U.S. soldiers and law enforcement professionals dismount a Stryker-armored vehicle after arriving for the tactical site exploitation class in the Spin Boldak district of Afghanistan’s Kandahar province, April 25, 2013. The soldiers are assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division's 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, Task Force 435. The class certified Afghan police as instructors in crime scene investigation techniques. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Shane Hamann
The Taliban Spring Offensive - Civilians Count The Cost -- The Guardian
No major offensive has accompanied the resumption of widescale fighting but it has not stopped civilian casualties rising markedly
The Taliban's annual spring offensive was not marked with a big operation this year, as it did last year when the militants unleashed a string of attacks around Kabul and across Afghanistan. Instead, there has been an increasing trickle of military and civilian casualties.
On Tuesday, three British soldiers were killed in Helmand province, and six Afghan family members were killed or wounded in Uruzgan province, both by roadside bombs.
This year's offensive, dubbed Khalid bin Waleed after the victorious general and companion to the Prophet Mohammed and nicknamed "the drawn sword of God", will consist of "special military tactics" and "insider attacks" which will be carried out "in a systematic and coordinated manner", the Taliban announced.
Read more ....
More News On Afghanistan
ISAF Joint Command Operational Update, May 2nd -- ISAF
Combined Force Kills Haqqani Network Leader in Paktia Province -- US Department of Defense
Top Taliban leader killed with two Iranian citizens in Farah -- Khaama Press
Bomb Kills Several Afghan Police Officers -- Radio Free Europe
Explosion kill 8 Afghan local police officers in Logar -- Khaama Press
Taliban sniper expert killed in drone strike in Nuristan -- Khaama Press
Taliban assassinate member of Afghan High Peace Council -- Long War Journal
Death of three soldiers in Afghanistan a 'hammer-blow' -- BBC
Deaths of three soldiers in Afghanistan is 'a hammer blow', says Royal Highland Fusiliers battalion spokesman -- The Independent
Scottish soldiers killed in roadside bomb attack in Afghanistan are named -- Daily Record
British soldiers killed in Afghanistan named -- BBC
Tributes to soldiers killed in Afghanistan -- BBC
Cameron: UK has paid a 'high price' in Afghanistan -- BBC
A New Plan for a New Afghanistan -- Ahmad Zia Massoud and Christian H. Cooper, The Diplomat