Pakistan’s army said Tuesday it had captured a key Taliban and Al-Qaeda complex dug into rocky mountains close to the Afghan border after killing 75 local and foreign militants.

Commanders gave journalists a guided tour of the bastion, which one general said numbered 156 caves developed over five to seven years, and carved into sheer rock within clear view of the snow-capped peaks in eastern Afghanistan.

The visit follows Pakistan’s latest offensive against militants in its semi-autonomous tribal badlands, launched under US pressure to eliminate Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked groups who attack Western troops in Afghanistan.

Major General Tariq Khan accompanied journalists to the warren of caves in the area of Damadola that he said served as a key militant headquarters until troops overran the complex in an offensive launched in January.

“There were Egyptians, Uzbeks, Chechens and Afghans killed in the operation,” he told reporters.

Journalists saw bedding such as pillows and mattresses, which suggested inhabitants had camped out for significant periods.

“The first Pakistan army uniformed soldiers have arrived in Damadola after a recent operation and the Pakistan flag has been raised for the first time since (independence in) 1947,” said Khan.

Damadola, in the Bajaur tribal region, was the scene of a 2006 US drone strike that targeted Al-Qaeda number two Ayman Al-Zawahiri, who managed to escape.

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• Pakistan ‘captures Taliban base’ (news.bbc.co.uk)

Dutch politics are not usually considered important in the US capital, and very little heed was given to the collapse of the fourth Balkenende cabinet over the weekend. Dutch speed skater Mark Tuitert’s Olympic gold made it to prime time on Saturday, but three paragraphs on page 16 of The Washington Post on Sunday were all the attention the Dutch political drama received.

But those who closely follow Obama’s policies on Afghanistan were eager to learn more about the split in the coalition. Bruce Riedel, Larry Korb and J. Alexander Thier fear the withdrawal of all Dutch troops will encourage other allies to also abandon Nato’s Afghanistan mission. They predict conservative criticism of Obama will grow. And they feel the little political influence the Netherlands had in Washington will diminish further.

“The irony is that this comes to the time when the battle finally is turning in favour of Nato,’’ Riedel said. He understands the Netherlands has “stretched their military to the absolute limit”. But finds it “frustrating” that Canada could follow suit and withdraw its troops as well – posing serious problems for Obama. “The big worry for the Obama administration is that is this could cause a domino effect. I know that’s in their mind,” he said.

Moreover, the Afghan war has become very unpopular in the US itself – although approval ratings have risen in recent months. “The weariness is growing here at home, especially among the president’s own party. And the symbolism of a major ally leaving now will be particularly difficult for the president,” Riedel said.

Larry Korb (Centre for American Progress) added the decision fans the flames of conservative critics of the president. In his election campaign, Obama argued his popularity abroad would mean he could get more international support for US policies than his predecessor George W. Bush. But the results so far have been disappointing.

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• When the Dutch Pull Out of Afghanistan, Can the French and the Germans Be Far Behind? (themoderatevoice.com)
• Dutch Pull-Out From War Expected After Government Collapse (nytimes.com)
• Dutch May Pull Afghan Troops (online.wsj.com)

On Tuesday, the Dutch government announced that it is considering an extension of the current deployment in Afghanistan, which is scheduled to end this year. Nato has filed an official request for this extension. The government said sending instructors for the Afghan armed forces, military or police would be a possibility.

The British Nato general, Simon Levey, offered this option in an interview with the Dutch daily, De Volkskrant, published last Saturday. Instructors are desperately needed all over Afghanistan, not just in Uruzgan, where the Dutch are now based. The international coalition involved in Afghanistan is aiming to increase the number of Afghan soldiers from the current 100,000 to 134,000 by next October. The Dutch governing coalition seems in favour of transforming the current deployment into a training mission, but that does not mean an agreement has already been finalised.

In a radio debate with other political leaders, Mariëtte Hamer, the chair of the Dutch Labour party in parliament, called a training mission an “interesting option”, but she emphasised that she was opposed to a new “combat mission”.

However, for the most part, Afghan security forces are not trained in safe classrooms. This would be pointless, since nine out of ten Afghan soldiers cannot read or write. An Afghan soldier learns his trade during patrols and operations, under the watchful eye of the Dutch Operational Mentor and Liaison Team. They patrol Afghanistan’s valleys side by side with their local recruits, joining them in battle wherever necessary. This is why mainly experienced soldiers, such as marines, are deployed as military instructors. There is no line in the sand separating training duty from combat.

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Police claimed on Monday to have arrested six suspected terrorists, including a would-be suicide bomber, and seized 26 hand-grenades, a suicide jacket and five detonators.

Officials of a secret agency and a police team headed by a DSP of the Anti-Terrorism Squad of Crimes Investigation Agency captured the ringleader of the group, Abdul Baseer alias Qari Waqas, and Mohiuddin alias Saifullah, Abdul Rehman Ghani, Sakhi Shah, Tehsil Khan and Dilawar Saeed from a place near Shahdara Chowk on the GT Road. Police also recovered explosives, a car and a motorcycle.

During interrogation, the suspects revealed that they had planned to target Americans staying in a five-star hotel on The Mall.

SSP (Investigation) Zulfikar Hameed said at a press conference that the suspects belonged to the outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan.

He said Qari Baseer, who was a prayer leader in a mosque in Jamrud, Khyber Agency, was associated with an Afghan militant group led by Commander Nazir. He took part in the war against Nato forces in Afghanistan and was an expert in manufacturing suicide jackets and explosives, he added.

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A decade of armed conflict has left Australian troops battle-scarred and traumatised, with almost 4000 personnel – the equivalent of the country’s current overseas deployment – recording injuries and illnesses attributable to their time in East Timor, Afghanistan and Iraq.

Previously unreleased data from the Department of Veterans Affairs lists 9134 separate diagnoses for which the commonwealth has accepted liability – a figure made even more extraordinary by the fact thousands more are expected over the coming years.

Analysis of the data, obtained by The Australian using Freedom of Information laws, will fuel the debate over Australia’s ability to sustain such a high level of involvement in overseas operations.

The Australian Defence Force has sought to make medical discharge a last resort, taking greater responsibility for the rehabilitation of its 55,000 permanent members and 25,000 reservists.

Over the past decade, the ADF separation rate has actually been reduced, as more personnel were needed to stay in service for future operations.

The dual wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have so far been responsible for 1293 and 1503 claims respectively, but the numbers are growing. The lag time for new claims can average between seven and 12 years, so Defence and the DVA have begun encouraging troops to lodge their reports sooner so authorities can better predict future care and compensation needs.

While Australia has mourned the 15 troops killed in action in the three conflicts, little is said publicly about other casualties. Their ailments can be debilitating and incapacitating and yet, from the figures at least, it appears some take their problems into the next operation.

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The wife of the man who killed seven CIA operatives in Afghanistan spoke to the Turkish press on Wednesday evening, expressing surprise at the events and disbelief over some of the theories surrounding her husband’s connections, reports Today’s Zaman.

Defne Bayrak, the Turkish wife of Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, told Turkish media by telephone she was shocked at the news that her husband blew himself up at a base in Afghanistan on Dec. 30, killing himself and the CIA officers. Al-Balawi, a graduate of İstanbul University’s Çapa medical school, was born into a middle-class Kuwaiti family, moving with his family to Jordan in 1977 after Saddam Hussein attacked Kuwait. Al-Balawi moved to Turkey in 1996 to attend medical school; Bayrak and al-Balawi were introduced by a mutual friend in 2001, and the two married, moving to Jordan in 2002 after al-Balawi graduated.

Bayrak, who lives in İstanbul, said her husband had plans to become a surgeon in Turkey and doubts he was working for the CIA. “I’ve read in newspapers the claims that he was connected to al-Qaeda or the CIA; I absolutely don’t believe in any such connection. My husband couldn’t be an agent. He was devoted to his family; he was a good father. He didn’t even like to leave the house much.”

Bayrak, an Arabic language translator for some Turkish media outlets, confirmed that al-Balawi was jailed for three days last March and left Jordan shortly after that, saying he was going to Pakistan to become a surgeon. After those plans did not work out, al-Balawi said he got another job there, Bayrak said.

Bayrak and her two daughters left Jordan in October and now live in İstanbul. “I was shocked when I heard the news [of the Afghanistan bombing] because he constantly spoke about coming to Turkey. … I was not expecting it,” she said.

“We had a very happy marriage. … I last saw my husband in person on March 18, and we last spoke by telephone a month ago. We had also last communicated via the Internet about 10 days ago. He didn’t mention anything out of the ordinary; he was fine. I was shocked when I heard about the [Afghanistan bombing]. … Our pain is great. My two daughters still don’t know their father is dead; I don’t know how to tell them,” she said.

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Armed conflict killed hundreds of children and adversely affected many others in 2009 – the deadliest year for Afghan children since 2001 – an Afghan human rights group has said.

About 1,050 children died in suicide attacks, roadside blasts, air strikes and in the cross-fire between Taliban insurgents and pro-government Afghan and foreign forces from January to December 2009, the Afghanistan Rights Monitor (ARM) a Kabul-based rights group, said in a statement on 6 January.

“At least three children were killed in war-related incidents every day in 2009, and many others suffered in diverse but mostly unreported ways,” Ajmal Samadi, ARM’s director, was quoted in the statement as saying.

Security incidents increased 65 percent in the last quarter of 2009 compared to the same period in 2008, according to a report of the UN Secretary-General entitled The Situation in Afghanistan and its Implications for International Peace and Security.

A sharp rise in the civilian casualties of war in 2009 has also been reported: The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) recorded 784 conflict-related civilian casualties between August and October 2009 – 12 percent up on the same period in 2008.

“Both male and female children have been the increasing victims of war and criminality in Afghanistan but the government has not done enough to alleviate their hardship and to reduce their deprivation,” Hamida Barmaki, a child rights officer at the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), told IRIN.

ARM said it recorded at least 2,080 cases of grave violations of child rights in 2009. These included the recruitment of children as suicide bombers and foot soldiers, murder, rape, forced labour, and the denial of essential services by warring parties and criminal groups.

Insurgent attacks on schools, aid workers and facilities also deprived thousands of children – boys and girls – of access to education and healthcare, it said.

ARM has reported sexual abuse and the recruitment of children by police and private security forces, and has accused the Afghan government of doing little to stop unlawful practices.

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The Italian government is seeking to verify whether or not a group linked to Al Qaeda may be responsible for the kidnapping of two Italians in Mauritania earlier this month, Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said.

On Sunday, a man claiming to be the media representative of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb said the group had carried out the kidnapping and that it was in response to ”crimes committed by the Italian government in Afghanistan and Iraq.” Speaking on Italian television, Frattini said his ministry was first of all trying to ascertain the authenticity of the claim and that, in any case, Italy has no intention of negotiating with terrorists, reports ANSA.

“Anyone who has anything to do with terrorists helps them. And even if we were to say ‘we’ll talk’ just this one time, we would be legitimising a terrorist organisation,” the foreign minister added. Frattini said his ministry would continue to maintain a news black out on developments concerning the fate of Palermo resident Sergio Cicala, 64, and his Burkina Faso-born wife Philomene Kabouree. The couple was reported missing after their bullet-ridden camper van was discovered in Mauritania on December 20.The foreign minister explained last week that a total news blackout on efforts to contact the kidnappers and obtain the release of the hostages was essential to ensure their safety because ‘’suppositions only make the matter worse.”

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• Al-Qaida claims Italian kidnappings in W. Africa (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• World Briefing | Africa: Mauritania: Al Qaeda Claims Captives (nytimes.com)
• Al Qaeda Claims Italian Kidnappings In Mauritania (huffingtonpost.com)