Afghanistan seeks more help as violence soars

[ProSense]

Afghanistan seeks more help as violence soars

By Kristin Roberts
Thu Oct 18, 6:45 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Afghanistan's defense minister asked on Thursday for more money and equipment to fight soaring Taliban violence as America's Pentagon chief criticized NATO allies for failing to deliver promised aid.

Afghan Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak said suicide bombings were up 50 percent from a year ago and that the Afghan army needed more troops and equipment.

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Despite six years of war in Afghanistan, the Taliban regained strength in 2006 and has ramped up attacks on U.S., Afghan and NATO forces this year. NATO forces also have begun to intercept convoys of bomb technology coming into Afghanistan from Iran, according to NATO and U.S. military officials.

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A U.S. military official said attack levels had climbed every year since 2003 in four major categories -- small arms fire, rocket-propelled grenades, suicide bombings and improvised explosive devices.

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9 troops wounded in Afghanistan

Thu Oct 18, 6:58 AM ET

KABUL, Afghanistan - Taliban used heavy machine guns and rocket propelled grenades to ambush a U.S.-led coalition patrol in southern Afghanistan that wounded nine troops, a coalition statement said Thursday.

The insurgents attacked the patrol near Kandahar city Wednesday, the statement said.

"The coalition forces repelled the attempted ambush using small arms fire to counterattack the enemy," it said.

None of the wounds sustained by coalition troops were serious, the statement said. There were no report of insurgent casualties.

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