk immediately available for comment. eight Tamil Tiger rebel ships loaded with troops and weapons during afive-hoursea More than 100 rebels were killed in two battle, killing around 70 separatists. separate sea battles earlier this month as Western Wats has increased wages, and we are they reportedly try to reinforce positions It was one of the largest clashes in Sri still willing to work around your schedule. We still Lanka's conflict since weeks offightingin in the east where they lost territory to govoffer weekly pay, a fun work environment, and August left hundreds dead and threatened ernment forces. we'll give you time off for school events, tests, to shatter a 2002 cease-fire agreement. Foreign mediators are struggling to and holidays. Call Cody 753-1303 or stop by The fighting began late Sunday keep alive the four-year old Norwegian22 East Center in Logan, or apply online: night when the navy spotted 25 rebel brokered cease-fire which has unraveled ships sailing south. Navy Cmdr. D. K. P. amid clashes that have killed at least surveynetwork.com/application. Dassanayake told The Associated Press 1,000 combatants and more than 100 "more than 70 cadres are dead" and two civilians since July. other ships, believed to have been transThe Tamil rebels began fighting in 1983 porting arms and ammunition, were burn- for a separate homeland in the north and ing at sea. east for Sri Lanka's largest ethnic minority. They have suffered defeats on both The remaining rebel boats retreated S P E C I A L . EVEIS1HT fronts in the recent escalation and vowed after the hostilities just off the coast of CONFERENCE DANCE XXV the eastern town of Pulmoddai, about 140 to retake land lost to the enemy. FRISEPT29 I SAT SEPT 30 miles from the capital Colombo, he said. Farther down the eastern coast, thouAgos 18+ Ages 25-45 Floor 1-Vorloty Floor 1 - Variety One navy vessel was damaged, injursands of Muslims were fleeing the port Floor 2 Country Ages 18+ ing five sailors, he said. But it had made it town of Mutur, after leaflets were distribFloor 3 - 80's Floor 2 - Latin Floor 3 - BO's uted warning of an imminent rebel attack. ft!back to port. Dance, Karaoka, Pool, Games and Fun) A spokesman at the Defense Ministry's Moved from South Towns Expo A Trolley Alcohol A Smoki-Frat Western Wats 2 8 East eOO South ( 3 L C ) 3000+ people • 9-2 * $12 ; EAST ST. LOUIS, 111. (AP) - A woman .accused of killing a pregnant woman j and her fetus told police she drowned the woman's three young children and stuffed them into a washer and dryer at their apartment, an official said Sunday. Preliminary autopsies on the dead children Sunday appear to show they were drowned, Ace Hart, a deputy St. Clair County coroner, told The Associated Press. As of Sunday, Tiffany Hall, 24, had not been charged in the children's deaths, but prosecutors on Saturday accused Hall of killing their mother, Jimella Tunstall, 23, and her fetus. The fetus had been cut from her womb, authorities said. According to Sunday's autopsies, there were no signs of physical abuse or trauma on the children - ages 7, 2, and 1 - and toxicology tests were pending "to see if they were poisoned or possibly drugged," Hart said. "They were not drowned •1 there in the wash machine," Hart stressed. On Sunday, the community turned to prayer to understand the slayings at a service for the slain family. "This is an opportunity for people to turn to God," said Debra Kenton, a member of the New Life Community Church. "Who else can explain things like this?" Authorities suspect Tunstall was slain on or about Sept. 15. That day, Hall summoned police to a park, saying she had given birth to a stillborn child, Hart said. She was arrested after she told her boyfriend during the baby's funeral that the baby wasn't his and that she had killed the mother to get it, authorities said. Tunstall's body was found Thursday, and authorities began a furious search for her children. Authorities visited Tunstall's apartment Friday but noticed nothing amiss while looking for photographs of the children. I Complete Dental Care • New Patients Welcome! • BETRAYED Keith D. 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They have been disappointed by the performance of units committed to the Baghdad fight. U.S. officers believe the problem has political and sectarian roots: Many of the Iraqi soldiers here are Shiites recruited from the Baghdad area. As the security crackdown focuses on Shiite neighborhoods, Iraqi troops come in contact with fellow Shiites from some of the 23 known militias. That puts great stress on the soldiers, who grew up in a society where respect for religion runs far deeper than for government institutions. "From my perspective, you can't make a distinction between Iraq army Shiites and the religious militias. You have a lot of soldiers and family members swayed and persuaded by the religious leadership," said Col. Greg Watt, who advises one of two Iraqi divisions in the city. He then pointed to the nearby guards of an Iraqi army division commander. "There's no doubt in my mind that he has soldiers who are followers of religious leaders," Watt said. "Are they loyal to the division commander? Yes. But they may be loyal to both." Watt expressed confidence the Iraqi army could win if it came to a pitched battle with militias. "But what the Iraqi army can't do is protect soldiers when they go home, or protect their families," he added. "Its very, very difficult. That's why a solution has to be a political one and not a military one." U.S. military leaders have repeatedly called on Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri alMaliki, a Shiite, to aggressively disband the predominantly Shiite militias, but so far little progress is seen on Baghdad's streets. Most if not all the Shiite militias have ties to the government. Most prominent is the Mahdi Army militia led by al-Sadr. "All the militias we have are represented in parliament, Gen. Abid Amir Rasheed said. |