Loya Jirga
October 26, 2011
At least 10 civilians were killed and two dozen injured when a bomb stuck with a magnet to the side of a fuel tanker exploded on Wednesday. Officials in the Do Sadaka area of Bagram district north of Kabul said the bomb exploded as people approached the truck to collect fuel. A second explosion also took place but it was not clear what had caused it. The injured people suffered severe burns and were in critical condition in hospital, the governor of Parwan province said.
Attacks have stepped up in northern Afghanistan since the assassination last month of former Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani who had been tasked with brokering peace with the Taliban.
Nobody claimed immediate responsibility for the attack that took place just as Afghanistan's local government directorate announced areas expected to be handed over from NATO to Afghan forces as part of a second phase of transition due to end across the country in 2014. Parwan is one of the provinces likely to be announced by President Hamid Karzai next month.
Post-2014 strategy
Kabul and Washington have yet to agree on cooperation after 2014 when NATO and US troops are due to end their combat operations. According to an anonymous official, the two sides are supposed to draw up a treaty to decide on aid money, military cooperation and the activities the US will be allowed to perform in Afghanistan.
Earlier this year, President Karzai had said the US wanted to establish permanent bases to target al Qaeda and Taliban hideouts in the region. He was later corrected by US officials who said there was talk of a long-term military presence that could last 25 years.
Political activists in Kabul are opposed to an agreement allowing such bases to be built. The US embassy spokesman Gavin Sundwall has said there is no interest in "establishing permanent US military bases in Afghanistan."
A Loya Jirga to discuss peace
Afghan officials have also announced that an assembly will be held next month to discuss the strategic partnership with the US, as well as peace talks with the Taliban.
Over 1,000 tribal elders, politicians, civil society leaders and activists are due to participate in the traditional Loya Jirga on 16. November.
The Taliban have repeatedly said they will not take part in any talks until all Western forces have left Afghanistan.
On Tuesday, a senior commander of the Afghan Haqqani insurgent network told Reuters that his group would not take part individually in any peace talks with the US. He said negotiations must be held with the Taliban leadership.
Author: Anne Thomas (Reuters, dpa, AFP)
Editor: Manasi Gopalakrishnan